Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Birthday Kitchen: Before & After

My how the time flies! I can't believe I've been away from here for so long, and I also can't believe my baby turned 4 this week. We had a great party over the weekend with lots of family, food and fun. We finished Sydney's kitchen just in the nick of time, and I even got my house clean before everyone showed up!

The story of the kitchen:
I've wanted my daughter to have a play kitchen for as long as I've had a daughter. We had one when I was a kid that my dad made and I have many great memories of playing with it. I've been scouring the Internet for great deals, but man those things are expensive! I knew it could be made, but my construction partner (my husband) was not really on board. After much pleading he finally relented after I gave myself a deadline - one week to find a second hand table to start with or I would give up the dream (until Christmas at least!)
I bought this table at a thrift store for $20 that Thursday. I spent more than I thought it was really worth, but it was sturdy, the perfect height and at least partially made from real wood. The other cabinet that was going to be the fridge was purchased at an auction sale several years ago for $12.
As so it began. Lee added sides and a back to the table and an extremely sturdy shelf to the inside. I primed and painted both pieces with paint I already had on hand. I chose black so it would at least somewhat "go" with our family room where I wanted it to live and to match the fabric I had already chosen for the skirt under the sink.

We "installed" a faucet we found for $2 at a Habitat for Humanity Restore* and new knobs that turn, a towel bar on the side, oven knobs, a long fridge like handle for the cabinet and cut a hole for the bowl sink in the table.

The oven door I made from wool felt. It has a velcro door with a vinyl window. We thought for a long time about making a real door for the oven, but decided this was a much easier, cheaper, safer method.

So here is the breakdown:
$20 Table
$12 Cabinet (although since I was cleaning out the garage I think this shouldn't count)
$ 2 faucet
$43 for oven knobs, faucet knobs, towel bar, shelf, tension rod and misc. supplies
$ 3 acrylic high gloss spray finish (my black paint was eggshell so this gave it a nice shiny, cleanable finish)
$ 6 stainless steel bowl
$86 Total Cost (not including a whole Saturday and several evenings of labor)

Used black paint, silver spray paint, screws, plywood, fabric, felt, and velcro already on hand.

And...the finished product.
I love it! And thankfully so does Sydney. She was also lucky enough to receive some super cute accessories from a crafty friend and a crafty Nana!
A little funny story for you in closing...I purchased several plastic baskets for Sydney to organize her food, dishes, etc. in her kitchen. Monday morning I was trying to help her get everything set up. She insisted we leave one basket empty under the sink which I insisted was where her dishes should go. She informed me that was the dishwasher! Of course! Why would she think she should wash dishes in the sink - I never do! :)
* If you have a local Habitat for Humanity Restore be sure to check it out! Not only are you supporting a great cause, but they have some great finds there for super cheap!!

9 comments:

Shannon said...

One word: AMAZING!

You ahve totally inspired me, I absolutely LOVE it! Gorgeous!

(I guess that is more than one word, but DANG, it's awesome!)

Breanna said...

Fabulous! What a wonderful gift!

Wendy B said...

Unbelievable....Syd is going to have so much fun!!! I love it...I suppose that Kendra will have to come up soon so Syd can cook for her!!! Hours of entertainment to be had. Love ya Girlie!!!

Amanda Jean said...

oh, roxy! you did great!!!! it's all so very amazing! happy birthday to your not so little girl. ;)

Raesha D said...

Happy birthday to your Sydney from my Sydney:) The kitchen is fabulous!!! What a cherished heirloom this will make and what wonderful memories Sydney will have playing with it.

Very Mary said...

I kind of want one, too. For me.

Katherine said...

Wow. What an amazing transformation and a wonderful gift for Sydney! I see many happy hours spent playing "house" with her new kitchen.

Teresa aka MarieSews said...

Your kitchen is GREAT. We built one similar many, many years ago for our niece. When she outgrew it, it came back to us and our boys played with it for many years. It outlasted anything that we could have bought.

G'G'ma said...

Oh, how clever you are! What you have there will certainly last longer than the cardboard type...they look so real. Looks like that faucet has real water in it.