Crafty Kitchen

Tags

IKEA, play kitchen

So, I was inspired by all the play kitchens on Ohdeedoh, that I knew I just had to build Jude a play kitchen for his birthday. After much toiling in the garage in the heat of July, I am proud to unveil the fruits of my labor. I just love all the little details. Who wouldn’t want to see a Monet when they look out their window while washing dishes?

Should I be sad that my two year old has I stainless steel kitchen, and I don’t? I am so proud of this little kitchen. It’s by no means perfect. For those of us who are not married to firefighter husbands with carpentry skills, you learn a lot of lessons the hard way. I think I had to drill the holes for the hinges on the oven door three times. Once, because I did the door upside down. Then again, because they weren’t the right distance.

Joe did the sawing for me. He cut the hole for the sink and made the little window in the oven door. I don’t blame him for not wanting to hang out in the garage for the next few nights as I continued to mis-measure and mis-drill everything! But eventually, the old desk hutch was transformed into a modern play kitchen.

I also learned that you have to think like a 2 year old when you make these sort of things. The first night after I put the knobs on for the stove, Jude twisted them until the came off. He also pulled the faucet hard enough to loosen it and also pulled one of the coasters off (both fixed by adding more glue). But the kicker was when Jude stood on the oven window and broke it. I used the plexi-type-plastic stuff that went with the Nyttja frame from IKEA to make the faux glass window so it’s not strong like glass. Jude had his kitchen for a total of two hours before he started to destroy it.

I re-purposed a lot of things from around the house for his kitchen. I sewed the curtains under the sink from old dish towels (that were not that absorbent and made terrible dish towels) and the curtains around the picture window were made from a pillow case. The backsplash is made from layered tissue paper that was wallpapered using a glue and water mixture.  I even had a drawer pull that looks like a water tap that I installed on one side for hanging dish towels on, but you can’t see it because we put the kitchen in a corner.

All the work was worth it when Jude saw the mostly finished kitchen for the first time (I say mostly finished because I hadn’t completed the curtains or the “window”). It was like Christmas morning; he was so excited when he saw it. He immediately began to check it out and then later moved on to deconstructing it.

So, I must admit that I love playing with this kitchen. I never had one as a kid, so I am finally filling some  existential void that I have been living with all these years. I like that all the metal rods are the same diameter, so we can move the hooks around and change the kitchen up. Plus, Joe’s family got Jude kitchen stuff, so in addition to a new ice cream sundae kit, Jude also has some cool chef accessories.

For those who are interested, I broke down this project by what items I used, where they were purchased, and approximately how much it cost us. I will say however, that were I to make this kitchen again, I would buy a piece of wood that goes from the floor to the desired height. Currently our kitchen is a little top heavy since the backsplash does not extend to the floor. I mean, after an hour at the home improvement store with a baby that needed lunch and nap, I just took what I could walk out with quickly.

Items	Use	Store	Cost
Desk hutch	Body of the kitchen	Goodwill	$17.31
Faucet & handle Drawer knobs	Pretend sink Stove knobs	Habitat ReStore	$10.83
wooden dowel silver spray paint silicon glue 2’x 4’x .5” MDF panel screws & hinges	Rod for sink curtains Painting stove door Adhering faucet Backsplash/wall	Home Depot & Lowe’s	$28.00
2 Bygel rails 2 packs Bygel s hook Bygel container Bygel wire basket Panna coasters Attest handles Nyttja frame	Curtain rod & pot rack Hooks Utensil holder Fruit basket Burners Stove door & side of kitchen Picture window & oven window	Ikea	$21.55
Already Owned
Molger shelf Sigrid dish towels Bomull pillowcase Veggie steamer bowl Craft tissue paper Old cd’s Impressionist calendar	Wooden shelf Curtains below sink Window curtains Sink Wallpaper Burners Picture for the window	Ikea Ikea Ikea
		TOTAL	$77.69

Mama Bird

I have got the nesting urge. With the baby potentially only 7 weeks away (I’m 33 weeks today) I’ve felt the need to cross some of my to-do’s off my list. The first was baby laundry. I can’t believe how much clothes we have already. Here is a picture of some the shower gifts I have received (of course, ordered by size).

Here’s the laundry basket full of blankets, hooded towels, and larger size baby clothes that I laundered and folded this weekend. Although, there is still more to do.

I also worked on some nursery decorations. Joe and I always make up songs and change them with Liam’s name. We actually pretend that Liam sings these songs…he has quite an extensive collection of classic rock hits with Liam in the lyrics. One thing I said back early in the pregnancy was that we should have a picture called “Liam in the sky with diamonds” as an ode to the Beatles song. This weekend, I finished the picture and put it up in the nursery. I think it’s a cute touch and I an proud of my work.

The finished product.

On the wall.

Last but not least, here I am at 33 weeks. Let me say the heat has already become uncomfortable. I think we are just going to have to suck it up and pay more on our electric bill this summer so I can at least be comfortable at home. Summer camp for work is certainly going to be interesting.

IKEA + Nursery

On Easter Sunday Joe and I went to Ikea for a cinnamon roll and hot dog (okay, we went there to go shopping, but they were a nice snack). We were looking for a bookshelf for the babies room and also snagged a chair, as well. I decided that I just wanted a soft comfortable chair with an ottoman instead of glider, so that we could use the chair in another part of the house later.

 So, we ended up purchasing the Tullsta chair without a slipcover and the Flarke bookcase. I really liked the color of the chair without the slipcover, but I may get one down the road, since it will help to have something I can throw in the washing machine. The bookshelf will probably be painted, since the wood doesn’t quite match the other furniture in the room. But, we were happy with our cheap buys, and now I just need a footrest/ottoman.

So, we brought the furniture home and set it up to see which arrangement looked the best. Poor, Joe. I had him move the furniture 6 or 7 times, before we decided that the first way Joe suggested was probably the best. So, here is the setup we are going with. Still more decorating to do, but we are getting there.

What the room looks like when you first walk in the door.

Better view of the chair and bookshelf.

Crib with all the clothes and blankets inside of it.

IKEA Ideas

Joe and I went to IKEA a few weeks ago to pick up some things for the house or just to get some inspiration. It was fun because it’s pretty cost effective and you get to leave with a lot for little. We got a couple of different things, but a lot of them have just been sitting here, since things have be going sluggish due to returning to work.

So here are are some of the things we got, what we plan to do with them, and if we have actually done it.

• PICTURED – Energy efficient light bulbs and two bathroom shelves (one has been put together, none have been put up, and one has to go back)
• PICTURED – Wall shelves and frames (shelves and frames are up, only one frame has a picture, and I have rearranged everything since taking this picture)
• PICTURED – Casserole dish and small square plates. The plates are for desserts and small things. We always tend to dirty the big dishes for nothing. I’ve used the casserole to make a pot pie, have yet to use the dishes.
• PICTURED – Duvet set for the guest bedroom. Finally put it on the bed. It was washed and sitting on the floor for at least a week.
• PICTURED – A rug for the new office that is supposed to go under the desk so that we don’t scratch the wood floors with the desk chair. It is officially under the desk, but still in the old office. We have yet to move anything up front.
• New dog bed for Liam. It was a basket that was only $5. We put his blankets and his pillow in it. He has only used it once or twice.
• Cinnamon roll and hot dog ($1.50 total) that we consumed at the beginning of the trip so that we would have the energy to walk through that store!

         

     

Wood floors

Joe & I installed woodfloors in the dining room. We have decided that we are going to use that space as an office since we already have a breakfast area and we don’t need a formal dining room. It was pretty easy, or so I had advertised, until we reached the end. All the finishing was much harder than the actual laying of the floor boards.

But, we think it looks great. Now we just need to move some furniture in there.

Can you see all the dust on the lens?

All done!