the kitchen- start to finish

It all started over a couple years ago when I came across this blog post...Q's Play Kitchen

I honestly can't remember how I found it the first time but it had been looked at MANY times prior to actually starting the project.  I kept dreaming of the day when Charlotte would be big enough to enjoy a play kitchen. We decided that Christmas 2011 would be a great opportunity to surprise the girls with their own little homemade kitchen. Now we are nearly three months past but hey, better late than never right? Plus I can say with certainty that the kitchen was & is a hit every day at the Valentine Nest.  Charlotte is always cooking up something to feed Eloise : ) Eloise is recently pulling up on the oven so she can touch the knobs or grab the teapot off the stove top. Also, I love to see it when I glance into that room : )

Here is the process in photos...

plans, tools &  soda

supplies with the refrigerator in front

close up of the fridge

my handsome hubby working hard on the oven

hardware installed

I love sewing projects & couldn't wait to make Charlotte an apron to wear in her kitchen!  I spent a bit of time looking at different aprons pinned on Pinterest & then decided to make my own pattern with a combo of my favorite choices. It was super easy and came together in a couple hours much to my delight!

one favorite feature: the waist band goes around & attaches with velcro under the flower so Char can put it on herself

And, the completed kitchen.....

Char taking a peek in the freezer on Christmas morning. Uncle Scott bought her the ice cream set for her birthday last year & it fits perfectly in there!

It really only took Rob a couple afternoons to finish the woodworking & painting...I was pretty impressed, as usual! If you are interested in seeing a couple other of his projects click on: Our bed, Charlotte's bed. Or, if you want to see more pictures of Christmas morning when the girls got the kitchen click on: Christmas kitchen. 

All in all, we spent about $130 but could have done it for cheaper had we planned ahead and bought the knobs, drawer pulls & faucet on sale. We were pretty happy with what we spent though & look forward to having Char & Elo's play kitchen for years to come!