This has been one of the most challenging and most rewarding projects I have taken on to date. I turned an old entertainment center into a play kitchen for my granddaughter. (Thank you Pinterest for the inspiration!)
I had been gathering supplies for quite some time and I finally found a suitable entertainment center at our local Goodwill a couple of months ago. Here’s how it started out.
I went with a mid-century color scheme because I found a really fantastic sheet of laminate that I wanted to use for the project. I also hit the jackpot and found matching paint on the “oops” paint shelf at Menard’s so I only paid two dollars for paint!
After the piece was painted I measured my laminate and cut it with a razor knife; I applied masking tape over my lines to keep the laminate from chipping. This method worked surprisingly well. I used spray on laminate adhesive to attach it to the cabinet.
The original glass doors for the cabinet had a wooden trim piece that I reused; I cut (read, my husband cut because I HATE the table saw) two pieces of 1/4 inch plywood the same size as the glass and slid the trim pieces onto them. Once they were assembled I applied three coats of Rustoleum magnetic primer (so she could have refrigerator magnets) and then top coated it with my pink paint. I added two long kitchen cabinet handles and I used the existing hinges to reinstall the doors.
For the stove top , I used left over 1/4 inch plywood spray painted gray; the burners are cork coasters and the knobs are round wooden jar labels that I had in my stash of goodies. I painted the burners and knobs with black craft paint and used spray adhesive to attach them to the stove top. For the oven, I painted one of the lower doors pink and used chalkboard paint to add the oven “window”. I also taped off a rectangle on the end of the cabinet and created an actual chalk board.
For the sink, my husband came to my aid once again and used a jigsaw to cut a hole in the countertop. The sink is a stainless steel mixing bowl I picked up on clearance. The faucet was my one “splurge” I bought a drinking water faucet at Menard’s because it was perfect and I wanted it.
The lower cabinet that makes up the under sink area and oven was one big space, so I installed a divider using “L” brackets. The back of the cabinet is tongue and groove pine bead board. I wanted to have a nice back so the piece can be used as a room divider if desired. The little wire rack above the stove was also a clearance find. I used a battery operated light with an adhesive back for overhead lighting. There are also battery operated motion sensor lights in the fridge and oven. Whew! I think that covers all of the elements that were added to transform a TV stand into a dream kitchen.
I am SUPER happy with how it turned out. There a few things I would do differently if I attempt another play kitchen or other kid furniture transformation, but overall it was a pretty straight forward project once I figured out all the small details.
What furniture up-cycles have you all attempted that make you proud? I love seeing what others are doing. Bragging is highly encouraged on this blog!
