Pink Play Kitchen Transformation Details

Last post I introduced you to a nightstand turned play kitchen, (you can see the pretty pictures {here}), and I thought it was so stinking cute I inserted pictures of the finished product without even a before photo of the nightstand.

Today I'm going to remedy that.

This is the before and after, in all its' basic nightstand glory...

I picked up a set of nightstands at a garage sale - two for $5.00 which makes them $2.50 each.  I only used one, so I might make something out of the other one when the mood strikes me.

Originally I wanted to make a two piece play kitchen, but in the end I opted for as compact in size as I could.

The nightstand looks like it has three drawers but it is actually just two.  The bottom drawer has one of those fake grooves that makes it look divided.

That bottom drawer front was taken off of the drawer itself, turned to the side and attached with hinges to become the refrigerator door.

A couple pieces of scrap pine became the frame between the oven and the fridge.

The oven was also framed, attached with two hinges, and a piece of old plexiglass became the oven window.

A back was put on with luan scrap wood, as well as shelves and some window trim.

The area under the burners was painted with Maison Blanche Wrought Iron and waxed with a dark wax to give it a deep black stove top hue.

I used two colors of Maison Blanche Vintage Paint, Ivory and Debutante pink which you can purchase from the lovely Shannon at Fox Hollow Cottage.

The whole thing received a coat of the ivory, then the back wall got a coat of pink and the front base had a final wash of ivory over it to give it a worn look without needing to sand and distress.

I thought it needed a little something so I decided to tape the top off and give it some ivory striped faux wallpaper.

The window valance came from a bag of fabric scraps. 

I ripped 'em, tied them on a small piece of wood, and trimmed the bottom edge so they all had a similar length, but not exact.  I added a glass stone finial to each end to match the back-splash.

Both the little metal bucket and the faucet were garage sale finds.  The bucket cost $1.00 and the faucet was in a free bin.

If it was free, it quickly became just the style I was looking for.

Brawn penciled on a circle where I wanted the sink, cut it a bit smaller so the lip would hang on the wood top, and clipped off the silver handles that were no longer needed.

I tortured him with a trip to the Dollar Store where I was looking for a few things.

One was something that could be used as burners.

I was about to leave empty handed when he appeared with two apple slicers in his hand asking "would these work for burners?".

He assured me he could cut off the slicer handles and smooth them down, and his moment of dollar store brilliance became two stove burners for a total of two bucks.

The burners were glued on with E6000 adhesive.

The oven knobs also came from a garage sale free box, attached with screws and able to turn for on and off play cooking.

The handles on the fridge and oven are pieces of wood dowels that I spray painted bright silver.

In my stash of plates to smash for mosaics, I have a set of this rosebud china.

While the certain 3 year old doesn't need a place setting for four, a couple cups and saucers were the perfect size.

And the price was right.....

I heard rumors the dollar store had sink strainers, but the one we were at did not.

Fortunately WalMart had some cheapies for .97¢.  A hole was cut, and the metal bucket was given an authentic sink look.

I wanted to make a tile backsplash, but I didn't want to be grouting anything, and I didn't want it to cost anything. 

The junk drawer is a plethora of crap I toss in it until I'm ready to throw the junk out.

Sometimes that works out well, like these old glass baubles from some long departed fish bowl.

Masking tape was used to section off a side, and I painted it with black chalkboard paint then stuck on some mailbox numbers and used old stickers as line dividers.

Even little kitchens need a spot for the to-do list.

The inside of the fridge has a shelf and two small Dollar Store wire baskets attached to the door.  The oven has a rack from the paint isle at the lumberyard, it's the thing you roll the paint roller over to get excess paint off, but it's darn near 110 outside today so no.more.photos. but I have to include both in the final cost even though you don't get to see them.

I'll break down the cost for 'ya;

$2.50 - garage sale nightstand

$2.00 - two Dollar Store wire baskets used inside the fridge.

$1.99 - oven rack metal thing to roll paint rollers on.

$2.00 - two black Dollar Store apple slicers with handles cut off for range burners

$1.00 - garage sale pink metal bucket, handles cut off, for sink

$5.00 - four hinges for fridge and stove

.97¢ - sink strainer

3 Oven knobs from free box at a garage sale

Heavy brass faucet from free box at garage sale

Colored glass baubles from retired fish tank 

Cup hooks from junk drawer

Fabric scraps and wood from craft bins and the garage

Accessories & kitchen toys from around the house

Ivory, Wrought Iron, and Debutante Maison Blanche paint colors already in my cache or supplied courtesy of the Maison Blanche Vintage Paint Company.

Total: $15.50

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