Friday 5 March 2010

"McQueen" play kitchen

Michele gave her boy a McQueen kitchen. It's a fabulous alternative to the fairy tale play kitchens we've seen so far.


"I got the idea after seeing so many inspiring play kitchens on the Ikea hacker website. It sparked my creativity, and turned out to be a fun project to plan, easy to execute, and as you can see, the results are pretty good.  It all cost me about 95.00 Euros to make, not considering the recycled parts used (old bowl for the sink, an old faucet, doorhandles and fabric.).

I started with two simple Faktum (similar to Akurum) cabinets and two Abstrakt doors, cut a round hole (using a jigsaw) in the side of one cabinet for the sink, and flipped it on its side and connected it to the other cabinet. The bowl used for the sink is no longer sold by Ikea, and is great because it has a lip around the top that hides the uneven cutting job I did. I made a hole for the faucet with a drill, and added the burners (Panna � like everybody uses).


I then reinforced the two cabinets together by adding a rectangular panel behind both, covered with wallpaper and with a square hole cut into it for the window.


For the refrigerator I put shelves inside, added some metal baskets on the door (I don't remember the name) and added a handle.  The oven door was quite difficult. It involved cutting the Abstrakt door in half without chipping the laminate covering. I then used a jigsaw to cut a rectangular hole for the window. This was actually not cut very well, but as it was covered by a wooden white frame (front and back, separated by a plastic sheet), you cannot see how uneven the cut was.  The most important cut in this project was done by a friend who cut a round hole inside the oven door enabling me to put a second hinge (Integral) inside. This was done by a column drill and was easy if one has the right equipment. I then added an opening/closing magnet for the oven door. I would still like to add a light inside the oven, when I find one that goes off automatically after a few minutes.


At this point I added the curtains and some Ikea products � the magnetic bar on the backsplash (Kroken), a couple plastic holders and brushes and stuff like that. I also bought a few, but not many, Duktig products to add to the fun. Needless to say, my 3 year-old boy was excited to receive his "McQueen kitchen" on Christmas day."

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