Some of you know that we had been planning since the spring to make Ella a play kitchen for her birthday. I had found this neat idea where you repurpose old cabinets or media centers into a pint-sized kitchen. We scoured garage sales over the summer and fall, but still couldn't find exactly what I had in mind. I was about to give up and find plans to make one from scratch when Jim had the idea to use some old Ikea cabinets we had hanging around in his Man Cave.
I realize now I forgot to take a picture of what they looked like before they became a play kitchen. I'm sure if I look through my photos I can find one where they are hanging around in the background.
Anyway, this is what they look like now:
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| Front view |
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| Top view |
Here's what we did (I say "we" because I served as artistic director):
-Sawed the cabinets in half (the part that is the fridge was the upper portion)
-Flipped one of the bottom cabinets around to become the oven
-Cut a piece of plywood to connect the two bottom pieces
-Cut a hole in the plywood for the sink portion (the sink is just a cheap brownie pan)
-Cut a hole in the oven door and installed a piece of plexiglass
-Added in a cheap oven rack
-Installed the sink hardware (this was the most expensive portion- I think Jim found it for around $15 at K-Mart)
-Painted the whole thing to match the table and chairs Jim made for the playroom
-Painted and installed the burners, which are cheap wood circles from Hobby Lobby
-Made and painted oven knobs. The circular portions are again cheap wood circles from Hobby Lobby; the raised portion Jim made with a jigsaw.
There you have it. Ten steps to transform an Ikea cabinet to a play kitchen. I'm sure if Jim were writing this post he'd give you a lot more detail.
I think it came out awesome. And I certainly like the cabinets better like this.
Here's a little video of Ella on her birthday seeing it for the first time.
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