Oscar's play kitchen (finally!)

I took a break from baby girl things this weekend to finish a long overdue project - Oscar's play kitchen.  I guess I should say mostly finish.   It is definitely functional (and cute!) but seriously lacking accessories and play food.

Ta-dah!  I tried to keep it fairly gender neutral so it will get maximum use.  I like it, and more importantly, Oscar likes it, too.  He has been very busy stirring up sandwich soup in his little pots (like I said, more felt food will be necessary).

Some of my favorite details ...

• painted scrabble tiles to make the checker board back splash
• wooden plaques from Michael's for the gas burners
• the cute little scalloped trim on the control plate and shelf (trim also from Michael's)

I am loving the wooden pots and pans I bought (made by Melissa and Doug). 

I have a confession to make.  I bought MDF for the backing and used it for the oven door as well.  Big mistake!  Oscar has already tried climbing onto the open oven door and the screws started pulling out of the hinges (I really should have seen that one coming).  So I am going to switch out the oven door with a hard wood, and maybe add some extra hinges to make it stronger.

So ... still on the kitchen to-do list:

• reinforce the oven door
• make some accessories: dish towels, an apron, maybe a chef's hat
• make massive amounts of felt food (just because it is fun)
• gather/make a few more decorations - maybe a picture to hang over the sink, perhaps a little garland to hang over the shelf
• decide what to do with the other side (opposite the hooks).  It is currently bare.  I'm considering adding a chalkboard menu.

This kitchen was heavily inspired by the play kitchen found at Vintage Songbird - it is still one of my very favorites out there.

I didn't bother photographing things step by step or providing instructions for this project, because there is already tons of info out there.  If you want to try it yourself, check out the tutorials at Out of the Crayon Box and My Little Gems.