DIY Play Kitchen from Night Stand

I am so excited to finally write this post! This has been a project in my head for months, and I am so glad we finally did it. This is a great way to recycle or revamp an old nightstand (if you don't have one, check yard sales and craig's list). This nightstand was in our guestroom and was given to us by my sister. It was fun to make it into a play kitchen. My husband and I did this together, although he did most of the manual work. It is unique, no other kid will have this exact play kitchen. And it is pretty sturdy, unlike the plastic play kitchens. We added a piece of birch to the back of the nightstand, and I think it is the perfect size for my little guy.
The kitchen color is "Mint Shake", by Glidden. I must really like this color because after we bought it we realized it is the same color we used on the playroom walls. There is a little storage shelf under the oven, which is hidden by the curtain. We secured the curtain by screwing in a wooden dowel, that way the kids can't remove it. I was afraid if we used a tension rod it would be coming off constantly. Adam built a little shelf, which is great for keeping the little cook's utensils.

The top was fun to make. We cut out a hole for the sink, and used a dog dish as a sink. Adam made the faucet freehand with a jigsaw, but you can use a wooden letter "J" or "L" upside down if you can find one the right size (we couldn't). The faucet knobs are made from wooden craft people (from Joann's). We screwed them on, and placed a washer underneath so they can actually be turned. The burners are cds and the grates for the burners were made from a square dowel spray painted black and cut to size. The burner knobs and the oven knobs were also found in the wooden section of crafting stuff at Joann's. We used metallic "chrome" spray paint for the top pieces, which we found at Walmart.

We couldn't use the existing drawer of the nightstand, so Adam built a new one for the oven door, and attached with hinges and a magnetic closure. We used a drawer pull for the handle, and painted the inside of the oven white.
One of my favorite things is the little chalkboard on the side. I found a little unfinished one at Joann's for $3 and painted the frame red to match the pots and pans.

My little guy, Ethan, is turning two this week! We had a little party for him at my parent's house yesterday after church.

He loved the kitchen! Here he is, cooking some "felt ravioli" (another post coming soon). The front knobs, which we just glued on did not last long. We reinforced those last night with some super adhesive GOOP and let cure overnight, so they are on for good now. We couldn't screw them in from the bottom because the wooden was too thick.

Ethan was excited to use the oven. I got the cute wooden red pot and pan set at Amazon, made by Melissa & Doug.
He even knew to turn the oven on!

There are tons of great blogs out there with info on making your own play kitchen from a night stand. Here are a few if you need some ideas and inspiration, mine was inspired and modeled after the one made by Jill.

Vintage Songbird

Homemade by Jill

Out of the Crayon Box