An Easy Ikea Play Kitchen Hack

Chris and I searched all over the place for the “perfect” kitchen for Wendy and to be honest, most just fell short. They just didn’t feel like Wendy’s kitchen. So when I was browsing my local Ikea I fell in love with the Duktig Play Kitchen. Mostly because all I could think of was all the ways I could customize it to fit exactly what we needed.  Using leftover paint, and a few extra details this instantly became my favourite Ikea play kitchen hack. It’s been such a hit with my toddler. From the moment she laid eyes on the final product she hasn’t wanted to stop playing with it. Much like her mama, she’ll spend most of her day in her kitchen. 

The thing I love most about this play kitchen is that it ignites her creative side. I’ve watched her pretend to cook pancakes on her stovetop, turn the knobs when she’s “baking” a cake, and pretend to wash all her utensils in the sink…and everything else, thank goodness there’s no actual running water because I would be swimming in our living room if there was.

The first thing I did was buy marble looking contact paper for the countertop. I found this one at my local dollar store but you can easily find a similar one like the DC Fix Adhesive Film, Grey Marble on Amazon. You want to make sure that you are careful when sticking the paper onto the countertop getting out all the air pockets. Once I laid it out, I took a box cutter knife and cut out the edges (keeping 2 inches around to cover up the wood edges) and to cut out the stovetop and sink areas.

Next, you’ll want to primer and paint all your kitchen pieces. It’s so much easier to do all your painting before assembling the DUKTIG kitchen. I wanted to save some money and painted the bottom of the kitchen with leftover paint from Wendy’s nursery. The colour is called Sprig of Mint in eggshell and I purchased it at Lowe’s two years ago. It was the perfect pale pastel green for gold accents. I ended up spray painting the faucet, rod, drawer handles and feet in gold using this Gold Interior and Exterior Spray Paint. I wanted her kitchen to feel real, so I added two LED battery powered lights to the microwave and the oven.

Once everything was painted, I drilled holes above the stove area for the pretty knobs that I found on Amazon. They don’t turn or anything but Wendy pretends that they do.

I also customized the backside of the kitchen. I figured when she’s a bit older, this kitchen can grow with her. She can turn the kitchen around and write up her daily specials, or draw on the blackboard. It’s just another way for her to have fun and create her own imaginative play sessions.

Once everything was painted and put together, I added some fun extras. I purchased a small carton of eggs from the grocery store (I did not include real eggs, we had those for breakfast) and searched through our Easter egg stash for some fake eggs. I also purchased found some inexpensive pots, pans, utensils, and a cute plate set.

If you’re looking to customize your own DUKTIG kitchen, here’s the stuff I used (prices in USD):

• IKEA DUKTIG Play Kitchen – $79.99
• KILZ Primer – $5.98
• Krylon White spray paint – $4.48
• Krylon Gold Interior and Exterior Spray Paint – $10.43
• Valspar interior paint, eggshell (leftover from Wendy’s nursery) – Sprig of Mint 6004-7B
• Krylon Black Chalk Board Spray Paint – $7.84
• I brought contact paper from my local dollar store but this one is similar – DC Fix Adhesive Film, Grey Marble – $9.95
• Cabinet Knob Diamond Shape Crystal Glass Hand Pull, 25 pack – $19.99
• IPOW LED Battery-powered Night Lights, 5 pack – $9.99

Now I just have to get working on adding some more felt food toys, which has become kind of an obsession recently. I mean look at how cute that pancake, syrup, and butter look. Super easy to make and adorable. I’ll be posting a DIY up on the blog soon, so check back for that.

Wendy absolutely adores playing with her new kitchen set. She could spend her whole day pretending to cook yummy meals and bake wonderful cakes. I’m just happy that she loves it and it’ll grow with her. Are you looking for a creative way to hack your Ikea DUKTIG kitchen? Show me how you made it your own. Tag me on Instagram (@withlovefrombex)