A Toddler Kitchen from (Mostly) Repurposed Items

Finally!  It's done.  Or at least, done enough to blog about.  There's one final detail that can't be done for a couple of weeks, but I've basically finished LW's stove!

I got the idea for this back around Christmas.  LW was just starting to get the idea of "cooking," and it seemed like something she'd really enjoy.  Our Christmas visit to my mother-in-law's house confirmed it: she'd found a toddler kitchen somewhere, and my daughter really went crazy playing with it for the two days we were there.  One of my mom and dad's presents to her was some toddler cookware, so when we got home, I started looking around for something that could function as a stove.

Now, truth be told, I really have my heart set on either buying or building something like this one by Camden Rose.  But we didn't, don't, and won't have that kind of cash kicking around anytime soon, and until my father gets his real woodshop up and running (he has the tools, but needs to build the shop to house them and move it all out of their basement), building won't be happening, so I needed a good interim solution.

While looking around our own basement for inspiration, I uncovered and remembered this:

(I know the picture is dark.  I took this photo right before we started working on it, we were at my parents' and I didn't have my good camera, so had to settle for my husband's phone)

This ugly, beat-up TV stand has been in my family for nearly my whole life.  My grandmother picked it up at a yard sale when I was maybe 7 or 8, I think she used it briefly (or maybe not?), and then it was my parents' TV stand for years.  Around the time I was 18, my brother and I got them an entertainment center as an anniversary gift, and the TV stand was retired, only to then go off to college with me.  It followed me to my first apartment, back home again, then to our apartment when we got married.  Shortly after LW was born, our landlords gave us their old stand, which was much nicer, so this one again was retired.  Really, I was planning on junking it, but fortunately hadn't gotten around to it yet.

Pictures don't really do adequate justice to how junky this thing was.  Made of that wood veneer particle board, which had gotten water damaged and was all bubbly across the top, it probably wasn't worth much when brand new, and I think my grandmother got it for for around $5, over twenty years ago; suffice it to say, it had seen better days.  This picture was actually taken after the first modification: whoever put it together in the beginning, put the bottom shelf at a weird sloping angle (perhaps it was supposed to be that way, to hold VHS tapes?), so I removed two of the screws and put it back on flat.

We (my journeyman carpenter earlier in life, father and I) removed the top piece, and I sanded it down.  Then we cut a circular hole on the right hand side, cut a new backpiece as the existing one was broken, and put everything back together.  I painted, painted, and painted some more - four coats in all - and here it is.  As my husband said, "Wow, who knew it could look that good.  We should have painted it a long time ago!"

Despite sanding it flat, the bubbles reappeared once I put the paint on - probably because those areas swelled more with the moisture.  But after the fourth coat of paint, they weren't really that noticeable.

Also providentially (for me, anyway), my aunt's faucet had broken recently, and my dad went over to fix it while I was visiting.  I quickly pleaded with him to save the faucet for this project.  This was fortunate, as these faucets are quite pricey new, and I hadn't been able to find a used one.  This also added to the multi-generational and sentimental value of the piece, because my aunt lives in what was once my grandparents' house.  They both passed away years ago, but this is the faucet that they used for years and years, and which I remember using at their house whenever I visited while growing up.

Of course, it was pretty obvious that it'd been in use for years when I first got my hands on it:

That's about 30+ years of mineral accumulation.  It polished up nicely, though, as you can see in the next photo, where I've polished just one side for comparison:

My dad used a hacksaw to cut the copper wires off from the bottom; here it is all polished and ready to go.

We drilled two holes in the top of "stove" to screw it down, and after the paint finally dried, I attached it.  We also purchased a stainless steel bowl for the "sink", which I left unattached so that LW can take it in and out (I think this is her favorite part), and also so that I could fill it with water or bubbles and be able to dump it easily.  Here it is, attached:

For the "burners," I found these wide, grooved coasters on Amazon.  They are just the right width for her pots, and the grooves made them the closest thing to real that I could find. 

I spray-painted them with a glossy, "metallic black" spraypaint; it has little gold flecks in it that worked perfectly to make the finished product look real.  The bonus was that I "thrifted" the spraypaint from my parents basement, where I think it was originally purchased to make a costume for a 4-H sheep costume class, and probably hadn't been used since.

Painting:

The finished product:

I attached these to the stovetop using wood glue.  I also added a towel bar on one side, and hanging pegs on the other (these, unfortunately, were purchased, not thrifted).

Then, I used this fabric (also purchased) to make cafe curtains to cover the front (hanging on an expandable , adjustable curtain rod):

Voila!  The finished product:

Towel bar:

I also made LW a matching short apron and a coordinating potholder, which conveniently hang on the hanging hooks (I may add one more hook, if I get around to it):

Note, I am very purposefully NOT showing closeups of the potholder.  It would most certainly have earned a white ribbon, had I entered it in the fair growing up.  But I didn't have a pattern, I've never made a potholder or quilted anything before, and I was in a hurry to finish during LW's nap.  It's functional, if a bit stiff, she doesn't care if it's perfect or not.

Also, a not-too-close shot of the apron, for which the former caveat also, somewhat, applies:

It's a little crooked, not really as wide as it should be (sort of a front flap rather than a wrap around), but a good prototype for future attempts.  And, not too shabby given that I wasn't working with a pattern, and just eyeballed the pleats on the bottom. 

The only thing remaining to be done on the stove it to attach stove knobs on the front panel underneath the burners.  These too were repurposed: they were once the knobs on my parents' stove in their trailer, before my dad built our house.  This part can't be done until the next time I visit them, however, since I need my dad's drill press to make the holes.  I'll post a final picture in a couple of weeks.

The final cost tally for the project (which I'm going to call the Grandparents' Toddler Stove)

• Frame: my parents' old TV stand - a posthumous contribution from my maternal grandmother.  Free.
• Faucet: my paternal grandparents' old faucet.  Free, but priceless.
• Stove knobs: my parents' (thus LW's grandparents) old stove.  Free.
• Paint: 1/2 can @ 12.99 = $6.50
• Towel bar: $8.00
• Hooks: $4.00 for two
• Fabric for curtains: $8 (with 40% off coupon, at Jo-Ann's)
• Curtain rod: $9
• Burners: $9
• Stainless steel bowl: $5

The whole thing came to just under $50, which is less than even a plastic toddler kitchen would cost.  This one should, hopefully, last until we can make one of those lovely wooden heirloom sets.  Of course, now LW needs a refrigerator...

One of the unexpected perks, from my perspective, is a new, out-of-sight storage place for some of LW's toys.  And it looks pretty cute, sitting in the corner of our living room.

But the best part will be watching LW play with it in the months and years to come.  Already she loves moving the faucet, turning the faucet on and off, and taking the bowl in and out.  She also cooked us some of the felt ravioli I made for her.

Now, to find some good patterns for many more kinds of felt food!

Happy crafting, everyone!