Turn an old entertainment center into a new play kitchen.
A quality play kitchen can be a fantastic opportunity for exploration for a child, but play kitchens can be expensive. With some creative thinking, you can recycle an old entertainment center into a play kitchen where your children can bake pretend pastries and cook imaginary meals to their heart's content.
Instructions
1. Remove doors, drawers and hardware from your entertainment center. Clean and sand your entertainment center. Rub with tack cloth after sanding to remove dust.
2. Paint the entertainment center your main color of choice. Use a roller for large surfaces and a paintbrush for corners. Let the first coat dry completely and add a second coat of paint.
3. Use your imagination to plan the layout of your kitchen. Depending on the size of your entertainment center, you may want to have a sink above a cupboard or a cook top above an oven, or both. Use a washable marker to outline features such as a cook top or a sink. Paint your cook top on using silver and black paint. Use a jigsaw to cut a hole for a small metal bowl that can be used for a sink. Make the hole just big enough so the bowl can fit with its lip hanging over the sides and put caulk around the bottom of the bowl rim to keep it in place. Use wooden balls, like those you would find at a craft store, for the sink knobs and a wooden letter J, attached upside down, for a faucet. Paint the pieces silver and glue them onto the kitchen behind the sink with wood glue.
4. Reattach the doors, drawers and hardware. If you want to make a stove or a dishwasher instead of just cupboards, you can attach the door on the bottom instead of the side using toy box lid supports and hinges. Paint the dishwasher or oven door silver and attach the handle on the top instead of on the side.
5. Once you have built your kitchen, you can add finishing touches such as curtains, miniature kitchen towels, plates, pots and pans. Use your imagination to design the play kitchen of your dreams.
Tags: turn, entertainment, center, child, kitchen, play kitchen, entertainment center, entertainment center, your entertainment, your entertainment center, center into
