Materials: Apa storage box, Tag handles, Duktig mini-kitchen
Description: My boyfriend's sister and I wanted to give her 2-year-old daughter the Duktig mini-kitchen as a birthday gift, but we were unimpressed by a few things:
1) It's boring. Adults might like the minimalist, white and natural wood look, but no little kid is getting psyched over that.
2) No fridge. Where do you store all your play food?
3) The oven has a shelf in it instead of an oven rack. Not very realistic.
We fixed these issues pretty simply, basically by painting the hell out of it. As for the missing fridge, we used an Apa storage box on its side, spray painted metallic silver on the outside and painted white on the inside. We attached hinges to keep the door on, and used Tag handles in two different sizes to act as freezer and fridge handles. I used my Cameo cutting machine to design and cut out a Frigidaire-style label with her name on it for the front of the fridge, just to make it that more awesome. The stove situation was solved by painting the shelf grey and drawing a grid on it with a Sharpie.
My niece loved the finished product and it was definitely the highlight of her birthday.
~ Adrienne, New Hampshire