Handmade kids wood kitchen for under $100

My little girl is growing up and I wanted to get her a little kitchen to play with.  I had heard of people turning old entertainment centers into kitchens and decided to try it out.  While I was measuring to see what would fit I saw my corner desk and knew it would be perfect for this project!  I asked my husband if he was attached to the desk, and although he was reluctant he eventually agreed to let me cut it up.

Before this project I had never used any power tools, so if I could do it I promise you can too!  And although I used some materials I had (the desk I started with, the paint, the faucet) I shopped for inexpensive items and made the whole thing for just over $50!  Even if you had to buy the paint you could do this project in under $100.

Materials I used:
Desk
Drill
Screws
Corner braces
Cabinet hardware
Old cooling rack or wire rack for the oven
3/4 MDF wood if building cabinets
1 metal bowl (for sink)
Faucet
jigsaw
plexiglass
dishes/phone (to saved money buy used from Craigslist or a thrift store)
12 old CDs
4 oven knobs
4 nails
Paint
Primer
Paint brushes
1 picture frame
scrap of fabric for the curtains
picture to fit frame for window
saw/table saw if you are building cabinets
Drawer tracks for dishwasher
Baskets for dishwasher
Hinges for the cabinet doors
Wood glue
hot glue
Super glue

Step 1 To start...

To start I took a desk I already had and measured it all.  I wrote down all of the measurements so I could make a pattern.  I wanted to build cabinets under the desk, but if you started with an entertainment center you could put the sink and stove where the TV is supposed to be and the cabinets would already be built in.

For my pattern I put the bottom shelf 4 inches above the ground.  I did a piece of wood from the ground to the bottom of the shelf 2 inches in.

I took apart the whole desk and cut 6 inches off of each leg so the desktop was 23 1/2 inches high.

Comments

[Hunrichse]

i think this instructable its the best one i had ever seen. Its reminds me my childhood and how i've always wanted to live in a small sized house just for me.
If only

congrats

[janedoemn]

This is instructable is the reason I love this site. So freaking awesome. Your little girl is very lucky to have such a creative parent!!

[baldfg]

Absolutly brilliant!

[GpaSteve]

Thats if very cool. I may have to do something similar for my grand kids.
Great Job !!!

[frugalinfrisco]

Clearly, a lot of time and love went into this project! My own children aren't young enough to enjoy this anymore, but I do remember when they were, and the hours they would spend playing "House" with their little kitchen. I also remember how much we spent on that little kitchen, and at the time, it was a huge sacrifice to spend so much money so that Santa could leave it under the Christmas tree! Oh, that we would have had the creativity to have built one ourselves. The instructions included with this project are so concise and easy to follow. Really a remarkable effort. I've viewed most of the contest entries so far, and in my opinion, very few come close to deserving the top prize as much as this one. Good luck!!!

[DevinlGarner]

Loved it!! Your pretty amazin', You must be related to the garners!

[jessandstavro]

The dishwasher is my favourite too! You put so much work into this, fantastic job!

[jessandstavro]

The hardware store really is a gold mine, isn't it!? So clever to find replacement knobs!

[jessandstavro]

No way! This is so awesome! I want my 'ible to win, but I'm totally voting for you! I have two boys and think they would love a little kitchen. Great inspiration, thank you!!

[mooseplatypus]

I love this. It is such a great idea and you've done it so well, It looks fantastic!

[jeffhollan]

That's amazing! I hope you win this contest. I've never seen anything like this, so creative, and so simple. I'd be amazed if the judges don't give this very high marks. :)

[sunshiine]

This is very good! Thanks for sharing your hard work!

[nneul]

That's pretty cute. I bet she loves it.

[The Papier Boy]

That's fantastic. We've been looking around for a kitchen set for our 2 year old. I hadn't considered making my own. Until now.

[mikeasaurus]

Great craftsmanship, at first glance I couldn't even tell the scale. Nice job!