1.07.2015

ikea play kitchen hack

I'm writing this while watching The Bachelor, so I can't really think of anything witty to start with. I'm too distracted by the 30 women giving women a bad name. But in the name of Farmer Chris finding love, it's worth the watch. ;-)

ANYWAY. 

I hacked Ikea's play kitchen for Jillian Christmas present from Santa! It was fun. I got the idea from Kaitlin here- I mean with something so cute how could I not follow suit?

Out of the box the kitchen comes like this:
 
 And here's what it looks like now:

What changed:
-Painted all of the wood colored pieces white
-Spray painted all silver hardware gold (and switched out the drawer pulls it came with for metal ones)
-Spray painted the sink white
-Sanded and stained the counter top 
-Added 3 knobs above the oven door 
-Added a faux tile back splash



 ^The faux tile back splash is one of my favorite parts! Originally I toyed around with the idea of doing real subway tiles, but quickly threw that idea in the "yeah that's a bad idea" pile. All I did was use a gray paint pen and yard stick as a straight edge to draw lines on a piece of white foam board. I cut it to size first, drew the lines, then attached it to the back with a few small nails.


 I followed the instructions on her post and from experience, I can tell you the MOST important part of the project is PRIMING. Especially the hardware that is spray painted gold. By far the best primer I've used is the Rustoleum Everything primer+paint spray paint. So there's my contribution!


The dishes, cookware, and utensils are all also from Ikea. Mini versions of the real things too which makes it that much better! 

It's probably nicer than my kitchen. Needless to say, we both really like playing with it!

5 comments:

  1. Hi- I have been wanting to do this exact hack since I first saw it last year and finally ready! The original post with directions is not live anymore though. Do you have any more detail to share? For me to do these kinds of projects, I rely so much on the tutorials! Also, did you use the Rustoleum primer on everything? The wood and the metal? Any particular spray paint? And how has the stained wood and sprayed gold hold up? My daughter currently uses this kitchen as is and there is always stuff stuck to it so want to make sure the hack lasts and doesn't chip. This kitchen will be used for years to come. Thank you so much for your help!

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    1. Hi Christy!
      I'm bummed that link isn't live anymore! Odd. Yes I can share more details! I used the Rustoleum primer on the hardware I spray painted gold and on the sink, and Bullseye 123 paint primer on the wood (which you just apply with a brush), though you could still use the spray paint on the wood! I didn't actually use another white paint on top of the Bullseye primer because it was already white, so the color you see is just the color of the primer. The stained wood has held up fantastically. I sanded the top coat off the original counter off so the stain could actually penetrate the particle board. I hadn't assembled mine yet before hacking it so it was easy to work with the disassembled pieces. With the gold hardware, it's held up okay, but not perfect- my biggest mistake there was being in a hurry and not letting the spray primer fully cure before spraying it gold. With that, spray very light coats, letting it dry 6-8 hours in between each coat. I would do 2 or 3 coats of that, then a couple coats of the gold, again letting it dry plenty in between coats and not touching it after the last coat for a full 24 hours. Doing it that way should yield much longer lasting results.
      On top of all of the painted wood pieces, I used a spray polyurethane as a top coat- but I would NOT do that again- it has started to yellow! :-/ So I'll be redoing that part of mine eventually. I would use a traditional polyurethane and apply with a brush. On some other furniture projects like my dining table, I used Varathane brand "triple thick poly" and have loved it. It's very durable and won't yellow like the sprays will! If you're still worried about the gold chipping, you could always just go with silver hardware that wouldn't need to be spray painted, but the gold is definitely cute! In the original post I linked, she posted an update that said her hardware was holding up great with heavy use (she actually followed the recommended drying times unlike myself..so that should give you hope). :-)
      Let me know if you have any other questions!

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  2. Where did you find the knobs for the oven? You did such a great job!

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    Replies
    1. Lowe's! They're the super cheap silver plastic ones that I just spray painted gold like the rest of the hardware!

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