Esra's Play Kitchen...

Good morning world!

I love being a mama to my little princess and creating magical spaces for her to let her imagination flow. In the past I attempted to make a DIY play kitchen from 2 side cabinets which was actually successful but it didn't quite cut it, so when we moved we purchased the Ikea 'Duktig' kitchen for Esra which I obviously hacked. It's currently on sale for £49 so look no further if you are looking for Xmas gifts for toddlers.

Today I will share details of everything you have ever wanted to know about Esra's play kitchen.

  

Be warned this is a long picture heavy post! 

The first thing I did to the kitchen was paint nearly every surface white apart from the worktop and under part of the top shelf. I just used a plain white wood paint from Wickes. I changed the handles with white ones from Ikea's kitchen section as I wasn't too keen on the plastic grey ones. I also covered the microwave door with a scrap of fabric then finally settled on this 'Belle & Boo' gift wrap which suits the feel of the kitchen more, we don't use it as a microwave but more for storage. I LOVE how it turned out and so does Esra, she loves pointing to Boo everyday.

I painted the outside and inside of the oven door with black chalkboard paint so that Esra can draw whatever she is cooking or use it like a menu which has been pretty useful, and I also write messages for her to see when she wakes up which is pretty cute. Of course the kitchen has a lot of crochet bits I made including this hand towel.

I also placed the rustic shelf upside down to create a more earthy feel which adds to the charm. On the shelf are:

• Honeybake 'Le Toy Van' pink wooden mixer I got on sale from John Lewis
• Vintage Teapot I painted mint green which was a gift from my grandmother
• Sasse & Belle wooden toaster from Amazon

• Le Toy Van Bakers basket I purchased from Igloo toy shop for half price as the box was torn, gotta love bargains! (seriously how adorable is the pretzel and wooden crate it comes in?!)

Mint green wooden mixing bowl from Boots.

Honeybake 'Le Toy Van' birthday cake from Amazon.

Voila cake & biscuit stand from Amazon

Belle & Boo Tea set (The cups are hanging on the hooks, the teapot is on the tray)

The white tub that stores the wooden utensils is from Ikea too.

Yep we have quite a bit of stuff, but it's hard not to!  We also have:

• Melissa & Doug Pizza party set from Amazon
• ELC pink kettle from Mothercare which makes a boiling & pouring sounds.
• Asda pink wooden pot and pan set with mitten
• Learning Resources Super sorting pie from Amazon (The best sorting toy ever!)
• Learning Resources Counting cookies from Amazon. (Amazing for learning numbers)
• Plan Toys wooden Tea set with red detailing from Amazon
• Plan toys wooden food & beverage set from Amazon 
• Plastic Cupcakes from Poundland - Also the shaker pictured with pink pom poms and pink beads is from pound land too but I did a DIY on it obviously and glued it shut.
• Mini yellow clock is from Accessorize
• Magic feeding bottles are from Amazon
• We love playing shops with THIS Hape cash register which I didn't photograph but I'm sure you have seen it on my IG feed. It's stored in the bottom shelf on the right hand side.

The Peter rabbit tin houses all of the chalks for the chalkboard and was fro TK Maxx, I think there was tea in it before. The wicker basket under the kitchen holds lego Duplo and the legs on the kitchen are adjustable if you flip the grey bits over so you can use it from very young.

And yes more play food! We have some from Ikea, some wooden ones from Mothercare and some felt food I made including the eggs, salad, cupcakes and ice cream. We also have some foam food we collected from Cbeebies magazine too. (The tray is from Poundland) 

All of the crochet bits were made by me or my mum which add that extra homely feel which I love. Esra's kitchen is definitely more amazing than mine. FYI The prayer in arabic is by LucyArts1 on Instagram.

I also hung a wicker basket to go shopping with which I got for 99p from a charity shop but I added the wooden buttons and fastening of course. I basically have to hack everything lol.

The pink tray is a melamine plate from Rice which I also got from Igloo toy shop and the pink pot is a ceramic one I picked up recently from Poundland, they also have a mint version too which we also have. The pink cake stand with the cupcake stand is from H&M home section.

Wow that was a long post and I hope I covered everything, moral of the post, hack away and don't be afraid to update things to suit your taste. Esra has SO much fun with her play kitchen and plays with it every single day, she knows where everything goes and happily puts them back. (Ok not all the time) But, it's such a great way to teach organisational skills too... Yes my child at 3 is already an organisational freak and knows that everything has a place. A play kitchen is a magical thing for a toddler and this Ikea one is definitely budget friendly and is beautiful and sturdy once hacked of course. The first thing Esra does when she has a play date is cook up a storm even with older kids, thankfully it is something that your child will grow with so it's worth investing in some key pretend play toys to last for years to come. All this stuff wasn't purchased at once of course, that would be crazy. It has been accumulated over the past couple of years with Eid and birthday gifts. The good thing is there is always space for new ideas with a play kitchen, the next thing on our list is crochet donuts that I will one day eventually make.

I hope I have given you some ideas and inspired you to think outside the box and of course helped you with a wish list for Xmas too. I have included as many links as possible to help you with your search, none of which are affiliate links btw.

Now who is coming over for a tea party? That is the question....