Play Kitchen Set Up Ideas

Pinterent    Oktober 18, 2023    Comment   

In DIYs and Hacks, Dramatic Play, Play, Play Spaces, Prep and School Play Ideas, Preschool Play Ideas, Toddler Play Ideas, Toys and Books on October 25, 2017

Kmart is THE place to shop these days. They’ve got all the things you’ve ever wanted, and all the things you need but didn’t know you needed. Earlier this year, I shared how I hacked their train table. Today I’d like to share our latest hack. Our Kmart kitchen hack!

Now we already had a play kitchen at home. We actually had the Ikea one and I loved it so very much. It withstood a few years of play but my heart desired something with more storage! I really wanted a fridge to store all of our play food in.

Making Do With The Not So New: Kids' Kitchen Entertainment Center

So we shopped around and found some nice ones but they didn’t really match our play space. We thought about designing and creating our own. And by we, I mean my hubby.

But then all of these stunning Kmart Kitchen hacks started popping up on my facebook feed. I showed hubby and he reluctantly agreed. I spent months admiring other clever parents and their gorgeous kitchen hacks. Then it was time!

We headed to Kmart and grabbed one of their $89 play kitchens. We grabbed the last one in stock. It was a sign!

Kids Playroom Decor And Design Reveal

Next, we headed to the craft aisle and stocked up on some vinyl adhesive. I picked the marble for the splash back and the wood grain for the bench.

Once we got home, my hubby (who is also a painter by trade) started prepping the pieces. He laid them all out, gave them a good sand then added a coat of oil-based undercoat.He also cut a hole in the bench top to add our recycled Ikea Play Kitchen stove top. This meant he didn’t have to worry about painting around the stove top that was already on the Kmart kitchen.

While we waited for the pieces to dry, I contacted the bench top and the splash back. After a few sad attempts (and a whole lotta bubbles) I realised that laying the pieces straight on top of the contact wasn’t the best strategy. So I got hubby to slowly slide the contact down over the pieces while I used a long ruler to smooth it down gradually. We didn’t get a single bubble this way!

Wooden Play Kitchen

Over the next few days, my hubby added two coats of semi-gloss enamel to each of the pieces. We went with white for the bulk of the kitchen and a nice shade of grey for the microwave and oven. It took him a few days because he did two coats on each side. He also gave each coat a light sand before starting the next coat. The finish is fantastic!

I just love how it all came together! It looks like a real little kitchen…and it might even be better than our real kitchen! We set it up in our play room beside our Aldi shelves which we use to store all our bits and pieces. I rotate these items every now and then. Eventually I would like to make a matching island bench but I think we’re all hacked out for the moment!

We decided to add a few storage items to our kitchen to try and minimise the mess when the kids play. First we grabbed two packets of the Set of 3 Stacking Bins for $7.00 per packet. I added four to the fridge and another two under the sink. They are perfect for organising all of our food and a few utensils under the sink. I also found a Foldable Shelf for $7.00 which I actually wanted under the sink but it was about a cm too big. So I popped that up in the freezer which is where we store all the cups, plates and bowls (which are also from Kmart).

Kitchen Cabinet Design Ideas 2023

The stove top looks so realistic. My hubby suggested we recycle it from our Ikea kitchen and I’m so glad he did! We are going to hack that old kitchen into a tool bench so we wouldn’t have used it on that kitchen again.

Next I want to source some racks for the oven. At the moment, all the cooking pots and pans live in there but I’d love it to be just a little more realistic. I might even add one of those adhesive lights to the top so that it lights up like a real oven!

This was such an amazing project! I have been wanting to hack a kitchen for such a long time so it was amazing to see all of my ideas coming together. The rest of our play room is very Reggio Emilia inspired so all of these bright play kitchens just weren’t going to work in our space. I love that the kids have something truly unique!

Ikea Duktig Hacks That Are Not Play Kitchens

So what’s next? We will either create a matching island bench or their Ikea Kitchen tool bench hack next. Watch this space!

Casey is an early years teacher who passionate about supporting parents and educators that want to use play as way to connect with their little learners and create magical memories of childhood! You can follow Casey on Instagram right here.

My goal is to support parents and educators with play-based resources that make learning FUN! I'm so passionate about using play as a way to connect with our little learners and create magical memories to last a lifetime!

Kidkraft Vintage Wooden White Play Kitchen With Ice Maker & Play Phone

All play activities and ideas provided by Little Lifelong Learners® require direct supervision from a parent or adult. Little Lifelong Learners® excludes all liability for failure to provide direct supervision of the play activities and ideas.

Discover the Little Play Club, a monthly membership where independent play thrives and you find moments to recharge while nurturing your little learner's development, all through play!Uninspired by all the kids' play kitchens on the market, I transformed an off-the-shelf toy kitchen into a fun designer showpiece for my daughter. Here, I'm sharing my DIY play kitchen makeover with tips and resources to help you get the look, too.

Welcome Wall Street Journal readers! If you saw my front-page feature, this is the play kitchen makeover that inspired the story. You can read the full WSJ article at How to Build a Dream Kitchen — for Your Toddler (Complete With a Fake Wolf Range).

Diy Play Kitchens

To be in the kitchen. (Perhaps a budding cookbook author herself?) She loves to watch me cook and mimic what I do, whether it’s stirring up a pot or pouring liquid from one bowl to another.

She loves it so much, in fact, that we’ve had to install a gate across the opening to our kitchen because it was easier than childproofing each and every cabinet and drawer.

Her curiosity and enthusiasm for pot lids, pot holders, tea towels, food containers, and mixing bowls meant they were always scattered on the floor or disappearing into the living room, where she often set up her own makeshift cooking space.

Diy Accessories For Play Kitchen & Play Shop

For months I kept an eye on Craigslist for a reasonably priced play kitchen when I realized that my favorite kitchens, the stylish Charlie and Chelsea collections from Pottery Barn Kids, were over $700!

When I found this KidKraft Culinary Kitchen at a steep discount (after stacking a few coupons on the Target site), I decided to jump on it.

At first glance, there’s nothing inherently wrong with the KidKraft kitchen. It was fairly neutral compared to all the other pastel or primary-colored kitchens on the market, and it was one of the more modern and realistic toy kitchens I found.

Perfectly Small Play Kitchen Ideas

I liked the features of this particular model because of the fridge and freezer, the gas burners with clicking knobs, and most importantly, the height of the whole thing.

A lot of toddler kitchens aretiny (no more than 30 to 36 inches tall), and I wanted one that could grow with Gemma for several years. This one is 40 inches tall but still small enough to tuck into a corner of the living room.

Andtherein lies the problem. Since it was going to live in our living room, it wasn’t vibing with my design sensibilities. It was too dark, too juvenile, and I really dislike logos on, well, anything.

Mama Jots: Valentine Play Kitchen || Decor

I’ve been pinning beautiful kitchens for the past year as inspiration for our future house (you can see that pinboard right here) and I decided to have a little fun with “remodeling” the KidKraft space into the pint-sized kitchen of my dreams. This play kitchen makeover would sort of be a trial run to see if I truly liked the direction I was going in my mind.

If I could design a kitchen from scratch,  my style would tilt toward airy, organic, and modern. I love industrial elements juxtaposed with warm wood accents, natural textures and shapes, and pops of fresh greenery.

So in making over Gemma’s kitchen, I went with simple white cabinets (painted with this Rust-Oleum spray that saved me from finger fatigue), a vertical subway tile backsplash, and a concrete countertop.

Diy Play Kitchen

The “tile” is a thin peel-and-stick paper that looks surprisingly realistic. The “concrete” came from a roll of self-adhesive vinyl contact paper (that has the added bonus of being water-resistant).

All the handles, fixtures,