A children’s play kitchen. Is there anything sweeter? Maybe it’s just me – maybe it’s where my love of food and cooking and baking first developed – in this little play kitchen that my dad built for me when I was a bitty girl. It used to be white and I remember that I had a very special ceramic tea set that I arranged just so and absolutely adored until a neighbor kid came over and broke one of the cups, which ruined the whole perfect set, and I was heartbroken. But I ramble. The point is – kids love play kitchens. My girls have had this one set up for them and it’s always been played with here and there. I painted it blue years ago, but the color just never quite went with the playroom and I started feeling really displeased with how sad it had become. So I gave it a makeover. We’re in the midst of turning our large playroom into a media/play room and making the play kitchen a focal point was one of my first priorities. I’m excited to show you the whole room when we get it all finished, but for today, I can say that the kitchen area is finished and I LOVE it! As do the kids, almost as important. 😉
I painted the kitchen with two coats of semi-gloss latex paint in “red apple” from the hardware store. It was a pre-mixed color and it is exactly the bright, saturated red I was looking for. Someone on instagram asked about the kind of paint as she was concerned about paint lines. I was less concerned about paint lines since this kitchen set has been painted quite a few times and seen more than 30 years of play, but I can tell you I always use a Purdy brand paint brush – they’re the best for finish work! 
A coordinating enamelware cake stand and some hand-packed ice cream containers give the refrigerator a lift and also give the girls some containers to stuff things into (do your kids love to stuff containers, also??) I also added a big red mason jar (from Jo-Anns) with some humongous red and white striped straws to the kitchen shelf – gotta use ’em everywhere while they’re still all the rage, right?
A new “Menu” hanging over the kitchen pulls the ensemble together. I’m sharing the complete DIY Playroom Chalkboard tutorial over at the Jo-Ann’s blog, The Creative Spark. You can find all the details over there! It’s even magnetized so the kiddos can pop restaurant orders up on it as they’re preparing the food.
Speaking of restaurant orders, this is THE preferred play kitchen activity of my girls. They just looooove to tell you all the specials and write up your order and post signs ALL OVER THE HOUSE letting you know where and when to arrive for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! I made them some printable cards where they can write little menus or note their guests’ orders. Some cards are white and some are “chalkboard” for use with pens or pencils…or chalk. There are two different cards – one has a blank box at the top where they can write their restaurant’s name or whatever! You can download and print out these cards if you’d like. Click here for the FREE printable!
So, tell me what you think. Do your kids have a playroom kitchen? Is it a focal point in the room? What’s their favorite imaginary game to play in their kitchen?
