Your cart is currently empty!
How To…
Tablescapes
Seasonal Decor
Little Tikes Play Kitchen Make Over for Boys
Last year my niece got a darling little play kitchen for her birthday. The thought of a play kitchen had never crossed my mind until we were visiting and my oldest son became quite enamored with it. He began asking to go to her house and play kitchen! A few weeks before his birthday we were at the thrift store and they had 2 vintage plastic fisher price play kitchens – for $3 each. Upon seeing the kitchen in the thrift store my son was like a moth to a flame. He took it pretty well when we left the store but kept asking me to go back and play with it. I talked it over with the hubs and considering the ‘investment’ we decided to get one of the them and do our own Little Tikes play kitchen makeover!
After getting a good scrub down we let it completely dry out. That was hard because it’s hollow plastic, so it took a few days. Once it was dry I took some sand paper and roughed up all of plastic areas I was planning on painting. I gave it another wipe down and then taped it like crazy. I think I used an entire roll of painters tape and then some extra masking tape. It was totally worth it though.I’m not sure what this kitchen’s previous life was, but if I had to guess I’d say a daycare. It was pretty gross looking. Lots of grime and lots of crayon. Luckily the hose did wonders on the grime and the rest came off easily with a magic eraser. Those things really are magic. I’m not entirely sure what my cleaning looked like before I discovered them.
The roof of the kitchen went from baby blue to navy. The stove top went silver for a stainless steel effect. The faucet, phone holder, and misc other accents got oil rubbed bronze spray paint. I did purchase the Krylon navy paint that was specially formulated for plastic, the others were left over from previous home projects. I’ve read and had mixed reviews of the Krylon paint and I left this experience feeling the same. The paint goes on evenly without drips, but I’m still not convinced of the adhesion. The kitchen has been in use for about 8 months now. We don’t have many scratches, but there are a few. If it were a more ‘high traffic’ area and not a roof I think that there would be more. I did have some issues with the silver paint splattering when I was spraying it. I ended up with a few splatters that I had to sand off and even a few places where I had to get out paint thinner (then I washed, washed, washed it!). Overall this project was easy to do. This kitchen model came apart well which allowed me to separate out a lot of the pieces to paint. It also was in good shape and was a nice neutral white and not something crazy that I was trying to paint over. I think that was a huge help.
Just a little last note:
This post originally appeared on my former blog My Misters & Me. It was picked up by The Huffington Post in a feature about little likes play kitchen makeovers. You can check it out here. Since I no longer blog there I am attempting to consolidate all of my previous projects here. This kitchen has been in use since 2014 and we still own it! I am happy to report that other than minor scratching on the roof the makeover has held up perfectly! I never put a clear coat finish on the roof and if I had I think I could have avoided the minor scratches there. I will also stipulate that we are all all boy house, so while we have gotten our money’s use out of this project, it may not have gotten the same amount of attention as it would in a girl home or in a high traffic situation. The kitchen has always been inside so I cannot attest to how it would hold up to outdoor conditions.
If you like this post you might want to check these out as well:
Don’t forget to pin!
(This post may contain affiliate links. If you shop from one of these links it helps support this blog. Products do not cost more when you shop through an affiliate link. To read all of this blogs disclosures and policies click here.)
More from my site
Basement basement before and after Basement DIY basement family room basement renovation basement renovation ideas Budget DIY christmas christmas decor christmas tree Curtain Rods Decor decorating Dining Room dining room decor Disneyland DIY diy tutorials easy diy easy diy christmas decor Easy DIY Upgrade fall Free Printable Halloween Halloween Decor Holiday Decor Home Decor Home Staging How to decorate a Christmas tree like a professional how to decorate an ugly tree how to decorate a thrift store christmas tree how to set a thanksgiving table Living Room master bedroom decor organization Outdoor Dining patio Seasonal Decor Tablescape tablescapes table setting Table Settings Thanksgiving Thanksgiving table settings Thrifting
2 responses to “Little Tikes Play Kitchen Make Over for Boys”
-
WOW…amazing transformation. Awesome job. I am in the process of updating one for my 3 grand daughters..not sure if I will go as far as repainting it though.
-
Good luck, it’s a fun project!
-
Leave a Reply