Attractive painted play kitchen?

[Uno-Mom]

Hey brilliant parents! I know there have been play kitchen threads before but I can't find out with exactly my question. So please bear with another one.

We need one for our living room. Our living room is red with kind of retro avacado & blue touches here and there. I'm not an uber-decorator but I do want a play kitchen that doesn't clash horribly, since hopefully Sprog will enjoy it for ages. No plastic. No pink. :)

Any suggestions? I have seen the Melissa and Doug one, which is cute. I like the style. But I'd like to see other options. The size is limited. I can't find my measuring tape right now but the wall space is just about 4 inches wider than the pac 'n play that's there now.

[essnce629]

I like the Guidecraft kitchens, but the all-in-ones might be too long for your space.

All In One Modern Kitchen
http://www.guidecraft.com/product/134265/G97251/_/All_In_One_Modern_Kitchen

All In One Play Kitchen
http://www.guidecraft.com/product/134265/G97249/_/All_In_One_Play_Kitchen

Hideaway Country Kitchen (this one is cool since it actually folds up and can be put away)
http://www.guidecraft.com/product/134265/G97273/_/Hideaway_Country_Kitchen

Kitchenette
http://www.guidecraft.com/product/134265/G97258/_/KITCHENETTE_-_NATURAL

[Uno-Mom]

Wow, those are cool. But *spendy*!

On the other hand, it's basically going to be living room furniture for the next 4-7 years (more if we have another kiddo) so I guess it's worth investing.

[Uno-Mom]

I hope this link posts correctly. I just had to share because the picture disturbed me slightly. For some reason they put the burners in front of the sink. Check out the picture of the little boy with his hand smack on the burner!

http://www.guidecraft.com/product/134265/G97260/_/Toddler_Kitchen_Island

[Snow mom]

You could DIY and paint to match your decor. We did a version of this one:
http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/how-to/how-to-build-a-play-kitchen-from-ikea-components-066719

We painted it to match a table in DDs room. Here it is:
http://i615.photobucket.com/albums/tt233/lisasnow/IMG_0281.jpg

[Uno-Mom]

Snowmom - you rock! Now I'm inspired. Sadly, I probably will end up purchasing one instead because life is so crazy at times.

So, you decided not to put in a sink like the example had? That seems like the trickiest bit if one doesn't have wood-cutting skills.

[essnce629]

I hope this link posts correctly. I just had to share because the picture disturbed me slightly. For some reason they put the burners in front of the sink. Check out the picture of the little boy with his hand smack on the burner!

http://www.guidecraft.com/product/134265/G97260/_/Toddler_Kitchen_Island

It's a 2 sided kitchenette, so one side is just supposed to be the stove and the other side is the sink. It's just like their natural wood kitchenette that I like a lot:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/essnce629/kitchenette.jpg

[Melanie]

If you're stuck on painted, why not buy a natural one and paint it to match your room?

Or what about Ikea, as-is, or painted?
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S49874533

Or DIY your own from Ikea. (http://www.ikeahackers.net/2009/02/whats-cooking.html#uds-search-results)

[WolfpackMom]

Kidkraft Red Retro Kitchen, cute to boot and would match your red retro decor...DS LOVES his!
http://www.amazon.com/KidKraft-53156-Red-Vintage-Kitchen/dp/B001FP3WZO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1298900738&sr=8-1

[Melaine]

Kidkraft Red Retro Kitchen, cute to boot and would match your red retro decor...DS LOVES his!
http://www.amazon.com/KidKraft-53156-Red-Vintage-Kitchen/dp/B001FP3WZO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1298900738&sr=8-1

I was thinking of this one too when you described your colors. My friend has it and it is SO cute. Very gender neutral too.

[karstmama]

i got a wooden one from target. it had pink oven and microwave doors that we repainted red, but it's really cute.

[Snow mom]

Snowmom - you rock! Now I'm inspired. Sadly, I probably will end up purchasing one instead because life is so crazy at times.

So, you decided not to put in a sink like the example had? That seems like the trickiest bit if one doesn't have wood-cutting skills.

We didn't put in a sink but could technically add one if we ever feel lacking. DD likes to play on the top of the kitchen (she often removes the burners) so I didn't think a sink was the best use of space. We do have a jigsaw, which is the best option for putting in a sink IMO. I really like the other IKEA hack that was linked but our space for a play kitchen is limited. It only took about a week to paint and assemble the play kitchen from start to finish (working in the evenings--not a full week!) but it took almost a full year for us to get around to it as we both work FT OTH. DD got it for Christmas right after her second birthday and I like that no one else has an identical kitchen.

[ssjarrett]

It looks like the Target one is white and red right now (they change the color scheme/design each year it seems--we have a blue/red island style one from 2005). It's on sale now, which may mean they are about to change the color again.??

http://www.target.com/PLAY-WONDER-AKC03-Playwonder-Kitchen/dp/B002UIQEIW/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&searchView=grid5&keywords=play%20kitchen&fromGsearch=true&sr=1-5&qid=1298986992&rh=&searchRank=target104545&id=PLAY%20WONDER%20AKC03%20Playwonder%20Kitchen&node=1038576%7C1287991011&searchSize=30&searchPage=1&searchNodeID=1038576%7C1287991011&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_ primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&frombrowse=0

They also have a blue version:

http://www.target.com/52762-Maxim-Wooden-Kitchen-Center/dp/B001DNMHKE/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&searchView=grid5&keywords=play%20kitchen&fromGsearch=true&sr=1-4&qid=1298986992&rh=&searchRank=target104545&id=52762%20Maxim%20Wooden%20Kitchen%20Center&node=1038576%7C1287991011&searchSize=30&searchPage=1&searchNodeID=1038576%7C1287991011&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_ primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&frombrowse=0

Ours has held up well and has been used almost daily for 5+ years!

[kwc]

We have this one from Constructive Playthings... it matched our old kitchen and it is pretty small (like our old kitchen... ha!). It's white with red and blue accents/ knobs.

http://www.cptoy.com/cgi-bin/pf.sh/2.0/product.htm?dept_id=Kitchens&pf_id=KRP-35L

That one from Target is also very cute.

[Kindra178]

Little Colorado. Sooo cute.

www.littlecolorado.com

It's the same one that LON sells. We have the natural one and it's held up well for two years. Made in the USA, which is a huge plus.