IKEA Toddler Kitchen Hack

My daughter had been asking for kitchen for the longest time. We got rid of the play kitchen her siblings used because it had seen better days.

I really like the Pottery Barn kitchens but didn’t really want to break the bank. I figured she’d probably use it for about 2 years max. So there was no use splurging on a set that will be gone in no time.

After doing a little bit of searching, I decided that the IKEA Duktig Kitchen will be our best option and it is under $100. There are tons of ideas out there for making over the Duktig kitchen but I really liked this makeover from Katie Lamb. It’s similar to the color scheme in our current kitchen, so why not…

Once I narrowed down the colors I was using, I made a trip to Home Depot.

I purchased all paint from the Rust-Oleum brand. Home Depot was having a great sale. I encourage you to shop around for the best deals as a lot of major retailers carry them. I decided on the following colors:

Gloss White – Paint and Primer in One
Dark Gray – Paint and Primer
Champagne Mist – Paint and Primer in One
Clear Durable Top Coat to prevent chipping

Next I laid out all the pieces into 2 groups to ensure there were no mistakes in painting since I was using two colors. I used painters tape to cover the glass areas that didn’t need paint.

I used a painter’s drop cloth in our backyard and the painting began. Each piece received two coats of the primary paint color for that specific piece. I allowed an hour and half of dry time in between and went back and did some touch ups. There are some pieces that were gray on the outside and white on the inside. Be sure to have a visual of what sides will be outer facing and vise versa. Below are some progress shots.

After the second coat, I left to dry for 3 hours and then put top coat on. I quickly realized that the top coat made the white paint bubble. In order to remedy, I used sandpaper and sprayed on the paint again from a further distance. My suggestion would be to get a white paint that is similar to gray which is just a paint and primer. I had no issues with the gray paint.

Once the pieces were fully dried, it was time for assembly. I got Marble Contact paper and Peel and Stick tile for the back splash from Amazon.

To make sure there were no bubbles in the marble counter top, I used a spatula to go over the contact paper as I applied in phases. For the edges, I used a hair dryer to shrink it a bit.

The Peel and Stick tile came in five 12*12 pieces. I cut out some poster board to fit the opening, also leaving some overage on all sides to glue down properly. I carefully applied the Peel and Stick tiles making sure the pattern was continuous.

Once this was done, it was just a matter of putting all the additional pieces together following the manual.

Here is the finished product and my daughter has been over the moon and uses it daily.