About 6 or so months ago I was floating through 'blog land' as I do from time to time and somehow I stumbled upon Sutton Grace blog, where a particular blog post jumped out at me: A repurposed play kitchen. The very clever Erin of Sutton Grace blog had taken a 2nd hand TV entertainment unit and turned it into a mini kitchen for her little girl. I LOVED this idea sooooo much and sat looking at the blog post for the longest time trying to work out if I could do it myself.... I decided in the end mine would never look that amazing. So after sending the link onto my mum and sisters to show them how cute the kitchen was I continued on floating 'blog land' and kinda forgot all about it.... Until, this weekend just gone.
As you have probably read in my previous posts, it was my little girl, Milla's, 2nd birthday party on the weekend so all her cousin's, aunties, uncles and grandparents got together for a little party. My parents live approx 4 hrs away so they were making a special trip to Sydney for the party, or so I thought. In fact they had a special delivery to make to the birthday girl...
Yep, that is Milla's very own repurposed play kitchen!! My mum had taken the link to the Sutton Grace blog I had sent her oh so long ago and showed my dad (who has a builder's background) and together they made this truly one of a kind and absolutely gorgeous play kitchen!!
It all started with this pre-loved TV unit that they got for $30!
The dvd player shelf was removed and all the doors were taken off for sanding and the first coat of undercoat paint.
Shelves were added to what was the cupboard to make it a fridge & freezer. Then another coat of paint.
A hole was cut in the shelf where the TV once sat and a tap was added. The fridge and freezer were fitted for their doors. Then another coat of paint.
Dad removed the entire back of the unit and replaced it as their were holes in the original back for the TV and DVD player cords. The microwave was added to the top corner of the TV space. Then another coat of paint.
The fridge, freezer and cupboard doors went on.
The microwave and over doors have dark perspex in them to add to the real look. A 'window' was added by placing a photo behind a piece of clear perspex with a frame around it and attaching it to the wall. Mum made curtains and matching tea towels. The stove top is a piece of timber with four coasters glued on it to act as hotplates the four knobs were added down the side of the stove top that all turn so Milla can 'really' cook. Dad even added little baskets to the inside of the fridge door soit looked just like a real fridge. Then with a printed out keypad added for the buttons on the microwave and a few hanging cooking utensils the amazing transformation was complete!!
Milla LOVE, LOVE, LOVES her fabulous kitchen and so do I!!! We went through our real kitchen cupboards and found all kinds of boxes and bottles to put in her fridge, freezer and cupboards and we have baked non stop since the new kitchen was 'installed'!
I can see many, many, many years of fun with this handmade with love treasure.
Thanks Papa and Grandma Barbara xoxox
92 comments:
absolutely the best present i have ever seen!! how very very clever indeed and how very loved your daughter is!
smooches rosey
So adorable! One of the most creative things I've seen in a long time. Such a great idea!
Oh so clever! Showing husband ;D
What a fantastic idea.So special too because somebody made it just for her.
WOW!!
that is the bestest present EVER!!!
lucky girl, enjoy ♥
wow! thank you for letting me know about this. it makes me so happy to see the kitchens people have made.
your parents did and AMAZING job! i love it!!
wow that is incredible
Very Clever! I bet that she is going to cook up lots of imaginary food for you to eat!
That is awesome!
OMG That is soooo cute! How nice of your folks to put all that work into her gift!
I came over from Sutton Grace. Love this so much!
I came over from Sutton Grace -- what an amazing gift for your daughter, and what an act of love from your parents! I'm now on the lookout for a second-hand entertainment center...I'd love to make one for my son!
Love, love, love the picture in the window and the "glass" doors on the oven and microwave. (I'm Erin's sister-I am so proud of her and glad that she could touch your lives.)
I love the roast chicken... and of course the Kitchen, what a clever idea...I wish my son was a toddler again so I could make the play kitchen.
That is simply amazing! The coolest thing I have ever seen!! I just showed the hubby. I would LOVE to make one for Lily. =D
I LOVE THIS! I saw your creation over at SuttonGrace and I just had to stop by and see the before and after. I have been wanting to make one of these SO BAD...and I truly think this is one of the most creative ones I have seen yet!!! So jealous!!!
wow!!! that nice of your parent doing for ur girl!
WOW... I saw your comment on Sutton Grace and had to check yours out as we are making a smaller version ourselves... Beautiful and I'm sure a well loved gift full of tons of playtime..
Amy
Just want to thank you so much for blogging about your kitchen. You inspired ours:)
http://sevenlittleaustralians.blogspot.com/2010/01/our-girls-play-kitchen.html
Erin
This is amazing! Thank you so much for sharing and for providing the step by step. I love it. It's a total inspiration for me!! I'm putting it on my blog. Hope that's ok!?
This is great! Y'all did an AWESOME job!! Love it!
I featured this on my side-bar to share with my readers! It came out wonderful!!
She's right where she belongs! Great gift.
So cool! Thanks for brightening up my day! Posted this on our facebook fanpage... thanks!
My Daughter is 2 and she also loves to cook, she just has a plastic kitchen from the store, but in my search to fill it with pretend food items, she wanted a jug of milk(thats her favorite drink) well I was at the local Dollr General and found this little juices in small jugs just like a milk jug..painted the inside and glued the lid on, and she loves it. she has one for OJ and Juice and Milk..
I've sent this link (from strollerderby) to my dad - I'm crossing my fingers he makes one for my SONS! They'd just love something like this, as any toddler would. Thanks for sharing.
WOW!!! that is amazing....i'm giddy over it and hellloooo...i'm 32 with a real kitchen ( but i don't cook) LOL
happy birthday to her!!
Of all the entertainment-centers-to-play-kitchen-tutorials I have seen, this one is my FAVORITE! I posted about it on my blog because I'm totally going to attempt to do this for my daughter's 2nd Birthday present!
http://landofozfam.blogspot.com
Fantastic!
This is just precious! I just did a google search because we have an enteraintment center already that we are wanting to re-purpose into a play kitchen. I'm going to model it after yours I love it so much! What special grandparents your little girl has :). Thank you for sharing it with us all!!
Wow! That is amazing! I admire anyone who can use a saw and build something like this. Very creative and resourceful! I can see why your daughter loves it. It takes someone special to look at something (TV stand) and envision something so different and creative happening to that same space. Awesome.
Wow! That is amazing! I admire anyone who can use a saw and build something like this. Very creative and resourceful! I can see why your daughter loves it. It takes someone special to look at something (TV stand) and envision something so different and creative happening to that same space. Awesome.
I love it! I came by when I saw this featured in Design Dazzle, and it's such an awesome idea. I totally want one! I am sending this link to my husband right now!!
This is much better than the Kidcraft one I bought for my son. I adore it.
www.koreanamericanmommy.blogspot.com/
Saw your kitchen last night...bought a $10 entertainment center today...so excited to make this for my little one! I'll send you a link when I'm finished. Thanks!
Oh my word!! Now THAT is a present. What a gorgeous gift of time and love.
I came here via a link from empress of dirt ... what an amazing kitchen and it will be treasured for many years to come.
Everyone else has already said it, but OH.MY.WORD! How stinkin cool!
This is so creative and absolutely wonderful! Bravo to your resourcefulness and creativity!
wonderful!
THAT IS SO AMAZINGLY CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE. MY HATS OFF.
Incredible idea! Just emailed it to a certain crafty grandpa I know!
That is the raddest kitchen ever! Made with LOVE and super creativity.~Kelley
This is amazing. I'm totally making one! I love repurposing stuff.
WOW, WOW, WOW!
Wow ... this is one of the best examples of upcycling I have ever seen. Kudos!!
WOW! What a great idea to make a little kitchen instead of buying one of those too expensive plastic ones. I really really adore it, so well made! She is a lucky girl, wish I had one when I was a child! <333B
Outstanding! I'm making a play kitchen for my boys for Christmas. Can I ask where you found the knobs for the stove/oven? Thanks!
Love it! What a great present and how creative they were to come up with all of that!
Hi, Sooo cute! How Milla must be in little girl heaven! Did you know this piece was just featured 30 Nov 2010 on Baby Center by Young House Love (John & Sherry Petersik) & last week by At Home Alterations? Congratulations!
Wow - this project is AMAZING! Great, great job.
Adorable. Just one concern: I would loose the chains on the refrigerator doors. They could possibly be a choaking hazzard. Having a 3 year old grandaughter, I know how fast they can get into trouble!
just awesome! really awesome kitchen and very cute little girl u got there!
Are you KIDDING ME - this is the CUTEST THING I have ever seen!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it - great job. SHe will treaure it and perhaps pass it onto her own daughter one day with memories of how her Papa and Grandma made it for her...
:)
What a great idea!
I've seen so many people put these units out on their front lawn with a "for free" sign on them because their new wide flat screen TVs won't fit inside of them.
Thank you so much!
I am absolutely, 100% in love with this! Amazing job and such an amazing gift to give. Cheers!
Blogged about your amazing kitchen at RookieMoms today. Thanks for sharing!
http://www.rookiemoms.com/build-your-toddler-a-play-kitchen/
Greetings from Brazil! Fantastic! I would like to be this granddaughter!
I LOOOVVVEEE Your Kitchen!!!!!I posted a pic of it (with your link) on my blog post about what kind of play kitchen I want. Let me know if you are not okay with that and I will take the pic down. Thanks!!!
DiapersintheDesert.blogspot.com
That is just so fantastic!!
Hi Amy! I already knew you were fabulous but this tutorial is awesome! What's even cooler is that I'm trying to sell my current entertainment center on Craigslist and wanted to post a link to a tutorial on converting one into a play kitchen and your blog showed up in my google search. I'll be linking to it. Thanks for sharing and for being so darned crafty.
Wow, Very clever! I bet that she is going to cook too much to eat imaginary food for you!
I'm right in the middle of doing this and I was wondering what type of material he used to make the fridge/freezer door and where he got it. Thank you for the inspiration and for sharing!
Are Papa and Grandma Barbara interested in adopting more children to bestow amazing recycled and beautiful handmade gifts upon? If yes, my daughter is available. Who are these magical grandparents and can they give workshop lessons to my parents?
This is totally amazing! My daughter would love this :)
I just wanted to let you know that you totally inspired me and after I saw a picture of your kitchen I started mine the next day.
http://www.utahcountymom.com/2011/07/lilys-play-kitchen-diy-wood-kitchen-for.html
Thanks so much for sharing your great ideas!
AH-MAZING! Well done Papa and Grandma! And thanks so much for posting as this has been a terrific inspiration for me and my wee daughter. Eve is only 9 months old but if I start this project now I should be finished by the time she's 2 or 3 :)
I think this is just amazing looking! I'm starting one for my two year old! I posted your link on my blog. www.recycledsmiles.com
Amazing! We'd love to feature this on Built by Kids.
Followed you here from Pinterest. This is absolutely amazing!
Hi! I love this! I am wondering what kind of wood you used for the fridge and freezer doors? I want to attempt this but know nothing about wood!
This is the coolest idea ever! I would have never thought to use an old entertainment center. So awesome.
What a wonderful birthday present!!! Especially made by grandparents! It is really lovely.
That is crazy awesome! How creative. That took some thought, it just amazes me how much must have gone into this project! What a fun transformation!
This is awesome - You are so blessed to have this created with love! It makes me miss my Dad - he would have loved to make this for my classroom.
That is awesome! So adorable!your parents did a great job
Thanks for sharing...especially the in-progress pictures. It was definitely an inspiration as I was researching what I wanted to do when we started on making one for our son this Christmas.
I also featured your post on my blog today among a short list of inspirational play kitchens. Come check out the post and grab a featured button if you'd like: http://www.creativecarissa.com/2011/12/im-dreaming-of-diy-play-kitchen.html
This is so perfectly adorable!! I am a handy Granny myself and am actually looking at my entertainment stand as I type this... but it has 2 drawers at the bottom... well I will certainly be on the lookout for my grand daughters! A big thank you!
My daughter sent me a some photos of kids kitchens. Wants one for her little girl. Have the very same entertainment center in the basement. Guess what grandpas next project is. Love it.
Grandpa Ted
I love this! I will definitely be trying to pull this off for my almost 2 year old, next Christmas.
Omg!! That is amazing.
This is amazing, think i definitely want to make one for my daughter out of our entertainment center.
THIS IS GENIOUS! I used to be a designer for Ethan Allen (before becoming a stay home mom, 19 years ago-yay!) and these entertainment units are now such dinosaurs, I see them on Craigslist all the time, and people will never get real $$ for them. The best thing is to repurpose, like this! I am lucky, my tall, 3-piece set I had sunk into a niche that was set up to hold a china cabinet. It now looks like built-in bookshelves, and I use the TV part to hold extra bed pillows we have for company, or blankets. I LOVE this idea! Oh, my gosh, thanks for sharing!
Loved this so much I had to make one http://papercutsnbandaids.blogspot.com/2012/06/play-kitchen-or-french-toast-with.html
This one is amazing. We've been looking to do this for our daughters birthday. Where did they find the little sink?
what a amazing and creative idea, a absolute treasure... good job!!! 2 thumbs UP!
Thanks for the inspiration. Just finished making one for my daughter. :)
Just finished one for our boys!! hanks for the inspiration!! I wrote about it here; www.crayonsglittertoys.blogspot.com
This is awesome!
This is amazing! I really like how much thought and hard work has gone into it. Thank you for sharing.
This is delightful! I am currently making one just like this for our grandaughter. Thx for the inspiration! I am stumped, though, on how to do the keypad for the microwave. Are you able to email a copy to me? Also, how did you attach it to the microwave so that it's secure...modge podge/varnish/just glued it on with nothing over it? Thx, Beth
Hi this turned out beautiful! I love it n me n my bf r in process of making one for our granddaughter n we got the idea of the microwave from ur pic so just wanted to say thank u!
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