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| Most of the children's furniture in our basement is very old, so I decided that any additions made to our collection should be vintage or antique looking as well.The oven rack on the inside came from an old refrigerator. The copper lobster mold, miniature iron skillet and tin nutmeg cylinder came from a resale shop. The tin log cabin syrup container from my own pantry. The bread is not real, I picked up this pretend loaf in a garage sale. |
The first of several child furnishings I have created using old junk furniture. Because the majority of children's furniture in my collection is either stained and varnished or painted blue, I decided to restore and paint this little kitchen stove top/oven bright red. I have yet to purchase the oven light but I am very pleased with my efforts thus far. I can't wait to fill the top drawer with pots and pans.
The "Elbow Grease"
I think this heavy duty piece of furniture was intended to be used on a patio? Then someone's teenager painted it black to use in a very tacky bedroom no doubt.
I purchased it from a resale shop. There was cat hair stuck to the black painted surfaces as well. It cost me six dollars. The cashier could not believe that I was seriously interested in it! I loved the "Deco" handles, and the wood was sturdy.
I asked her, "Can you imagine this looking like a play kitchen?" She then took another look at it and agreed that perhaps it could be salvaged with a bit of elbow grease. I felt very happy with my selection and assured her that it was money well spent for a winter project. I knew that someone small would think so too someday.
I purchased it from a resale shop. There was cat hair stuck to the black painted surfaces as well. It cost me six dollars. The cashier could not believe that I was seriously interested in it! I loved the "Deco" handles, and the wood was sturdy.
I asked her, "Can you imagine this looking like a play kitchen?" She then took another look at it and agreed that perhaps it could be salvaged with a bit of elbow grease. I felt very happy with my selection and assured her that it was money well spent for a winter project. I knew that someone small would think so too someday.
I washed and scrubbed it down and let the little cabinet sit out in the bright sunshine for a week; it had a peculiar odor. Then I sanded off the embedded cat hair. Above you can see that I spent a day spray painting primer on the outside surfaces. One of the drawers was in excellent condition. I kept it for pots and pans. The drawer on the bottom would be converted to a play oven so I removed the sides and back and only kept it's front for the oven door.
After removing the handle from the front of my oven door, I repaired the damaged surface with wood filler. The door needed a bit of sanding and silver paint but it was well worth it in the end. I could have put a door with a window in it for my oven. However, decided to keep it simple in the end thinking it would stand up to harsher use and that it would look more old-fashioned like the rest of the Grimm's play furniture.
I spray painted some of the play cabinet in advance of applying the tiles, thinking it would clean up easier in the end.
Here you can see that a large cardboard box comes in handy when spray painting outdoors. It keeps the driveway clean of paint and when I am done, all I need to do is crush the box and toss it into the recycling bin. I masked the remaining "Deco" handle before using the bright red paint. I was not yet ready to apply the grey paint to the little kitchen's surfaces.
I glued white, square tiles to the backsplash of my play oven prior to smearing the surface with black grout. Below you can see the backsplash cleaned up. I thought it would match the iron burners nicely. These burners are actually coasters. The coasters/trivets were not cheap but I felt them so perfect for pretend burners that I splurged and bought them anyway. You can find a wide variety of similar choices all over the internet. My husband used black, flat screws and washers to attach these to the counter top. It was a good thing that I had purchased a cabinet made with solid wood!
Above you can see that I also purchased unfinished door knobs for the stove and oven temperature knobs. These were later painted black and attached by drilling holes into wooden table top. I used wood glue to attach a small wooden dowel inside each knob and every drilled hole. I wanted the oven built tough enough for a toddler to bang around on it.
More DIY Play Kitchens:
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