Welcome Wall Street Journal readers!If you regard my front - page feature , this is the dramatic play kitchen makeover that inspired the report . you could show the full WSJ article atHow to Build a Dream Kitchen — for Your Toddler ( Complete With a Fake Wolf Range ) .
My daughterlovesto be in the kitchen . ( Perhaps a budding cookery book author herself ? ) She loves to watch me cook and mimic what I do , whether it ’s stirring up a pot or stream liquidness from one bowl to another .
She loves it so much , in fact , that we ’ve had to install a gate across the porta to our kitchen because it was easier than childproofing each and every storage locker and drawer .
Her rarity and enthusiasm for peck lids , pot holders , teatime towels , solid food containers , and mixing bowlful meant they were always disperse on the floor or disappearing into the aliveness room , where she often set up her own makeshift cookery infinite .
For months I keep an eye on Craigslist for a reasonably price play kitchen when I realized that my favorite kitchen , the stylishCharlieandChelseacollections from Pottery Barn Kids , were over $ 700!(Sorry , Gemma , I sleep together you but I could buy a lot of things for therealkitchen for that much . )
When I foundthis KidKraft Culinary Kitchenat a outrageous discount ( after stack a few voucher on the Target site ) , I decided to jump on it .
At first glimpse , there ’s nothing inherently wrong with the KidKraft kitchen . It was pretty indifferent compare to all the other pastel or primary - biased kitchen on the grocery store , and it was one of the more modern and realistic toy kitchens I found .
I liked the lineament of this finical model because of the fridge and deep freezer , the gaseous state burners with clicking knobs , and most significantly , the meridian of the whole thing .
A lot of toddler kitchen are tiny ( no more than 30 to 36 inches tall ) , and I need one that could grow with Gemma for several age . This one is 40 inches grandiloquent but still small enough to tuck into a street corner of the living elbow room .
And therein consist the trouble . Since it was going to live in our aliveness room , it was n’t vibing with my innovation sensibility . It was too dark , too juvenile , and I really dislike logos on , well , anything .
I ’ve been immobilise beautiful kitchens for the past yr as inspiration for our next house ( you may seethat pinboard flop here ) and I decide to have a lilliputian fun with “ remodeling ” the KidKraft infinite into the pint - sized kitchen of my dreams . This recreate kitchen makeover would sort of be a trial run to see if I really liked the direction I was going in my idea .
If I could design a kitchen from scratch , my style would tilt toward airy , organic , and modern . I love industrial elements juxtaposed with warm woods accent , natural texture and shape , and pops of fresh greenery .
So in making over Gemma ’s kitchen , I go with simple blanched cabinets ( painted withthis Rust - Oleum spraythat save me from finger’s breadth fatigue ) , a vertical subway roofing tile backsplash , and a concrete countertop .
The“tile”is a thin peel - and - joint newspaper publisher that looks surprisingly naturalistic . The“concrete”came from a roll of self - adhesive vinyl contact paper ( that has the add together bonus of being water - insubordinate ) .
All the handles , fix , and sink were spray paint lustrelessness black and yes , I even went so far as paint the kitchen stove knob red . ( She wo n’t ever know the implication of her fancy “ Wolf range of a function , ” but I can daydream of possess one . )
I paint over all the art ( including a computer keyboard by the microwave and chalkboard on the side ) , left off the toy electric cell earphone ( which also will pre - drilled holes in the side that I ’ll eventually cover with a3 M Command hookand a tea towel ) , and added a ledge in the fridge for extra storage .
Above the stove , I turned a wooden panel ( which in the first place had attend knob ) on its side to run as subject shelving .
I ’d been buy sport intellectual nourishment for Gemma for a while , and found that I like felt food and wooden food the good .
Thisparticular circle of wooden foodhas attracter so she can “ snub ” all the fruits and vegetables . ( After construe piles of hold out - out Velcro food at public play spaces , I have to say that attracter are the agency to go . )
This set also stands out because it includes some unlawful garden truck like a dragonfruit , kiwi , and leek .
Theeggsare my favourite and I conceive hers , too , because they front just like the ones our chickens lay ! It take a niggling clicking around to find wooden testicle that also came in blue , and these one are so inflexible and naturalistic .
The potted plant ( here ’s asimilar one ) is fake … for now . One 24-hour interval I ’d love to give her a bent of potted herbs to manage for so she can really feel like a farm - to - mesa chef !
Most of the decor and accessories were ascertain in the sales event bin at random shop , and I ’ve linked to interchangeable item below this post .
Gemma is haunt with her play kitchen and it ’s been our salutary investment by far , on all numeration .
She ’s quite the creative chef and I ’ve been prove her some familiar combinations like pasta , blimp , and onion , but of track , we also make culinary masterpiece like turnip , grapeshot , and egg “ soup . ”
It ’s the only toy that pay back everyday caper , several hours a daytime . ( And she even brings her real food over to the play kitchen andeatsstuffs her face at the counter stand up , just like her mama . )
I love seeing it in our living room and yes , I am very much feeling the face of it ! I cerebrate concrete counter and matte grim fixtures are a must in our real kitchen one day …
This is an prosperous undertaking if you get down with the kitchen unassembled and put it together once all the pieces are painted .
If you need to recreate the face , here ’s what I used :
And because I have it away a effective before and after :
Project Sources
[ show_shopthepost_widget id=”3047593″ ]
