Xpost: My review of Pink Retro Kitchen

[WooChx]

I've been saving for the PBK set and was going to purchase at the F&F sale. I took a chance last night and bought the KidKraft/Costco kitchen. For $150 I think it will work out great. We all ready have the PBK Washer/Dryer and the color match is almost perfect, I would call it complimentary. Yes, some of the PBK stuff is taller, but not by very much. The materials, craftsmanship and look are almost identical.

My DD just turned 2 years and is 85th% for height. The KK sink/stove combo comes up to her chest so there is room to grow. The bells and whistles are just as nice as the PBK version. In a few years - IF she is even still interested in it, I'll place it on a simple 2 or 3 inch raiser and spray painted silver to match. IF she has outgrown the concept parting with the lesser expensive kitchen will be easier on me. This one piece saved me $350.00!!!

The KK fridge is definitely much smaller than the PBK one, since my DD is young it is now the perfect height. As she grows it could be placed under some sort of countertop or table and used as a mini-fridge. (I'll bet when she is older she will be begging for a mini-fridge in her room!) This piece came to a $175 savings.

Yesterday when I was making the big decision about which set to purchase I had to ground myself in reality. Remembering that the point of the bulletin board is to save money and that my child is 2 years old and that our house needs a $650 kitchen make-over WAY more than she does!! I took a chance and I think I made the right call. Of course, now I can use the extra $400 I saved to purchase all of the cool accessories like the Land of Nod retro diner table!

KidKraft
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/35766.jpg

PBK
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/35767.jpg

[94bruin]

How would you compare the finish on the KK/costco one vs the PBK one?

Also, do you have any pictures of your costco one?

Trying to decide if the KK one is the one for us (before costco runs out!)

[bwbutters]

Can anyone else who has bought this kitchen comment on it? Will the pink get annoying? Are 2 pieces more versatile or more limiting? Is the size good a young child?

I think it looks adorable and am eyeing it as a Christmas gift for my DD but am concerned about two things:

(1) Will it be too short in a couple of years (of course people say you can always build a platform for them)
(2) Are we better off going with a one piece kitchen that has more shelf storage (but I like how these are more realistic looking and you can always add a self to the play area, right?)

Thoughts? I don't want to buy something with the intention of possibly replacing it with another one in a couple of years.

Why are kitchen decisions so difficult? I think I spent less time picking out things for my own kitchen than I have debating what to get my DD.

Does anyone have any pictures of it in use they can share?
Thanks!

[dules]

I didn't buy it but I saw it in store and my DD wanted to climb up to the display (about 4 feet up) to play with it. ;) It's really, really cute and looks like a fabulous kitchen esp for the $.

It is however really small, and by that I mean short. IMO it would be great for young kids and for more petite kids but if you have, say, a tall 2 year old you'll probably want to have a plan to add height at some point. (Still probably much cheaper than the PBK set).

FWIW we use our fridge for storage. DD will go to it for "milk" etc. but it's also where the pots and pans and play food are stored. I wouldn't worry too much about storage as long as the kitchen you choose has some sort of cabinet, shelf, etc. where you can put things.

Good luck!

Mary

[WooChx]

It's been almost 2 months since we purchased the KK set at Costco and I'm still impressed with it. I'm so glad I did not shell out the money for the PBK version.

We have the PBK washer/dryer which is just a bit (maybe 1 or 2 inches) taller than the KK fridge. The fridge is taller than I previously indicated. When I wrote the first review it was still in pieces and I was only looking at the size of the top door. I did not take into account there was a bottom section to the fridge.

I am purchasing the PBK dishwasher for xmas, looking at it in the store it is a very short piece so it should fit well. I recommend getting at least one of the PBK pieces simply because KK only comes with 2 (fridge & sink/stove until).

I should also have mentioned that the KK stove only has 2 burners and the PBK stove has 4. It's a trivial point and I like having the extra play space in the room. Besides, the food moves quickly from the stove to the table.

The finish is the same on the KK and PBK sets. A shiney, pink, lamenant. The color is only slightly off, which most of the time I don't even notice.

I still like the pink color, but the play room has many colors so it blends well.

I'm not going to worry about the 1 or 2 inch difference in height. At some point the PBK set would have been too short for her as well. Saving the extra $400 was huge. I splurged on the silver Ikea Billy bookcase which is the perfect compliment and the Land of Nod red retro diner table - the play room looks fabulous now! I'll try and post a pic soon.

[greatcanuk]

In case anyone is interested, Linen's N Things has a knock-off of the Kidkraft Pink Retro Kitchen, but with no fridge, for $99 incl. shipping (a knock-off of the knock-off). The only thing is that from the dimensions it is tiny, but that may be better for some people. It's made by Cooking for Kids.

[The Review Mommy]

Thanks for posting! :)

I'm pretty sure you can use the 20% off coupons (from LNT or Bed Bath & Beyond) to purchase the kitchen.

http://www.lnt.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2325496&cp&origkw=kids&kw=kids&parentPage=search

Rebekah

[ellies mom]

Here is my bit of the review.

Set it up early. Do not wait for Christmas Eve.

Ours had a few problems and we probably should have exchanged it but we decided that it wasn't worth the bother. I'd have been really pissed to have found out that there were problems too late to have gotten another one.

Other than that, it is really sweet.

[MMMommy]

That's a good price for the Linens n' Things kitchen. It actually doesn't look much smaller to me than the Kidkraft Retro Kitchen Set from Costco. Thanks for posting.

[MMMommy]

Kidkraft will send out replacements parts free of charge. They are pretty good about that. I had a problem with some chipped pieces on a different product, and they sent out replacements parts quickly, no questions asked. Just a thought in case you want to request some replacements parts--that way, you won't have to bother with the exchange and you won't have to settle for any less than perfect parts.

[ellies mom]

Do you think they will send out a whole side? The left side of the stove split near the front. You can't see it from the outside but you can when you open the door. I guess it is worth a try. Thanks for the suggestion!

[MMMommy]

Honestly, I think they will send you a whole side and whatever else you need. I've read from other moms that Kidkraft has sent out all the replacement parts that they needed. Definitely go to their website and go to their "order parts" section where you can type in your product's item number or description. If your item doesn't show up, you can call their customer service number to get the necessary part or parts. No charge and no cost to you, so I would definitely not settle for a part that is less than acceptable to you.

[martycw]

For those who have the kidkraft version - - would you be able to paint it (I don't want pink!)

[greatcanuk]

For those of you who wanted the Kidkraft Retro Kitchen in another color besides pink, there's a compact blue retro kitchen island:

http://www4.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?DeptID=42249&CatID=42881&GrpTyp=PRD&ItemID=1207459&attrtype=&attrvalue=&CmCatId=42249|42448|42881

(I thought it funny that it's a boy in the picture this time.)

It's on sale for $199.99 at JCPenney, plus you could sign up for the F&F sale on 8/12/07 for 20% off, and go through Ebates or Mr.Rebates for 4% cash back. A quick google search shows that other retailers have it too, since I didn't factor in shipping.

Camille

[brittone2]

I've never seen that one. Cute! So glad to see a blue one out there :)

**I** want a new kitchen for the kiddos, but I'm having trouble justifying. We found a curbside one when DS was 15 months, rehabbed it a bit and were planning on ordering a nicer one eventually. Well, he's 3.5, still plays with the thing daily, and no complaints...so I guess we should save ourselves the money.

This one is pretty cute though ;)

[1964pandora]

Would someone please tell me about this? How much would the discount be, and when is it? TIA!