apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Thanks for sharing this post. I have been wanting to do the exact same thing with my play kitchen from Target. (That pink is pretty awful, isn't it?) What kind of paint did you use? Did you sand the doors before painting them?

looks great!

I did the same thing to my son's play kitchen (except painted mine bright green), and added a mosaic glass backsplash. Check it out here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisamfb/4312127002/

I love the new blue paint! Lisamfb, your green kitchen also looks fantastic. Please share tips and advice for starting a makeover project like this. Did you need to sand the doors? Prime before painting? And did you remove the doors to paint them? Thank you!

Hi thefaya - It was a pretty easy project, but a little time consuming. The Target kitchen comes in a million pieces, but it's easy to put together. The good news is that the kitchen comes unassembled, so it is easy to paint the pieces before putting the whole kitchen together.

For the painted doors (oven and microwave) I removed the plexi-glass window, and simply spray-painted the doors on both sides. Several coats of spray paint covered nicely, and left a nice, durable finish. No priming or sanding was necessary. (My 2-year old son has been playing non-stop with the kitchen for 4 months now, and the paint has held up really, really well!!)

After I put the kitchen together I switched out the hardware with something more modern (from Home Depot), and added the mosaic glass backsplash. (I bought a couple 12x12 sheets from Home Depot, and hot-glued them to the backsplash). No grout was necessary since it won't ever get wet!

Thanks for the compliments!
I did not sand the pieces first, but I did all the painting before I assembled the kitchen. I used 2 coats of primer and then 2 coats of glossy paint. This was my first painting project, and in hindsight I think I could have done only 1 coat of primer.

lisamfb- It was your review on the Target site that convinced my husband I could do this! I had the idea when I saw the kitchen on the site, but my husband thought I was crazy til I took the time to read the reviews and found yours! I wanted to email you to ask about sanding, and paint types, and I found your email address online, but my h-band said you'd probably have me arrested for stalking you if I sent you a message. :)
Your kitchen looks AMAZING! Who makes that tea set?

kitjule... e-mail me!!!!!!!! I'd love to chat about the project!! :-)

By the way... the tea-set also has a story. I searched high and low for an unbreakable tea set for my son. I didn't want to spend a lot of money because I honestly wasn't sure he would even want it. (But of course the kitchen HAD to have a tea set!!!)

I found a cheap tin tea-set, and spray painted it robin's egg blue. The paint has held up great, and the tea-set has turned out to be my son's favorite part of the kitchen. (He served me "tea" this morning for breakfast).

kitjule, do you mind sharing which paint color/brand you went with? I love the transformation and have the same exact kitchen for my daughter and I'd rather look at the soothing blue color like yours than that pepto bismol pink color :)

mae25- Luckily, I still have the can of paint (the primer, on the other hand came crashing down on my wood floors a few weeks ago). I used Valspar color KeyWest in a semi-gloss.

Thanks!

Would you mind telling me where you got that great rug in the picture? I am using these colors in my daughter's and son's playroom and I am looking for one just like that!

It's a bath mat from Target. I searched all the aisles of bath mats and just as I was about to settle for a different one I found this!
I can't find it on their site now, but they may have it in store. I found this on their site (It comes in green or grey too)-
http://www.target.com/Dots-Bath-Rug-Blue/dp/B000M3K5TG/ref=br_1_63?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&searchView=grid5&searchNodeID=1038576&searchRank=target104545&searchPage=7&searchSize=30

But they are all (including mine) just bath mat size.

can soemone link me to (or tell me the name of ) te exact target kitchen this is? Im interested in it for my son but cannot find it. I found a similar one but it isnt quite the same.

Can I get a link to the original pink kitchen? I can't find it on the Target web site and I'd love to pick it up. These makeovers are very inspiring!

It's the Play Wonder Kitchen Center. It's out of stock online, but maybe they still have some in stores.
http://tinyurl.com/yg8yftr
Here's a link to a new one that has a "washing machine" too.
http://tinyurl.com/yjk5qrv

target has clearance out this kitchen for a new red one they are carrying in the stores. if you are really interested take this number to a store (204-12-0255) and they can tell you if a store has any left in your area

lisamfb, had your kitchen been on here before I swear I had seen it and told my husband how great the pink kitchen could be for our son but he just wouldn't believe me. now the pink ones are all gone none in my area I love the tiles you added, great job!

can you tell me the measurements of this kitchen. i have found it in stock on some other websites but they don't have the measurements! i am trying to fit it into a small space. thanks!

keriboo- The height is about 41 inches, the depth 12", and the width without the extra counter on the side is 22.5" or with it's 28". Very petite.

There's a seller on eBay that has the original pink kitchen for cheap. I did "make an offer" and got it new for $60 shipping:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Play-Wonder-wooden-Kitchen-Set-pink-oven-sink-microwave_W0QQitemZ190365653745QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2c52ad5af1#ht_682wt_1165