Need advice on wooden kitchen!

[stephanie2377]

My son will be 3yo in March and we have another boy on the way. We have decided to get him a kitchen for Christmas. The kitchen in our house is not very big, so I've decided his play kitchen will go into the bonus room over the garage (which will become our playroom)

There isn't a ton of space, so size is an issue. I wanted wooden, and I also was hoping to stay under $150.

Here are three I am looking at:
EuroKitchen by KidKraft
http://www.sensationalbeginnings.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=G+4+135X

French Kitchen from WH Swiss - Educo
http://www.oompa.com/baby-toys/category.cgi?item=WH706920&type=store&review=all

Kidkraft Blue Retro Kitchen
http://www.toytowndreams.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=53141

Does anyone here have any of these kitchens? Even though the first two are small, would they work for a 3yo?

I am leaning towards the French Kitchen because it includes many wooden extras. But, the EuroKitchen is a *bit* bigger and we could always add the refrigerator at a later date. The Retro kitchen is the biggest, but I wonder about the quality. I love that it has a microwave and so much shelving.

I'd love some input!!! Also, is it a big deal if there isn't a refrigerator?

Thanks!
Stephanie

[ellies mom]

If two kids are going to be playing with it, I'd go for the biggest one. We have the Kidkraft pink retro PBK knock-off and it has help up well.

[kijip]

The kidcraft one looks the best for two kids- looks bigger and more detailed to me.

[babyready]

The only one that I have actually seen IRL is the French Kitchen. I liked it but it is pretty small. However, it is beautiful and seems well made. And comes with all those extras. We have the old Target kitchen which is also small and I sorta wish it was bigger but dd doesn't seem to mind at all. And we have had two kids play with it at once and it isn't a huge issue.

That said, I dream of having a fridge. For only one reason: storage. Would make storing all the random sized food and accessories much easier. But I don't think dd would even play with it at this point (she is 3, so maybe when she got older?) A shelf on top would also help with storage and I miss having one of those too (for things like the blender, spices, whatever you may have.) She does often beg for a microwave which is kind of funny and I wouldn't have expected that.

The Euro kitchen seems to have the best of both worlds, pretty compact but with plenty of storage space. I don't know who makes it or what the quality is but it seems like a good deal.

Good luck!

[citymama]

Hi Stephanie,
Just curious: which one did you end up getting, and how's it working out? I'm still undecided between the Kidkraft EuroKitchen and the Educo French Kitchen. I like the look of the Euro much more and think it will work better in our home, but am concerned about quality because KK has discontinued the kitchen (not recalled; just stopped making more) and plus MDF doesn't typically look as nice as wood. The French Kitchen seems smaller and more "dinky" but well-made. Thanks for any feedback - I'm making almost the exact same purchase soon for my 20 month old! :-)

[stephanie2377]

I actually ended with neither! I got the KidKraft Blue Retro Kitchen. I thought the other two would be too small for my 2yo son. We haven't put it together yet since Christmas is still several weeks away. So, I don't have any input beyond that!

I don't know if that helped much. My SIL was looking at the exact same kitchen, but in red from One Step Ahead. She decided to buy the blue retro kitchen since it was around $100 cheaper than the red one!

Good luck!