Remember how we DIYed Clara a play kitchen last Christmas? Well, it was such a hit then (and still is – in fact it’s probably one of the only toys that she plays with every day) we immediately knew that we should add to it. More kitchen = more fun, right?
What can you add to a play kitchen like ours? Well, it was clearly lacking a frigid kitchen staple. You know, a refrigerator. So we quickly homed in on that as an easy way to upgrade Clara’s setup. And the decision was made even easier by the fact that we had another cabinet leftover from the kitchen remodel that we had been hoarding saving for nearly a year in the basement with this play-kitchen “expansion” in mind.
It was from the Habitat for Humanity Restore (maybe for $15? I can’t remember and the receipt is loooong gone) and we had considered using it for above our fridge, but then found one that was a better size. So this puppy has been sitting in our basement for over a year now, just waiting to be fridge-ified. But it had some obvious shortcomings before it was ready for its kitchen close-up. Observe:
But if it’s got a problem, yo I’ll solve it. Check out the look while my drill bit revolves it. (whisper this part: Ice, Ice, baby. Ice, ice, baby). Yup, $herdog isn’t the only one who can spit mad rhymes.
Fixing those aforementioned problems wasn’t too bad. First I removed both of the doors and added three shelves inside using one 10″ wide piece of pine board that I grabbed at Home Depot for $6 (which was the width of the cabinet). I attached each shelf with some simple screws straight through each side as you can see from the photo above.
Here it is with the shelves added. If I were doing a real “to scale” refrigerator I would’ve added more shelves closer together. But from Clara’s experience with her current play kitchen, the wide shelves are easiest for her to maneuver in (and some of her items are around 6″ tall, so spacing these shelves 7″ apart seemed to be the most functional. Neither of us had any great expectations that our creation would ever hit a super high level of fridge realism anyways… we just want the kid to have fun.
Next up, I wanted to cover the recessed portion of each side so that it would be a flat box (plus it would cover up my screw holes from the shelf-adding step). So I used my table saw to cut some panels of plywood to size and then used wood glue to secure them in place. These were the first items I purchased since I didn’t have them in my scrap wood pile, and they ran me $8 for all of the wood that I used on both sides.
Here’s my fancy step of letting my glue dry, with the help of clamps and some heavy objects to keep the plywood pressed flush to the cabinet.
Here’s how it was coming along after both sides and a top panel were done. It was definitely starting to look less like the bedraggled old cabinet that we started with.
Before painting, we lightly sanded the finish off of the doors and the face of the cabinet – just like we do when we’re painting kitchen cabinets for real.
We also thought a fun feature of her fridge would be to make the front magnetic – just like the real deal. So I busted out the can of magnetic primer that we still have plenty of (even after this project and this project). We did three coats, since we’ve found that to be stronger than one (tip: shake the heck out of it before applying it so all the magnetized particles don’t settle to the bottom of the can).
Here are the doors all primed with the magnetic stuff and the rest of it primed with just normal primer (Zinsser Smart Prime, which is low-VOC – it’s actually the same stuff we used for our real kitchen cabinets and we still had it leftover).
Once that was all dry, it was time to get our paint on. While some sort of silver or grey on the outside might have looked stainless-ish, we thought it would be nice if this guy fit in with Clara’s existing white play kitchen. But because we can’t resist a little bit o’ “fancy” we painted the inside a light blue with a small quart of paint that was leftover from a few book projects (Sylvan Mist by Benjamin Moore). You know, to lend an air of “cool” to the thing.
Once the inside was “chilled” with blue paint, we painted the outside surfaces semi-gloss white (Decorators White by Benjamin Moore – which we just always seem to have around for painting trim, the office cabinets, etc). It only took us one coat on the outside framing thanks to the white primer that we added first, but the doors took three coats to cover all of that black magnetic primer. But once it was all said and done, I reattached the doors with some new hinges and added some pulls that matched the rest of her kitchen. Those were the only other items that we purchased for the fridge-building project (also from Home Depot like the plywood) and they came to $5.25 for all the hinges and $6 each for the long fridge-ish hardware pulls – which were 7″ long for anyone wondering.
Then we thought it would be fun to give the fridge a logo of sorts, to help it look less like a cabinet and more like a fridge (we thought crazy-gluing them in place would help them stick for the long haul). So Sherry found these scrap-booking stickers at Michael’s that were as close to stainless steel as we could find. We thought one of the snowflakes could be a cool logo-ish-looking icon next to the name of our fictitious appliance brand.
We had a nice spirited debate as to whether it should be called “Cool” or “Chilly.” This is what happens when two former advertisers get into a branding discussion.
Ultimately we decided on cool… but we weren’t 100% sure so we just softly stuck them up there without any crazy glue on them quite yet. Just to get a feel for our little logo idea. Then we both stood there staring at it for a while and realized that it was a lot cooler in our minds. Hah. And in real life it just seemed kind of cheesy on the otherwise clean front (there’s not any lettering on Clara’s original kitchen, so maybe we were going overboard with this addition on the fridge). Plus, Sherry was convinced that Clara would peel them off in 2.2 seconds – even with crazy glue (perhaps ripping corners of them off, digging at them with blocks, etc). But here’s a pic of how it might’ve looked had we stuck with it…
But now you get to see the whole shebang all finished and ready for Christmas morning. I hope you’re all gently shaking jingle bells and/or playing various holiday-songs, because here’s what Clara’s gonna wake up to Christmas morning:
Yup, there’s Clara’s new fridge (okay, it sort of could double as a pantry too) next to her kitchen from last year, plus a little food cart that we’ll get to in a minute. And of course, you can’t give someone a fridge without stocking it full of food, right?
For the most part this is actually play food that we already owned. We’d purchased a bunch to give her last year, but after seeing how well the few sets of play food that she opened last Christmas had entertained her, we opted not to shove two more boxes down her present-riddled throat and instead planned to wait a while and introduce them later in the year when she was getting bored of a few other toys that we could phase out. Little did we know that those two boxes would sit unused in the spare room for an entire year. How did a whole year pass? Doesn’t it feel like we were just sharing Clara’s play kitchen a week ago?
Most of it is Melissa and Doug stuff that we scored on Joss & Main at a nice deep discount. I personally love the bologna.
We also supplemented with a few “DIYed” items of our own. For example, we picked up (and emptied) a couple of these teeny tiny Ben & Jerry’s cartons. I took one for the team and downed both of them in about four scoops.
Sherry also found these wooden eggs and egg crates at Michael’s to fill out what apparently is the dairy shelf in her fridge. One day – maybe around Easter? – we might even decorate them with Clara as a fun holiday activity. The funny thing is that Clara met Santa a little while ago (yes, the real one who hangs out at community events) and asked him for “eggs for her kitchen” so we thought that was sweet enough to warrant an actual crate of eggs. Make that two.
Also at Michael’s Sherry found these little Chinese takeout containers. You know, so Clara can pretend she has some leftover General Tso’s or something.
Oh yeah, and about that cart…
It was a thrift store find at one of our favorite local places. It was $5 and it was already this color, which was a pretty lucky break considering how many other strange colors it could have been. Clara actually helped us bring it home, so hopefully we didn’t just damage the illusion of Santa there.
We thought it’d be a great addition to the kitchen set because Clara has gotten a lot of fun out of a little wire fruit/veggie basket that she already has. And since this one is large enough to hold all of her produce along with some pantry-ish items on the bottom and it wheels around, hopefully it’ll add up to hours of enjoyment.
As for a budget breakdown, here’s how this little fridge & rolling cart full of food stacked up:
- Cabinet – already owned (maybe $15 originally?)
- Wood for shelves & sides – $14
- Primer & paint – already owned
- New hinges from Home Depot- $5.25
- 7″ hardware handles from Home Depot- $12
- Stickers that we never used – $5 (with 50% coupon from Michael’s)
- Thrift store cart – $5
- Wooden eggs, crates, & takeout containers – $6 (with 50% coupon from Michael’s)
- Tiny Ben & Jerry’s ice cream cartons – $2.50
- Other play food – already owned (about $30 originally)
- TOTAL: $50.75 (it would probably cost around $95 if you didn’t already have the cabinet and the play-food on hand)
Under $51 for both the fridge and the cart isn’t too bad, right? The play kitchen from last year rung in at 74 beans, so it’s nice to add two other kitchen items for less. The only thing that’s missing are some grocery store gift cards so Clara can take care of some of the items on her shopping list…
Oh and the magnetized doors are worth the effort, so we highly recommend those if you’re in the mood to add some “extra sauce” to your fridge. We can both picture Clara hanging little drawings that she does on Post-Its and someday writing her own lists in sloppy kid-handwriting.
We’ll be sure to share video or photos of Clara actually receiving her gift, just like we did last year, so stayed tuned for that. And oh yeah, if you were wondering what mystery room we shot these photos in… it’s the playroom, which still has walls painted in a bunch of random colors from shooting our book back in February. This particular wall is Sylvan Mist by Benjamin Moore (the same color that we used on the inside of the fridge, so we cracked up when we realized that).
So, are any of you other “Santas” out there whipping up something in your workshop for next week? Are your kids as obsessed with play food (specifically play eggs) as our daughter? Do you find it funny that play fruits and veggies are usually life sized but most of the “pantry items” are at least half of their normal size (even when they’re made by the same company)? I’ll pause while you ponder that.
Psst- I grabbed a quick video of Clara playing with her kitchen the other morning, so that’s over on Young House Life for ya.
John @ Our Home from Scratch says
That’s a sweet project. Way to “take one for the team” on that ice cream haha! It’s always nice when eating and DIYing cross paths.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, John was so dedicated to eating that ice cream. You know, for Clara.
xo
s
Sarah Bucior says
We are making the doll house for our kids this Christmas and I can’t wait! Especially because it will have some of the things in my doll house that I had when I was little. I think we will wallpaper some of the rooms but I was also going to go get some peel-n-stick samples for the flooring too. Wahoo!
Cassie says
I’m worried that I shattered the illusion this year. My 3 year old found some stocking stuffers in the cart and was obsessed, so I hope she doesn’t recognize them when she gets into her stocking….
The same daughter is obsessed with my little pony, but the new cartoon has very little merchandise outside of toys that don’t look like the ponies and T-shirts at hot topic, so I’ve been researching all I can about taking care of iron on shirts and how to make them look less like “hey guys, mom iron Rainbow Dash on a T-shirt for me!” I’ve ordered the stuff and can’t wait until they get here to make them!
I’m also making a quilt for my youngest. She LOVES blankets, and when she was a baby, she got 8 receiving blankets that she quickly outgrew and I hid away for one day when I would make her a quilt,
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds so cute! Such sweet gifts!
xo
s
Jessica says
You two are a-mazing.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw shucks, thanks Jessica.
xo
s
Sarah W says
So cool! (or should I say chilly?)
Thanks to you I convinced my sister to make a play kitchen for my two year old nephew this year. She had been looking for a deal on a play kitchen, and I was like, “Why don’t you just make one?” and sent her a link to Clara’s kitchen project.
Apparently it was enough inspiration for them, so one lucky little boy is getting a homemade play kitchen for Christmas!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so sweet!
xo
s
Kristen says
This is too cute! We are currently working on a dollhouse for my little one modeled after the one you made for Clara. Thanks for all the inspiration!
Janet says
My niece just turned 1. Can’t wait til she is ready for a play kitchen – maybe at her half birthday?
My aunt just picked up that same exact cart for me from a thrift store in teal. It currently stores baby food.
Andrea says
One day I really hope to be as great of a mother as Sherry and for my husband to be as fabulous a father as John. You guys really inspire me. Love love love.
YoungHouseLove says
Awww, thanks Andrea! You’re too sweet.
-John
Tanja says
That kitchen is so much cuter than anything you could have bought ready made at a store!
Erin Jacob says
So fun! I am making two American Girl doll trunks for my nieces. They have a drawer for shoes, hang-bar for clothes, and the other side has room to hold two of the American Girl dolls in it. I can’t wait to give them their gifts!
I also made a train/activity table for my nephew out of a chair I bought from a thrift store that didn’t quite “work out”.
Brad @ Mr. Write Away says
I love this play kitchen! It’s so much fun, but what I may like more is the “Ice, Ice, Baby” reference (hilarious). Everytime I hear that song, I immediately think of Britney’s dance on X Factor. I’m not sure if you watch it or not, but you can check out my post for a quick glimpse… http://mrwriteaway.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-k-factor.html
On another note, I’ve never realized the sizing issue with the play food until you pointed it out… so thanks John. I’ll be thinking about that and singing Vanilla Ice the rest of the day.
YoungHouseLove says
LOL, that gif is awesome. Especially with the crazy cut outs in the middle of her dress.
-John
Paige says
OMG LOVE it! You’re so cool!
Andrea R. says
Awwwww!!!! That is so sweet & cool! It almosts makes me wish i had a girl to do projects like this!!!! (2 boys instead…).
Mary @ Ms Redo says
Oh, sweet Clara, you’re going to have one awesome Christmas!!! Great job, John & Sherry! It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at your house. Mary
Jen@The Decor Scene says
LOVE IT!!! So cute. Clara is going to be so excited. Can’t wait to see her play with her newly expanded kitchen. :)
Nicole says
I love it, and I know Clara will too! I cannot wait until my 9 month old is ready for a play kitchen. I’m so looking forward to watching the video of Clara “opening” it on Christmas morning… I’m getting teary eyed just thinking about it!
Anne says
Super fab, you two! I just love picturing her playing at it. What a sweet kitchen. She’ll love it!!
I will second and third an earlier comment about the shaking of the primer. Heck, I wish I’d had them shake it in the shaker in the paint mixing station at Home Depot. There was a major gelatinous blob at the bottom of my can. (I had shaken it some but obviously not enough.) I’ve got three thin coats on my chalkboard, and it barely, barely feels magnetic. Here’s hoping the chalkboard paint goes on better. I think I’ll try a couple more coats of the magnetic though.
Is your giant chalkboard hardboard? I was going to get hardboard, but then, my dad found a huge piece in the junk pile at HD. We got that instead, but I am not sure I’ll like the writing surface of it, even after the painting. Thanks, guys!!
YoungHouseLove says
Our chalkboard is a bit piece of plywood. I don’t remember the exact wood, but the surface is pretty good for writing, though definitely rough in a few spots.
-John
Kaija Kantola says
So cool!
How about lights inside?
YoungHouseLove says
Something we considered, but she never ended up using the light we put in the stove last year so we opted to keep it simple this year and go without one.
-John
Christina @ Homemade Ocean says
“But if it’s got a problem, yo I’ll solve it. Check out the look while my drill bit revolves it. (whisper this part: Ice, Ice, baby. Ice, ice, baby). Yup, $herdog isn’t the only one who can spit mad rhymes.”
That just made my day….fo sho’
Jennifer says
Clara is a lucky little lady! I would’ve died to get a kitchen like this when I was younger!
My husband and I have two boys (6 and 2) who are the ultimate adventurers with great little imaginations who also happen to share a room. We are DIY-ing an A-frame tent for them and bought each a headlamp to wear while they hang out together and hopefully make lots of fun memories!
Merry Christmas!
Xo,
Jenn
Amanda says
This is too cute. My husband and I are not handy (outside of wiring/electrical projects anyway), but I think I may have to try to do something like this when I have kids. This is such a thoughtful, creative gift; I’m sure Clara will love it!
April says
That fridge is awesome! She is gonna love it!
Mari says
It might be to big for the fridge but there is a great Fridge Upgrade Magnet out there that looks like an ice dispencer. It says it even dispenses gravy!
YoungHouseLove says
No way, that’s awesome!
-John
Sara says
I found the perfect mini entertainment center on Craigslist to make our boys a play kitchen. It was L-shaped and I would have been able to create a fridge, sink, stove/oven all in one. Unfortunately, after several attempts to contact the poster I gave up on that “perfect” piece. Instead, it took 3 visits scouring the cabinets & home furniture sections at our Habitat store to find a small cabinet to make a sink/stove combo. Fingers crossed Santa will have that completed for Christmas! :-)
Hillary says
My husband and I DIYed a play kitchen for our oldest daughter when she was turning 3. She just turned 10 this year and she and her younger sister and all their friends STILL play with the kitchen. We made it taller than the average play kitchen, because our kids are taller than the average kid, but I didn’t expect them to be using it still. 4th and 5th graders in a play kitchen?? When my girls have free time, they choose to read, craft or play in the kitchen. It was a great investment in their childhood! It sounds like Clara will get just as much joy out of hers!
SingleMama says
That is absolutely darling!
Katrina says
Love the fridge. Perhaps we should DIY one of our own this year.
We are making a little play house for our kiddos using PVC piping and (lots and lots of ) canvas cloth. We wanted to be able to move it to different places in our house (including outside) and to store it when it’s not in use, so PVC piping and connectors worked perfectly. I’m working on sewing the canvas cover now – working with that much yardage at once is tough – and trying to figure out how to make windows in the middle of two walls! We could have bought one, but we love that our version allows adults to stand up straight (I know we’ll be spending plenty of time playing in it too). Hopefully we can finish it before Christmas!
Ashley@AttemptsAtDomestication says
The little fridge is awesome! And good call on the magnet paint! What little kid doesn’t love magnets?
Taina Cunningham says
The most AMAZING gift EVER!!! I can’t waittttt to have a baby so I can make them amazing gifts like these :( You guys rock!!! Merry, Merry Christmas!!
Laura M says
You guys rock!!! Adopt me!
Robin @ our semi organic life says
Adorable! Love Love of Jesus!
MeandWee says
This came out so beautifully! I wanted to comment on the worrying about the Santa illusion. We get around this by telling our daughter that we give gifts to each other at Christmas to celebrate Jesus’ birthday. And Santa brings her presents too. So, on the big day, a few gifts (usually 2 or 3?) are from Santa. Usually the “hand made” looking ones or what elves might be able to make…LOL. Something she asked for might also be from Santa. The rest are from Mommy and Daddy and one is from her baby brother. She knows we’ve done some shopping for her gifts, but we also talk about “wondering what Santa will bring” and “we’re sure she’s been a good girl and she’ll get a present from Santa.” We also talk to her about what SHE wants to give Daddy for Christmas, or to her brother…so she can get into the “giving” spirit. She’s only 3, but she’s starting to really get the idea. Hugs to you guys! Such love has gone into your gifting; it’s an inspiration.
Jayme says
How weird is it that I was going to ask if you were going to make Clara a fridge a few weeks ago? I was even going to link to those handles because I thought they were realistically “fridgy”.
I just told my husband that you made the fridge and he reminded me that I was going to ask you about it. How freaky. Maybe I’m psychic lol.
I can’t wait for next year when my daughter with be 1 1/2 and I can attempt to build her a play kitchen. (By that I mean nag my husband to build it and then I will paint it and claim all the credit. Ha!)
Jess @ Little House. Big Heart. says
Adorbs! I love this!
It makes me wish either a) there were little ones around the Little House to make one of these kitchens for or b) my nieces lived closer and I could make one for them.
Probably b.
PS. Are you planning on attaching the fridge to the wall? It looks like it could be a little top heavy and be pulled over.
YoungHouseLove says
We were worried about it possibly tipping over, but it actually feel pretty sturdy. But we’re gonna keep a close eye on it when she actually starts to play and will affix it to the wall (or to the rest of the kitchen) so we don’t have to worry.
-John
Whitney Dupuis says
So cute! I can’t wait to see her reaction to it!!!
Emma says
Wonderful!! You two are so good at making crazy cool kid stuff :)
Emily U says
I’m using your kitchen project from last year to build my own little lady a play kitchen of her own too! Complete with a cabinet from the Restore and everything. Thanks for being such a great inspiration to all of us.
I’m in the middle of the painting step now. Can’t wait till that’s done and the fun accessorizing can begin!
YoungHouseLove says
Woo hoo! Hope your little one loves it!
-John
Kristin Friesen says
Super cute! I’ve been making lots of gifts this year too. My boys (2 & 6) are each getting a no-sew fleece blanket, my oldest is getting a handmade Creature Power Suit (from Wild Kratts, if you aren’t familiar), and my little one is getting a homemade play table. The play table is just a coffee table from goodwill with 3 different tops that can be switched out – a train top, a lego top, and a chalkboard top. The tops are secured to the table with bolts on all 4 corners and the extras stack under the one in use for easy storage. Definitely the coolest thing I’ve ever built/made, I’m super excited to give it to him next week! :)
Anne says
Awesome gifts, Kristin! What lucky boys. :) Fun to see other Wild Kratt fans…..our boys were WKs for Halloween, though different colors because my older son (almost 5) likes orange. So, he was an orange Kratt and my toddler was yellow. Your play table sounds really cool. Have a Merry Christmas! :)
Meggen says
Very cute, fun for all!
You should add a couple spice racks to the inside doors for extra condiment storage!
Joanie says
Looks great! Please add a base to the refrigerator because now it is out of scale with the rest of the kitchen. I know I have a problem with scale…even as a kid my Brother’s star wars men could not play with my Barbies unless they were all designated Jawas….
But I think adding a base to this refrigerator would look beautiful and there is still time before Christmas.
Great Blog – Merry Christmas!
Thais Bessa says
Too cute!!!! Can’t wait to see her reaction! About the Santa mystery you can always say that mommy and daddy got the cart and Santa the fridge! :)
One idea: maybe you can add some spice racks (there is a very cheap wooden one at Ikea) on the inside of the doors, so the fridge has bottle shelves like a real fridge?
YoungHouseLove says
We actually thought about something like that. Right now the interior shelves might be not be shallow enough to allow for much of a shelf on the inside to be big enough to actually hold stuff, but small enough to still let the door shut. But maybe that will be an upgrade down the line!
-John
Stefanie says
Squeeeee!!!! I love it!
So, when can I come over and play?
No?
Wendy says
Oh my gosh, this is so adorable and thoughtful! Great job. If we had human childrean (in addition to our four legged kiddos), we would definitely tackle a project like this!
Val says
My play-kitchen obsession was already getting way out of hand, but you guys may have just pushed me over the edge. A magnetic fridge!!! Ahhh!! And all the food!! Ahhh!! I don’t know what I’m going to do if this baby here grows up to be completely uninterested in pretend-cooking. I’ll just have to play by myself and hope no one takes pictures.
Zoë says
I absolutely love it! Clara is such a lucky girl!
I have always wanted a scaled down play kitchen for my kids, but we have never had any room for it, so we make do with a microwave, food mixer, coffee pot and stove top. My kids are now 8, almost 5, and 2, but I still want to get a mini kitchen before it’s too late. Maybe I should get rid of some of my stuff just so they can have it. Or should I just wait for grandchildren?
You’re lucky we don’t live in Richmond or we’d be knocking on the door for a playdate so we can get a play kitchen fix.
Julia @ Chris Loves Julia says
So so so sweet. I LOVE it.
Jessica says
I’ve been busy making gifts for everyone but the people I have to give gifts to. In other words, I’m DIY’ing for cash…lol. A friend of mine wanted to get her niece a cute apron to go along with her play kitchen that Santa is bringing, so I whipped one up for her. I’ve also been crocheting hats and scarves and so many other things that people have ordered. Too bad I didn’t set aside enough time to make things for my own giftees. lol :)
Jennifer says
This looks so amazing! What a lucky girl! I would have loved to have this as a little girl!
Nora says
I read hummus on the grocery list as humans at first. I was a little concerned. Ha!
YoungHouseLove says
LOL!
-John
Abby says
Wow! This is fantastic. What awesome and creative parents Clara has!!! I mean, you guys could have just went out and bought one but instead, you put hard work and love into this and I am sure she will cherish this FOREVER and then maybe even her kids will do so (and at that point, it’ll be antiques). I think what you guys did is great.What a good idea! Now she just needs a cute little rug to go in the kitchen. :)