We got this one three years ago for our daughter. She's five now and still plays with it nearly every day. Fantastic quality, made of wood, and it's held up perfectly.
http://www.amazon.com/KidKraft-53173-Red-Retro-Kitchen/dp/B0030HBVG2/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1321114218&sr=1-1
This is the review I wrote after we bought it:
We got this kitchen set for our two toddlers (ages 2 and 3). I was worried about the size and height of the kitchen because others have said it's small. It is small, but it's fine. Our three year old can stand and work at it no problem. It'd be too small for a five year old unless they knelt and worked, but I don't think this product is aimed at older kids anyway.
Assembly...it's really not that bad. We laid out all the pieces by number (it comes with easily removed number stickers on each piece) and all the nuts, bolts, etc. by letter. Putting it together was easy because we could easily grab the parts we need. With two of us, talking and not rushing, it took a couple of hours. Well worth it, really, when you consider how inexpensive this wooden kitchen is compared to pre-assembled ones. When assembled it looks GREAT. Everything matched up, screwed in, and shut tight. We had to file the glue off the one dowel, but no biggie.
Storage....that was our other big concern. Would all the play food, pots, etc. be too small for this kitchen? Nope! I'm amazed at how much we fit in this thing! We ordered:
Melissa and Doug red wood pot set
A wooden tea pot
The Green Toys Cookware and Dining Set
Melissa and Doug cut-apart foods
Melissa and Doug pizza set
Melissa and Doug Play Food set
Two chef hats
A wooden/felt cupcake baking set
Everything fits! We even had room for a half carton of "eggs" and two mini gallons of milk (with plenty of room to spare). Even nicer, everything is in scale with the kitchen...the Melissa and Doug wooden food and pots look like they were made for the kitchen, and the Green Toys food set stacks nicely in the storage area. It might be nice if there was a drawer for forks, mixing spoons, etc., but the storage is simple enough to allow inserting bins or baskets.
Our kids love the kitchen. There are lots of doors that latch, the microwave has a spinning turntable, the knobs click and turn, the faucet handles turn...there are so many cute details that make pretending a fun experience for them. We're very happy with the product. I can't speak for durability or customer service yet, but hopefully that won't be an issue.
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Now that dd is five, the size worry hasn't turned out to be a problem. Sometimes she stands at it, sometimes she kneels. I like that the kitchen is small...it uses less wall space, but still allows her tons of room for imagination (because it has a sink, stove, burners, dials, fridge, microwave, etc.). I read another review from someone that said "when people see their kids play with this kitchen, they say they wish they'd have bought this one." is true....I think most of my friends have either bought this kitchen themselves, or said they wish they had. It's a keeper. ;)
Edited by RedOakMomma - 11/12/11 at 8:53am
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