Hi folks, I’m back, and hasn’t it been ages, again… Sure couldn’t have planned for a better return than this, though. Having a toddler means getting to indulge in things that we, as grown-ups, tend to forget to enjoy. Immersing ourselves in play, simple, infinite play. I never thought I was going to be the mama who fills the home with kids’ paraphernalia. In fact, I might have turned up my nose at people who did so, whoops. But here we are, and apart from E’s room, every other room and nook in the flat has been conquered by her toys and knick-knacks, as well. I guess you change your mind. What do they say? “Happy kid – happy mama” – so true!
So we recently threw out a lot of stuff at home, including furniture that was pretty bulky. The result is still a work in progress (is anything ever really finished with a toddler between your legs, or are we forever stuck in this unnerving “work in progress” state?). But in the process, a play kitchen for E was able to move in! As a – albeit as of late very lazy – humble home chef and dedicated gourmet, I sure want to give my child the opportunity to discover her cooking skills. And she’s already helping me a lot whenever I cook – sitting on the counter (living on the edge, yes!), commenting my every move, chopping (okay, munching on) carrots and making stirring moves when I stir in the pots. I have always dreamed of a white and copper kitchen myself, with a giant marble countertop workspace. So we figured we would just have to give an the IKEA play kitchen some love. The design of the Duktig play kitchen is just so perfect; classic and timeless. With a few simple steps, we upgrade it a bit to make it more “ours”, and make it a girl’s dream kitchen. So… it was a plan and project! And hubbie takes those plans very seriously (so much love for this man, for the record).
No sooner planned than done: on a Saturday, we ventured into our very close by IKEA, grabbed a Duktig and some other kitchen essentials – pots and pans, a utensils kit and some vegs – ate the mandatory pairs of hot dogs (indecent amounts, really, don’t ask how many) and left, with a happy face, all three of us (E didn’t know what to expect, but she was a good sport). At home, hubbie unpacked the kitchen’s elements, built together what needed building and ventured out again, this time solo, to get the DIY stuff we needed for our dream kitchen.
What we used to give our Duktig some extra love:
– Pale pink paint for the sides (we used Farrow & Ball’s Calamine that we still had at home from a recent project; bought it at Snowflake in Zurich)
– Copper / vintage gold spray paint for the kitchen’s hardware and legs (make sure you get one that’s suitable for plastic as well) (from Bauhaus)
– White marble adhesive foil for the counter top (found at Coop Bau + Hobby)
– 4 glass knobs to act as switches (from Bauhaus)
And the rest is basically self-explanatory, right? I must say we are a little impatient, so it was important that this was a fast project. And really, hubbie finished the kitchen on that very same Saturday! From shopping to playing, in one day, ahaha. And voilà, infite play, guaranteed. We love our Duktig and spent hours cooking and baking, unpacking groceries, putting them in the shelves and dreaming up fancy meals, every day. Such a perfect investment.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to have my private chef fry me an egg for breaky. Oh, and while she’s at it, I’ll tell her to whip up a nice banana bread, as well.
Cheers,
Scarlett
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