Play Kitchen

I just set up Lewis' play kitchen after bedtime, and it is all ready for him to see when he wakes up on his birthday tomorrow morning!

As you may or may not remember, I made Lewis a growth chart for his first birthday. I decided to keep that tradition of mama-making-something going by making him a kitchen this year. Young House Love gave me the idea, and I've been looking to Pinterest for inspiration, too. I tried to make it as inexpensively as I could, so I've been making the rounds at my usual thrift store stops, plus a few new ones (which, by the way, I'm sad to report that The Unique is shutting down...).

I tried to take pictures along the way, so here it goes:

Before, untouched

I started by taking everything apart, throwing out the old rotten backer board on the sink/stove cabinet, removing handles and hinges, wiping everything down with vinegar/water, filling holes and sanding, and then began to paint:

Thank goodness for our basement's work space!

Even with the primer+paint, it took several coats (5ish?) to not be able to see the wood grain through the red-orange. I would go down to the basement intermittently and put on a coat of black and a coat of red-orange (there were a few weeks in the middle of the project where I slacked off a bit). :)

Also at the beginning, I did my measuring and cutting. I cut a new shelf for the fridge, 2x4s for a base for the sink/stove cabinet, the countertop, a new backer board for the sink/stove, a backer board for the freezer, a door for the freezer, and the backsplash.

2x4 base for the cabinet (Cabinet is turned upside down) 

Young House Love did this step to help bring the cabinet up to a more comfortable height and to give it the look of having a toe kick below (when turned right side up).

The added shelf in the fridge (still needing some touch-up paint)

I just used some 1 inch corner brackets to support this shelf. (And later I added backerboard and a door to the top to create the freezer space.)

Cutting the sink's hole

(That larger hole to the upper left is for the faucet)

After deciding on the position of the faucet, I placed the bowl (sink) so that the faucet overhung it slightly. I then turned the bowl upside down and traced around it. I knew I wanted my cutout circle to be just a smidge smaller in order to hold the bowl up by the lip, so I started by drilling holes around the circle, just inside of my pencil line. I did some connect-the-dots with my jigsaw, and the cutout ended up being just the right size. 

Next it was time to attach the countertop to the cabinet:

The 'guts' of the countertop installation (seen upside down)

I placed the countertop where I wanted it and reached up inside the cabinet to trace the perimeter in pencil (to know where to line up my brackets). I then spaced some corner brackets out evenly around the countertop. I had to use smaller ones (1 inch) in some spots because the cabinet they'd be connecting to wouldn't accommodate the longer 2 inch brackets. Attaching the brackets to the countertop was easy, but attaching them to the cabinet was perhaps the biggest pain of the whole process. Lots of gravity-defying, crooked-arm-drilling going on. :)

Countertop attached, as well as backsplash: 

 I used mending plates (which are just long metal plates with multiple screw holes, used to connect pieces of wood together--thank you, Young House Love). In hindsight, I should have waited to do this step until after putting the new backer board on. I ended up having to put the backer board over the brackets rather than have it sit nice and flush with the back of the cabinet. By that point, though, I talked myself into being okay with the backer board being on the back (out of sight), so I didn't go through the process of taking it all apart and redoing it. :) 

Next, I attached the faucet and sink to the countertop with construction adhesive.I also sealed the countertop at this point with Polycrylic. (I did 3 coats, overall.)

Time to hang the doors:

 I took a cue from Craig and Mackenzie on the oven door and added magnetic catches (to help keep it closed) and chains (to help minimize the bruising of toes).
I drilled new holes for the cabinet handles and hung those (which was a bit of a pain, correctly aligning/drilling the holes), painted on the burners, and used construction adhesive to attach the stove/oven knobs.

The final project in its new home in the dining room: 

I have the fridge next to the sink/stove for pictures, but it will live in the opposite corner of the dining room (so it doesn't block the vent and window).

Storage on the left, Oven on the right

The curtain fabric is called something like Vintage Travel, and Lewis definitely approved. :)

His apron is reversible with Cars on one side and Thomas on the other. (This is the tutorial I used for that.) Under the apron hangs a small broom/dustpan for him to (hopefully) help tame the ongoing, ever-present dog hair and Cheerios situation. :)

And, like a typical bachelor, all he currently has in his fridge is mustard. :)
I forgot to open the freezer door--there is an ice tray in there, too. And I thought the green wire basket would make a good fruit basket (and it has a handle, so he should be able to carry it around easily). The grandparents are getting him food, pots/pans, baking supplies, etc. as gifts, so he'll be well stocked after his party.
I also put the empty basket on his fridge to either hold a plant or serve as a bread basket.

I didn't really set a budget, but I kept track of what I spent, out of curiosity (vs. what I would have spent at a store). I think The Accountant is rubbing off on me. :) The total was around $130. I don't think that's too bad for a sink/stove + a fridge + accessories + curtains + an apron. 

Cost Breakdown:

Furniture Pieces/Wood:

• Cabinet for Stove/Sink Area - $12.50 [50% off at Habitat for Humanity ReStore]
• Countertop Wood (Butcher Block) - Free [the previous owners left it up in the rafters of the garage]
• Scrap Wood for Backsplash - $0.50 [ReStore]
• Scrap 2 x 4s (to add height/serve as cabinet base) - 2 for $1 [ReStore]
• New Backer Board (for cabinet and nightstand) - $6.15 [Home Depot]

• Nightstand for Refrigerator - $10 [Salvation Army Thrift Store]
• Scrap Wood for Refrigerator (for freezer door and an extra shelf) - $0.75 [ReStore]

• Shelves (on wall above) - 2 for $6 [Salvation Army Thrift Store]

Total for Furniture Pieces/Wood: $36.90

Accessories/Paint/Fabric:

• Sink (metal bowl) - $0.90 [50% off at Unique Thrift Store]
• Faucet - $9 [ReStore]
• Stove Knobs - 3 for $1.50 [ReStore]
• Cooling Racks (to serve as oven racks) - 2 for $1 [Dollar Tree]
• Curtain Rod - Free (already owned)
• Towel Bar - $1 [ReStore]
• Hand Towel - $3 [Target]
• Wire Basket - $1.50 [Salvation Army Thrift Store]
• Basket - $0.50 [ReStore]
• Ice Cube Tray - $0.10 [Wayside Christian Mission]
• Utensil Holder -$0.69 [Wayside Christian Mission]
• Wooden Spoons - $1.50 [Goodwill]
• Strainers - 2 for $1 [Dollar Tree]
• Colander - $4 [HomeGoods]
• Pitcher - $0.50 [50% off at Goodwill]
• Food Storage Container - $1 [Dollar Tree]
• Dish Scrub Brushes - 2 for $1 [IKEA]
• Dustpan/Broom - $1 [Target]
• Trash Can - $0.49 [Wayside Christian Mission]

• Quart of Red-Orange Paint (+Primer) - $15 [Home Depot]
• Quart of Black Paint - Free (leftover/already owned)
• Polycrylic (for countertop) - $10 [Home Depot]
• Brushed Nickel Spray Paint (for hinges) - Free (leftover/already owned)
• Black Spray Paint (for trash can) - Free (leftover/already owned)
• White Spray Paint (for utensil holder) - Free (leftover/already owned)

• Fabric for Curtains - $3.50 [Jo-Ann Fabrics]
• Fabric/Elastic for Apron - $6 [Jo-Ann Fabrics]

Total for Accessories/Paint/Fabric: $60.18

Hardware/Tools:

• Handles - 4 for $8 [Home Depot]
• Hinges (for freezer door) - $2.27 [Home Depot]
• Magnetic Catches - 5 for $5 [Home Depot]
• Mending Plates (to attach backsplash to cabinet) - $3 [Home Depot]
• Chain (for oven door) - $1.50 [Home Depot]
• Corner Braces (for bracing shelf in fridge and attaching countertop to cabinet) - $10 [Home Depot]
• Wood Screws - $4 [Home Depot]
• Nails - Free (already owned)
• Construction Adhesive (to attach sink to countertop and knobs to stovetop) - $4 [Home Depot]

Total for Hardware and Tools: $37.77

Grand Total: $137.85
[Of that amount, I would subtract $9 of the $10 for the Polycrylic since I literally used like 1/10 of the small can.] 

The main power tools I used were a drill, sander, and jigsaw. I decided to go ahead and buy a jigsaw, so that was an additional $30 that I'm not counting since I'll use it on other projects. I also used the staple gun (and a few nails) on the backer board. And my sewing machine to sew (duh).

So that is Lewis' play kitchen! I had a lot of fun making it for him, and I hope he likes it and gets a lot of good use out of it.