Hazie's Kitchen

I fully plan on doing a Christmas recap. I just need to document the one gift we worked the hardest on. First of all, this was not an original idea. I don't actually have many original ideas. I'm just really good at copying others and adding my own little twist. You can find entire flikr groups dedicated to nightstand play kitchens that people have done. I came across one of these groups over the Summer and became obsessed with the idea of making on for Hazel. Basically, the idea is that you find an old nightstand. We found this one at Deseret Industries for $10. Jarom thought it was hideous and almost didn't buy it. I took one look and saw the potential. I loved the little embellishments and the fact that it had a bit of a wider surface. It was in rough shape but I knew a little TLC was all it needed to reach it's true kitchen identity.

Then you sand it, paint it and decorate it to look like a little kitchen. Sounds easy enough, right?

I won't say it was easy. It wasn't. We actually made one to donate to our local Hearts for the Holidays program which provides Christmas gifts to families in need. It was good to have a little practice before we started hers. I thought the first one turned out great, though.

Okay, here's a side-by-side before and after of the totally finished product for Hazel.

and here's a closeup of the finished kitchen.

• 

• Salt and Pepper shakers are little wooden "people" I painted from Robert's crafts
• The sink bowl is a cheap dog dish from Walmart
• The faucet is a real one we found on KSL for $5 and cleaned and shined and put new knobs on
  
• The knobs for the stove top were one of the most expensive parts. $16 for a pack of 4 at Home Depot. Jarom brilliantly rigged them with a spring so they kind of bounce and turn. Love them!
• The stove top burners are just black circles of paint (I thought we could have done felt too) and silver painted dowels
  
• Jarom added the back splash and shelf - did I mention he's brilliant?
  
• The towel on the side rack is just a dollar store washcloth with the straps and ruffle added
• The curtian over the "pantry" where the bottom drawer used to be was made with a little help from my mom and her surger. I've been saving that fabric for something special
• Jarom took off the handles from the old drawers and fabricated the oven bar which was also painted silver to match the "towel rack", burners and the inside of the oven
• The "oven rack" was made from wood scraps Jarom had laying around that were painted silver
• We painted the entire inside of the kitchen black so the silver oven rack would really pop
  
• The napkin holder is a picture frame Jarom's had on his workbench for a while. I cut little hearts out of the scraps I had left from making the ruffle and towel. The End.
  

We went to Toys-R-Us and compared it to the play kitchens there. We paid a total of about $40 for all the items for Hazel's play kitchen. I just love how it turned out and I'm glad we did it. It looks totally fabulous in her room along with her new table and chairs. I love that we were able to match her room and make it personalized with the things we wanted. We also splurged on some Melissa and Doug food sets (the sushi one is my personal favorite) and a pack of pots, pans, baking supplies and cooking utensils from Costco.

Some other views of the finished product

The inside of the oven

The "towel rack"

If you are interested in making one of your own, please let me know! We'd love to offer our advice after making two of these. There are some things we'd do again and some things that were not worth it. If you can't find me, I'll probably be in Hazel's room playing with my her kitchen!