Desperate for wooden toy kitchen

[mom in miami]

Hello,
I would love to find an inexpensive wooden kitchen for my two year old. I just CANNOT afford the exorbant prices($150.-$200.) that most of the catalogs are asking for. I've tried e-bay, and most all catalogs and websites. Any new suggestions? I would hate to opt for the plastic kitchens, but the price of the wooden ones are leaving me little choice.
Thanx so much,
Mom in Miami

[Dovie]

Would you or your dh be interested in building one? We built a wooden stove for our 2 yr old for about $40. It is really cute and easy, he plays with it all the time. It is made with a 1x12 and just requires a few cross cuts that your lumber yard would cut for you if you don't have the tools and a hammer and finish nails. I could draw up and send you the plans and picture. We used a cooling rack for the inside. It has knobs that turn and burners drawn on top. We used cabinet pulls and a magic marker. The door opens and shuts. You can finish it however you want, wax it, paint, stain it, oil it, leave it natural.
Let me know if you are interested.
Edited to add: We keep ours in the kitchen and we can both cook at the same time. It has really helped at dinner time. :) I'm sure the stove idea could be easily expanded if you wanted other pieces like a fridge.

[MamaMae]

Okay, this probably isn't the answer you're looking for, but what about.....cardboard! Seriously, that's what a few of my friends have done for their little ones, and the kitchen sets are sooo cool!...you can paint and draw on it, cut out holes for sink/etc. Get the kids involved....I think it reallly teaches ingenuity, imagination and creativity! What a much better lesson than just having this expensive item already made and put in front of them!

Just my thought...of course, I say this all in theory...I secretly wish for a wooden one too! :)

[mom in miami]

Hello,
Thanx for both very great suggestions. Unfortunately, both my husband and I have very little coordination for such things, and very limited time. I realize that we're taking the easy way out, but I have to be realistic. But both were AWESOME suggestions.
Thanx so much,
Mom in Miami

[LaLa]

Target, of all places, now carries wooden toys, and they have a wooden portable kitchen for $40, I believe.

Also, try places like TJMax, Marshalls etc.

Check out nearby amana or amish communities for woodworkers

hmmm...seems like there was one other place, but I can't think of it now?

[chocomoto]

Check out the latest IKEA catalog.
I know they have all the wooden kitchen accessories and real enamelwear pots for dirt cheap.
I just love IKEA!

[LaLa]

IKEA!
That was the other one
:LOL

[Grasshopper]

Check out an unfinished furniture store! You'll have to do the painting or staining yourself (it's easy, I swear!) but that way you can decorate it to match your child's room!

[z-girl]

Just curious (because I can't wait to get one for DD!)- when do kids become interested in stuff like this?

[yogamama]

Ikea and Target are good suggestions, but if I may brag I bought the best wooden kitchen set at Marshall's. Each piece was reduced TWICE and still it cost me $33 each piece, but I got a stove/oven and sink and I don't mind looking at them in my dining room. I saw the same pieces at a cool upscale toy store near our house for $118 each piece. So, I feel that I can brag (and they were made in Germany and seem so well built).

If I hadn't found this one, I actually like the red and white wooden kitchen set at Target.

z-girl - my son is 2 1/2 and at about age 2 he really got into "making" foods, stirring pots to make soup (we would put raisens in a pot and give him a wooden spoon). Now he is really into playing restaurant and cooking in the oven and washing dishes.

[EmsMom]

I have some other suggestions: Ebay often has wood kitchens at a reasonable price, although the bidding sometimes raises the price too high. I got a nice nursery-schhol style one for $50 this way and I have seen a number of others. Marshalls and Target both carry some wood stoves, sinks and refrigerators at reasonable prices. Ikea has the accessories at great prices.

You may also try contacting the catalog companies that have the wood kitchens you admire and ask them about any "irregulars." If there is even a little ding or mar in the wood, they can't sell them new and might be happy to give you a reduced price. I recently got some organice sheets at less then 1/2 price this way! Yea! Good luck.

[madison]

How about buying an unfinished bookshelf and making one yourself? You could make a stove/sink.

Do you have a wood burner? I was thinking you could burn in four burners and a drill a few holes to add in knobs. And you could cut out a hole for a sink and add in any type of plastic bowl with a rim (and then superglue it to the wood). You could put dowels across the shelf part of it and hang curtains to hide it - and your kid could put dishes and empty cartons under there like a pantry/drawer.

Or, you could simply find child-safe paint and paint on burners and designs, and then seal it, for a quick, inexpensive stove.

Then, if you have company over, just turn the shelves around to face the wall, drape a decorative piece of fabric over it and put some potted plants on it - no one would know it is really a stove :D

[moondiapers]

We made ours from shelves that fold up. They are wooden, cost between $40 and $60 and have hinges so that they fold up. We cut a hole and put a stainless steel mixing bowl in it. Bought inexpensive faucet and knobsand attatched those to it, then painted on burners. I made curtains that attach with velcro...and bought a few rubbermaid washtubs to put on the bottom shelves for storage. I got the idea from someone on mango mamas.
-Heather

[amy mama]

Hey Miami mom-I live in Kendall, and at the Tuesday Morning store near us they often have wooden kitchen sets. I'm not sure what the price is, but they are a discount store, so I'd hope they would be reasonable. DD's grandparents got her a plastic one with all the bells and whistles, but I'm thinking of getting/making a wooden one to put in the kitchen while I cook. Also, I'm goingto pm and see if you would be interested in a Mother's Day brunch or putluck I"m thining of organizng. I put a thread in Finding Your Tribe.

Cheers, Amy

[neecowal]

Hi there,
Elves and Angels is having a sale. They are the manufacturer of the nice wooden kitchens that you see in all the Waldorfy catalogs and websites. They don't have a website but I think you can find their number on the web if you do a google search. The guy there said the sale was ending earlier this month, but I called a little bit after the deadline and he gave me the sale prices (50% off)! They sell full size kitchens, but they also sell a kitchenette for $99.00 regular price so it would be $50 on sale--really beautiful quality.
Nicole
www.universalmama.com
...selling natural products made by mothers...
nicole@universalmama.com