If you follow me on facebook or twitter then you know that I picked up this KidKraft play kitchen on clearance at Cracker Barrel this week. We visit Cracker Barrel often for lunch dates with my dad and Scarlette has been obsessed with the model they had out on the floor. We had planned to make a DIY play kitchen this summer but when I saw this one was hugely discounted I snagged it because it’s small size was perfect for our space.
Pink and purple just isn’t my thing though and I thought it would be fun if I gave it a little makeover so that Scarlette’s play kitchen could match our actual kitchen (here’s a peek at it.) Since it needed to be assembled, I figured that painting it wouldn’t be too difficult. I used some of my Making Memories acrylic paints and some Krylon Short Cuts spray paint to change it from pink/purple/teal to teal/red/silver. Here is an awkward photo of me painting:
Here is another awkward photo of me. You know, just in case you needed to laugh today. And here is the play kitchen before it’s makeover (taken of the box) and after (in terrible lighting, sorry!):
And here is what Scarlette thinks about it:
She loved it. Her reaction was better than Christmas morning. I told her that I had a surprise for her and when she saw it she said “MY TITCHEN! MY PRIZE! OH BOY! OH BOY!”
Here is what I changed: I added some little command hooks underneath the microwave so that she can have some extra storage space. I also took the kitchen timer from Anthropologie that I’ve had forever and attached it to the front cabinet. Scarlette loves that timer and is always trying to take it off the fridge so I figured that she would like to have it in her own kitchen. This is what happens when you have kids. You give them your nice stuff from Anthropologie. And your cute Jenni Bowlin box. And your figure.
I cut some shelf liner to back the microwave and oven doors so that they look fun when you open them. I made the curtains from an old dress of Scarlette’s but I am a terrible curtain maker so I am going to have a girlfriend whip some teal ones up for me. I picked up the little bowls in the kitchen section at Target on sale for $2. Other than those, I just cleaned out some empty canisters/boxes from our pantry for her to play with. Like girl scout cookie boxes. Every kitchen needs thin mints, that’s what I always like to say. And turns out, our measuring cups make perfect “pots” for using on the pretend stove.
I decided to give her a little chalkboard space in place of the pretend keypad so I just cut out some chalkboard contact paper and used my corner rounder on it. I had planned to switch out the handles for something a little sleeker but then decided against it because I wanted to keep the costs down and Scarlette thinks the plastic ones are “pwetty.”
I’m really happy with how this all came together. I spent $40 on the kitchen and $7 on supplies since I had most of the things I needed already so my total cost came in at under $50. For a brand new wooden play kitchen, I am pretty stoked about that. (And if you’re looking for one, some readers have told me they were able to get the floor models at an even bigger discount. Like, twelve dollars. Seriously!)
And because it’s just so stinkin’ cute, here is Scarlette’s reaction when she saw it for the first time ♥
