DIY Boho Functional Ikea Play Kitchen Hack
So, I should start off by saying that I’ve wanted to redo one of these IKEA Duktig play kitchens long before I ever even had a baby to make one for. Last Christmas I had already decided that this Christmas I would make Bekam one because he’d be old enough. BUT I was too excited and made it for him in September – ha! I figured that he’s still too young to understand Christmas, and it’s better to space the toys out anyways. SO, all that to say that this DIY project is a long time coming and I am SO happy with how it turned out! Plus I added running water which he LOVES!
I know there are a MILLION IKEA play kitchen hacks out there, like literally an overwhelming amount, so I thought I’d give you a quick list of what I did to the kitchen with a short explanation on how I made each change, so that you can pick and choose on how you want to update your Duktig play kitchen!
What I Changed:
*Note: It’s easier to change things as your build it, instead of putting the kitchen together and then taking it apart to spray paint and paint it etc.
Spray painted the handles, rod and hooks gold
This one is pretty self explanatory.
Spray painted the sink and stove white
A lot of people take the stove part out and replace it with a wooden one, but I just couldn’t do that since the one it comes with lights up and I knew Bekam would love that (he does), so I just spray painted the edge white (it was gray). I just taped off the entire top of the stove to do this.
Painted the Lower Cabinets
I was going to paint the entire base of the kitchen, but ended up just painted the fronts of the cabinet doors which was way easier. I used the color Ash Blonde by Behr, which is also the color of the lower cabinets in our real kitchen. I had leftover cabinet paint from painting our kitchen, so I just used that since I know it lasts really well. You can find that tutorial HERE.
Adding caning to glass doors
I saw this on a few other IKEA kitchens and LOVED the boho personality it gave. I used caning from Amazon. It’s super easy to use, just cut it to size, then soak it in water so that it lays flat and is easier to work with. I then just used gorilla glue to attach it to the back of the doors and I just left the glass in and it looks great!
Added wooden knobs to oven and towel hook.
I used wooden drawer pulls to the oven to make it look more like an oven. I used glued them on with gorilla glue. I also added one to the side of the kitchen for a towel hook since I knew I was adding running water and a towel would be necessary haha. PS. I use wooden drawer pulls for all my IKEA furniture to make it look less IKEA-y.
Added a backsplash
My husband found the backsplash stickers we used at our local hardware store, but these are almost identical! The back of the IKEA kitchen is open, so I measured the open spot and then cut out a piece of foam board I got from the dollar store. Stuck the tiles onto the foam board and then nailed the foam board to the back of the kitchen!
Added Running Water
I added running water to our play kitchen for under $20!! It’s so simple.
- Drill holes into the sink, there are already drain hole indents so just use those as a guide.
- Place a bowl on the top shelf underneath the sink and fill it up with water.
- Take your water bottle pump and feed the tube through the hole that’s already above the sink and into the bowl of water.
- We tied a weight to the end of the tube so that it would stay at the bottom of the bowl.
- We also added velcro to the sink so that Bekam couldn’t pull the sink out and access the water bowl.
- I used extra foam board and taped it to the front of the shelf where the water is (see photo) so that he can’t see and and won’t pull the bowl of water out. I’ve seen people put a child lock on that cabinet, but I wanted him to be able to use the lower shelf.
- We also used a magnet to secure the faucet to the counter top (one magnet glued to the bottom of the faucet and one glued to the cabinet).
*The water drains into the same bowl that the faucet is getting water from, so it just cycles through. That way you don’t have to add water, and it’s low maintenance. . I just switch the water out sometimes with clean water. He doesn’t use it for drinking so I’m not too concerned.
PS. Here’s some of the CUTEST play food I could find that I hope to add to his kitchen this Christmas! A wooden espresso machine, a wooden toaster, pots and pans, a carton of eggs.
I also painted an arch behind the kitchen to add some height and make it look more purposeful. You can find my tutorial on how to paint an arch HERE! I then painted a little smiley face and hung it above the kitchen to add some whimsy. I also got gold wire baskets from the dollar store to hold his play food (play food is from IKEA).
That’s about it!! Making this little kitchen (that matches our real kitchen) was a dream project and I have been loving playing with it with Bekam! Hope you love it as much as I do – and if you make your own IKEA play kitchen pretty please tag or DM me on Instagram @mikylacreates! See you next time 🙂
