{on imagination, and tiny kitchens}

This is not a post about amazing transformations. Your eyes will not pop. Your jaw will not drop. You might find yourself asking just what you're supposed to be looking at (I mean, apart from the cute baby). 

That's okay.

What I can show you is a broken old cabinet becoming a pint-size kitchen, while still looking pretty much like a broken old cabinet. 

But this post isn't really about kitchens. I've seen so many clever and beautiful little play kitchens that nothing really amazes me anymore. Oh, it has a fully-functioning stove that you built from tissue-paper and pipe-cleaners? What, it only cost you $74, and took sixty hours to make? That's nice.

This post is about imagination. 

Not my imagination; my big clomping parent imagination. That's what I'd been caught up in. Imagining what I could build, how I could have the most fun decorating it and all the cool features I'd like to add. It'll be all white with grey details -- modern, Scandinavian, she'll love it. No, I'll love it. 

Instead, we went with a bare little kitchen that I hope will let Tilly's imagination run wild. Our cooling rack, upside down, jammed where the drawer used to be. Wooden pegs and double-sided tape to hold up her apron. An Ovaltine pot for utensils. And... done. A zero-budget kitchen, built in ten minutes.

If she wants the counter to be a stove, she'll put a pan there. If she wants it to be a sink, a bowl. If, in a week or two she wants to add knobs and burners, we'll draw some on, or cut some out of felt. The point is, the designing is fun. And now she can be a part of that fun. 

I promise, this is not a post that is against fancy play-kitchens. I just about die with envy whenever we get to play with a beautiful shiny little stove, and raid a well-stocked mini-pantry. Aw, the tiny pizza. Aw, the tiny utensils. This post is against sitting around feeling defeated that you'll never make anything as good as the things you've seen online, though. 

And maybe that's something I need to remember about more than just play kitchens. We don't need to be the best of the best, the most original, the most creative. Sometimes, it's enough to make do. Sometimes, it's okay to be in progress, and let your unfinished edges show.

{still in progress: play kitchen}

I have not done any work at all on the broken-down cabinet that is to be Tilly's play kitchen. But I have found a second abandoned bit of furniture -- a bedside table with a broken drawer -- which is also fair game for a bit of sprucing up. (Yes, we're turning into a home for stray cupboards. If any more show up, I'll start adopting them out...) 

As there's nothing covering the space below the drawer, it could be the perfect spot to hang a colourful curtain, a la the kitchens that inspired me.

Clearly, we still have time before she's even interested in wooden cookery; one of Tilly's friends just got the most beautiful wooden kitchen for her birthday, and I watched today as Tilly ran straight past it to try to grab a chewed-up bit of carrot off the floor. And then tried to eat a shoe. Play kitchens are pretty low on her priority list right now, apparently.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a few of the things that I hope to fill her kitchen with, eventually:



A felt scale, to measure out her pretend flour. What amazing embroidered detailing!



Felt cupcakes, and that adorable felt muffin tray, by umecrafts. I make everything in cupcake form -- banana bread cupcakes, chocolate cake cupcakes, and I've even seen a recipe for macaroni and cheese cupcakes that I desperately want to try -- so I'm sure Tilly would know what to do.



Felt strawberries by KennasFeltForest. Four dollars for three of these beauties seems like awfully good value -- I guess it's the end of picking season!


Felt toaster pattern by GulfCoastCottagePDF. I'm curious if the toastables would go up and down?

Kitchen utensils by bugbitesplayfood. You know, because then I can have my utensils back to cook with!

And, just so that she doesn't forget she's a Texan, this little felt grill by GulfCoastCottagePDF. What do you fancy -- that very well-done T-bone, the so-rare-it's-still-oinking hotdog, or the burger that's one-quarter meat and three-quarters salad? (I call the burger.)

{work in progress: play kitchen}

Once upon a time, there was a girl who dreamed of having a beautiful wooden kitchen to cook in. There would be space to store salt, pepper, and the rolling pin she got for her birthday...

...a little red clock to make sure she had dinner ready on time...

...and a tiled backsplash, well, just because.

(sources: Vintage Songbird, Cathinca, Daily B)

Well, it turns out the Fairy Godmother of roadside rubbish was smiling down on us as we found this sorry piece of furniture sitting in the rain yesterday. Doesn't it just overflow with play-kitchen potential?

A coat of white paint? A sink and a few burners? Can you picture it?

Justin was less sure, but kindly carried it home for me anyway while I attempted to simultaneously control Baby-in-Pushchair and Crazy-Dog, to the amusement of many passersby.



You know what they say: "Four wheels good, two wheels bad." Well, I'm not so sure that's true. I'm thinking, if I screw two regular legs onto the other end (which is presently missing wheels), this little kitchen will be mobile if desired, but will stay put when we want it to. I'm a little concerned a four-wheeled cupboard would quickly become a battering-ram in Tilly's hands.

And, surely, in our giant box of IKEA spare parts, we've got two of those little adjustable feet that seem to come with everything? (And no, we don't buy Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies by the case, as much as Justin wishes we did)

Now, I have to warn you, I've set myself a budget of ZERO dollars for this kitchen. Partly because I want to force myself to use the things we have around the house, (i.e. paint from Tilly's dresser, the faucet that Justin replaced last year, old knobs and handles) and partly to keep myself from getting obsessed with it right now. Having just turned one, Tilly doesn't want to play kitchen just yet. She wants to empty drawers and chew on chair legs. 

So, this is going on the long term project list. Deadline: Christmas. 

P.S. To see more inspiration, check out the DIY Play Kitchen board. I know, I'm sorry, I'm Pinterest crazy.