# Best toddler play kitchen?



## Jilian (Jun 16, 2003)

I'm considering getting DS a play kitchen. I'd prefer it be wood or mostly wood. Can anyone reccomend one? I don't want to spend a ton of money because we are on a budget. Links to websites would be great


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## cjr (Dec 2, 2003)

I want to make ds a table top one. We had a big one for the girls and it was so in the way. I have seen simple wooden table top ones that would be pretty easy to make. A flat board on top with a lip. Screw some knobs on the lip and some round wood peices painted black for the cook tops. Then he can sit at his toddler table in the kitchen and pretend to cook with me and use the rest of the table for his "supplies".


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## Alisa (Mar 6, 2004)

Magic Cabin has a "Mini Kitchen" in their catalog. It's around $80, which is the best price I've seen for something that has doors that open (which seems to be our girls' favorite part when they play with kitchens elsewhere)and some accessories. It is made almost entirely of wood.

I ordered one the other day and haven't received it yet so I don't know how great it is, but I was excited because it is small and we don't have much space.

I'm not sure how to post a link, but if you go to magiccabin.com and search for mini kitchen I think it'll come up.

Alisa, mama to Ella and Isabel (1/03)


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## bleurae (Feb 25, 2005)

I got this for my son last year. It is amazing, so sturdy. On casters. Very very well made, even for school's use so you know it can handle a lot. He still plays with it daily. I love that is has everything in one. he has some play pots and food and I placed it in the kitchen so he can cook while I do. The sinks tub comes out. The varnishes are environmentally friendly and it comes packaged in a recycled box and it is put together, no assembly required. I also love that they use piano hinges so no pinching possibilities.

http://www.ecmdstore.com/product/product.asp?sku=4922


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## Threefold (Nov 27, 2001)

Check Craig's List. By checking frequently (okay, obsessively







) I was able to find a used Elves and Angels Winter Loft Kitchen for $100 and a Waldorf style fridge new with a defective magnet latch (easily fixed) for another $100.


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## crunchycatholic (Sep 27, 2005)

What's Craig's list?


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## Bella'smamma (Jun 24, 2004)

We ordered ours already. We chose the one that was featured in the insert magazine in the new Mothering issue. I think it was Nova Natural Toys. We got the best deal. We priced alot of other kitchens and for the size it really was the most fairly priced. It was $229, which was a little out of our price range but shipping was included in the price.

Check out Rosie Hippo and the Natural Family Boutique for comparisons. Hope this helps.....happy hunting.

Cecily


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## Threefold (Nov 27, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *crunchycatholic*
What's Craig's list?

An online community of sorts


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## lisalou (May 20, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Alisa*
Magic Cabin has a "Mini Kitchen" in their catalog. It's around $80, which is the best price I've seen for something that has doors that open (which seems to be our girls' favorite part when they play with kitchens elsewhere)and some accessories. It is made almost entirely of wood.

I ordered one the other day and haven't received it yet so I don't know how great it is, but I was excited because it is small and we don't have much space.

I'm not sure how to post a link, but if you go to magiccabin.com and search for mini kitchen I think it'll come up.

Alisa, mama to Ella and Isabel (1/03)

We have this one from Magic Cabin -

Magic Cabin Kitchen

DD loves it and it was much cheaper than the almost exact kitchen from Oompa that appears to no longer be there. The only difference was the oven was on the opposite side. It's all wood except for the window of the oven. Very sturdy, easy to put together and dd loves it.


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## johub (Feb 19, 2005)

I LOVE the solid pine ones from ROsie Hippo and Magic cabin but I just can't justify spending that kind of money.
On another thread here somebody mentioned that Costco has a wooden kitchen set for $94. And we RAN to get one. You can also order them online. They are painted wood and not as classical in design as the natural style kitchen sets. But they are all wood and sturdy and are much nicer than the plastic ones.
My kids played with the one in the store and loved it.
So if you are watching your wallet I would strongly suggest this one.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...rodid=11068941


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## ayme371 (Jan 5, 2005)

I really like the one I got ds from www.willowtoys.com.

It was a little pricy but I did a search for them on ebay and found that the company sells them there for like $50 less and free shipping. It is really well made and really simple.


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## lotusdebi (Aug 29, 2002)

*


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## Jilian (Jun 16, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *lotusdebi*
I just ordered this KidKraft Island Play Kitchen for DS for Christmas. It comes in Primary or Pastel. I don't have any space left against a wall, so I especially like that this is an island design.

This is the one I'm leaning towards.


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## johub (Feb 19, 2005)

Kidcraft is the manufacturer of the one at Costco.
The above island kitchen looks really neat!


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## Jilian (Jun 16, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *johub*
Kidcraft is the manufacturer of the one at Costco.
The above island kitchen looks really neat!

I found it here for $125 + $12.99 for shipping









http://store.platinumgalleria.com/ki...d-primary.html


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## LuckyMommaToo (Aug 14, 2003)

We have the Small World Toys stove and sink one:
http://creativebrainsonline.com/smwotosmwoli.html

It's made out of rubber wood. We've had ours a year now, and it is DS's favorite thing. He plays with it more than his train table, even. I like that the sink is removable, and that the cabinet under the sink can store lots of play food.

Have fun shopping!

-Erin

p.s. You can probably find a better price than the one above...


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## polka123 (Nov 27, 2003)

OMG - DS totally loves play kitchens @ play groups. thanks for the great ideas!


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## violafemme (Oct 18, 2004)

We just got one from constructive playthings but we haven't put it together yet

http://www.constplay.com/cgi-bin/constplay_cgi.sh/WService=constplay/constplay.com/family/product.htm?stateInfo=pcmcyNzHijCzlddd3623|3&dept_ id=26&pf_id=KRP-35L&parent_id=0&call_prog=dept&page=1&qty=1

The one I would have gotten if money was no issue and I could justify spending 6oo dollars on a play kitchen instead of donating it to a more worthy cause then my daughter's playroom is this one from pottery barn kids

http://ww2.potterybarnkids.com//cat/...1175&cmsrc=kwd


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## octobersweethearts (Feb 27, 2004)

My all time favorite wooden play kitchens are the ones made by Elves & Angels

Another good alternative one is Little Colorado If you find one of their retailers, you can usually get it cheaper than you can on their site.


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## MOM2ANSLEY (May 19, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jilian*
I'm considering getting DS a play kitchen. I'd prefer it be wood or mostly wood. Can anyone reccomend one? I don't want to spend a ton of money because we are on a budget. Links to websites would be great









Thanks for starting this thread.


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## brewgirl (Sep 22, 2004)

I recently made one for my daughter and wanted to post some helpful links (for buying one and making your own):

-Target.com was selling a wooden stove/sink combo for $40. Not sure if it's still available
-Instructions on Lowes.com for making your own: http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...htNavHomeDecor
-Pictures and instructions from a very creative mama who used cabinets from ikea and converted them into a very neat kitchen for her kids http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboar...ode=full&page=
-Kitchen made from a box. I made one of these with my toddler and she LOVED it to pieces, literally. It was a great project to do together and when it finally fell apart, we decide it was time for the real deal. This is an inexpensive way to find out if your child will be into a kitchen or not.







http://jas.familyfun.go.com/arts-and...&craftid=11093
-A play kitchen easily assembled from stacking shelves http://familyfun.go.com/decorating-i...02_proj_kitch/

Hope these links inspire some of you to give it a shot yourselves. My daughter (2.5) and I had great fun designing and putting together her kitchen.


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## andreac (Jul 13, 2003)

This one at Target has free shipping:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html...sin=B000AQADDS

I really like this one too:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html...sin=B000BKEMTO

It's a total knock-off of this one from pottery barn, which I absolutely love (along with the pink one someone posted above!!)

http://ww2.potterybarnkids.com/cat/p...7Cak&gids=c280

My DH made one for our ds for his birthday this year. We just looked at the dimensions of the ones we like online (and actually we made it a little deeper so we'd have more storage). It took him like four hours and he has NO "woodworking" experience! I painted it (and it's still actually a work in progress







, I keep thinking of cute things to add!.


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## dr.j (May 14, 2003)

I also got the Willow toys kitchen for my DS, and it is beautiful. He likes to pretend to cook majiang tiles in it much more than he likes cooking his pretend food. He also likes to take the sink out and pull a play silk in and out of the big hole where the sink goes.








It's really cute, and looks great in the play room.


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## violafemme (Oct 18, 2004)

Brewgirl,

I loved your links............wish I had seen them before I bought one, but oh well. Thanks for sharing


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## CarenSwan (Sep 29, 2005)

I did a search and found this old thread helpful, so I thought I'd bump it for any other moms who might be looking for tips this holiday season!


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## nabigus (Sep 23, 2004)

I'm oogling this one from Guidecraft (and thinking about getting it from a coop, which makes it more affordable): kitchenette

I love the links for the DIY! We're trying to decide whether to buy or make one. Knowing us, it will be cheaper to buy one by the time we add all the do-dads and custom paint job!


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## Flor (Nov 19, 2003)

We have this one:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html...sin=B000BKEMTO

Actually, ours is slightly different, the target Play Wonder one, but I don't see it on their website right now.

The magic cabin one is really cute.

If I was on a smaller budget, I'd do the table top ones. We got one for a friend and it's cute.

http://www.target.com/gp/search.html...index%3Dtarget

There are two table tops there, they make a sink too.


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## FlyingPigs (Feb 20, 2005)

Thank you SO much for posting this thread. I had been planning on getting my DS a wooden kitchen for Christmas, since he takes my pots and pans, fills them with his plastic animals and "bakes" them beneath his table for me. I had my eye on the one from target, since my budget is under $100, but I just fell in love with and ordered the one from Magic Cabin. Thanks for posting the link. I just love that little kitchen and I know my boy will too!

Carrie


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## minkl (Oct 30, 2005)

we have this one from "small world" (the oven and sink one) it's ALL wood as are the fridge and other items. you can probably get it cheaper if you go to ebay or something.

here's the link:
http://www.kidcore.com/manufacturer.aspx?manufactID=11


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## jtbuko (Sep 28, 2006)

We love our Angels & Elves kitchen, It is perfect for small spaces, all wood, and very simple. Got it for $50 at a flea market, but found it ahead of time via craigslist. it didn't come up on a wood search though, because the seller used the word pine instead of wood - so keep that in mind when searching places like CL or ebay.


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## LoveMyLil'B (Dec 19, 2004)

I got my kids the Kidcraft one. It got really great reviews on Amazon I think, so that helped me decide - plus, for a wooden kitchen, the price was right. I can't tell you first hand how it functions yet, it's still in the box until Christmas.


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## minimunklemama (Nov 24, 2004)

we love our elvesand angels one.they are expensive but sturdy and cute








we got ours at playcottage . com with fee shipping,but that was two years ago so i don't know if they still do it


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## TheDivineMissE (Mar 31, 2006)

We got *this* one for our three year old at Target for $80.00. It's VERY popular with her and all of the kiddos that come to visit. They also sell super cute wooden food and condiments at Target.


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## mama2toby (Jul 14, 2005)

We just got a small play kitchen, made by guidecraft. I like it because its really sturdy and has all the kitchen neccesities (sp?). We got ours at a local toy shop for $160.


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## AmyC (Jul 3, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Flor* 

If I was on a smaller budget, I'd do the table top ones. We got one for a friend and it's cute.

http://www.target.com/gp/search.html...index%3Dtarget

There are two table tops there, they make a sink too.


There are several tabletop models I've seen. I think Haba makes one (available at Oompa and elsewhere online), and there's one (I think) in the Back to Basics Toys catalog. Or maybe Land of Nod. And if you like the Alex ones in the Target.com link posted above, check them out at kidsurplus for a little cheaper. The Alex "My First" has a tabletop sink and a tabletop stove in the $17 range each. Then there's the Alex Cook Top, which is slightly larger, with hooks to hang things from. They should be the first three in this link:
http://search.store.yahoo.com/cgi-bi...k%20cook%20top

The "My First" ones both fit perfectly on a milk crate, while the cooktop is slightly deeper than a milk crate.

The tabletop ones are definitely an option. We've kept the kitchen part simple, and we've splurged with the wooden food, dishes, and cooking gear.

That other tabletop was Land of Nod. It comes with a few items (including a wooden pan), and looks pretty handsome. http://www.landofnod.com/family.aspx...1&SearchPage=1

Melissa & Doug make a nice, slim tabletop model that is more flat than the others I posted. It has two depressed burners (instead of raised discs, like the others) and comes with a pot & lid and a frying pan, a steak, some broccoli and corn, a spatula and wooden spoon, and a hot mit. The pans & foods are all wooden. It's a nice set, really flat and lightweight, and the pot and pan are handsome! Here it is for $19 http://www.kidsurplus.com/lig2601.html


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