BEFORE & AFTER: DIY Wooden Play Kitchen Makeover
I don’t do very many furniture makeovers for kids, but when I do, like this cute little DIY wooden play kitchen makeover, I love it! Usually, with these pieces, you can be a little more whimsical and adventurous, right?
When I picked it up from the thrift store, this ugly little wooden play kitchen looked like this:
Well, here’s how it turned out!
I strongly feel that boys can play with wooden play kitchens, too, right?
It’s actually a slight miracle that I pulled it off and that I like it so much, because I was >THISCLOSE< to scrapping the whole project!
But I’m sooo glad I hung in there.
DIY Wooden Play Kitchen Makeover
The “red” and “blue” came from some girl’s outfit that I saw about 8 months ago at a family naming ceremony. I’m sitting there sipping my wine and in walks this girl wearing these brilliant blue pants and blood red shirt. AHA! Inspiration!! I discreetly snapped a pic of it, but for some reason, I can’t find the pic to show you. Grrr………
When I discovered this awesome Annie Sloan Emperor’s Silk, I knew this would be the red that would bring my inspiration to reality! Mixed with Napoleonic Blue, and I’ve got a recipe for major cuteness.
Related: What’s the Best Paint For Furniture?
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This wooden play kitchen was a bit more “expensive” than a similar wooden kitchen makeover that I did for only $2.50, but heck–$7.00 is still an awesome price!
First thing I did was remove the years of nasty stickers that accumulated, with my awesome HomeRight Heat Pro Deluxe II heat gun. That thing is awesome.
Then I sanded it down a bit. I normally don’t sand, but this surface needed it.
But I’m not kidding when I say that I almost scrapped this project when I first painted it and saw it looked sorta like Papa Smurf! HA!
What to Do When You Lose Your Creative Streak
By all means, consult your Daddy. Otherwise known as GOOGLE, who basically owns you 🙂 I knew it needed some “oompf” so I Googled “red” and “blue” and suddenly, I kept seeing these nautical-themed outfits. I realized that I could do a nautical theme and totally rock this piece! I don’t think I have seen a nautical theme kid’s furniture. So…why not??
So I pulled out my Silhouette Cameo which cuts vinyl that you can use to make stencils very easily (amongst many other cool tricks I have yet to discover).
Next, I cut out some anchors to use as stencils on the front.
The stencil worked really great! You just have to be mindful to get it on there properly.
….because if you don’t, the vinyl ends up a warped piece of crap you can’t use. 🙂 And vinyl ain’t cheap! It sticks to itself like you wouldn’t believe!
No Time For Perfection!
Next, I outlined the anchor in red. Sorry, I didn’t get pics of it, but I basically just free-handed it. I wasn’t too happy with the free-hand results, but you know what?? I’m not perfect. And I’m not going to pretend that my projects are, either. In fact, I wanted this piece to be a little “DIRTY” and not-quite-so-precise.
I decided to add white paint trim all along the edges on top and then use dark wax to muddy it up a bit. Who needs crisp perfection?
I showed a friend of mine preliminary pics of the project, and she had the nerve to point out faults! (Did I mention she’s not crafty ONE BIT??).
‘Nuff said. Keep it movin’…..
I really wanted to pull in some rope somewhere, so I decided to just add a little bit to the side, to hold a DIY dish towel.
Next, I decided I would DIY a little dishcloth to hang from the rope. So I pulled out my trusty Silhouette Cameo again and cut out a sailboat to use as a stencil. Then I stenciled some boats onto a scrap piece of cloth.
Last, but not least, I painted the handles a cleaner red (not shown) and painted the plastic sink bucket that goes inside the sink. It was pretty worn.
Overall, I would say it was DEFINITELY a successful project!
What do you think?!?!?!
BEFORE
AFTER
And all I had were Trader Joe’s Black Beans! HAHAHA.
I guess someone lost interest….. LOL
Here’s another look:
And then my boys made me breakfast….BEANS and CHEERIOS. How sweet it that??
And who cares if the two projects don’t match? When you’ve got 3 cute boys playing “cooking” with Cheerios, nothing else seems to matter.
My oldest son must like it because he asked me, “Mommy, you’re not going to SELL it, are you?”
So what do you guys think?!?! Do you like it?
Check out these other DIY projects for kids!
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i think it looks great! and it’s a fabulous idea to teach your boys the way around a kitchen at an early age! LOL
Very creative….I need to get one of those heat guns. I have two bedroom doors full of old vintage stickers and I’ve tried everything to get them off.
Very clever project. I honestly could not imagine what you would do with it! Great vision!
So fun! Great job sticking with it and coming up with a cute idea!
Love love love! And YES MOHs can play with kitchen toys too! I see that you use the silhouette cameo. Do you prefer this over the Cricut? I have been looking at them but not sure.
I love it! You are so talented! I love to see all your projects!
Awww…..thank you so much Helen!! 🙂
That turned out SOOO freaking cute. The stencils totally make it. Papa Smurf would be proud.
HAHAHAHA! Yes, I love stencils and adding little touches like that. That’s the fun part!! 🙂
I have a booth in a flea market and shop regularly at thrift stores sometimes you have to have a little imagination to make some things sellable. I love what you have done with every thing you are one super creative lady with furniture and babies. My husband says why don’t you buy stuff you don’t have to work on. H e does not understand that is the fun part
Ooooh, Margaret, I think we’re married to the same man! LOL. Hubby doesn’t understand me buying old stuff, either. Even after he sees what I can do with it, he still “tsks” when I come home with a new old piece. LOL!
Fantastic project and yes boys NEED to play kitchen/house. I was a pre-school teacher and I have 4 boys/1 girl and the boys should always be encouraged to get in that kitchen and play,lol. Oh and you can use contact paper for stencils,works great and much cheaper(I have a cricut) so fun LOL.
My husband is a fantastic cook! His mom taught him and all his brothers. Now for myself….I’m embarrassed to admit that I can mess up BOILED WATER. True story there. LOL. But yes, boys should be encouraged to cook. They have to know how to take care of themselves! Thanks for commenting, Pam!!!
This is terrific and I love how you gave it a theme – super idea!! It does help that you have cute kids doing the demo for the pictures too 😉
Love your new blog heading as well!
julie
LOL you should hear me, “Okay, boys, Mommy’s gotta take pics! Hold still!” And all they want to do is play. LOL. And thanks so much!! I’m glad that you like the new heading! I think it’s a lot fresher 🙂