Fixer Upper Play Kitchen
Is your kitchen a fixer upper? Are you like me and can’t afford to redo your actual kitchen? WELL- did you know you can make your dream kitchen on a very small budget when it is in a mini size? And better yet, if you have a child they will enjoy it almost as much as you! Having this minimalist modern white play kitchen (that I hope Joanna Gaines would be proud of) in my actual kitchen really enhances the atmosphere. Can we be real? This was almost as much for me as it was for baby girl. BUT mostly for baby girl (wink).. No, but really- I felt like this would be a great gift that will last through many years and stages. Right now she just likes to look at all of the things in her kitchen, she opens and shuts the doors, but it will soon become a station for lots of imaginative play and creativity. I can’t wait to see what she cooks up over the years!
I originally was going to follow this tutorial however after looking all over town in various thrift stores we couldn’t find an old entertainment center that would work. I ended up finding a play kitchen on a garage sale app that was still in the box for $40 and I decided to use that as the structure. This made the project require minimal work but it was still fun to fix it up!

This is the play kitchen I purchased on the garage sale app.
Here is what you need for the project:
- Wooden play kitchen base OR old tv stand that can be turned into a little play kitchen
- White paint and primer combo
- Bronze acrylic paint
- Paint brushes
- Foam poster board
- Tic Tac Tiles – Premium Anti Mold Peel and Stick Wall Tile in Subway Design (12″x12″ 10 sheets, Mono White)
- White paint pen
Instructions:
1. If your kitchen is disassembled paint all pieces in your paint/primer combo first and let dry for a full 24 hours. I did two coats of paint. If your base/kitchen is already assembled then just paint it as is.
2. Add bronze embellishments. I decided to paint the little oven knobs, refrigerator handle, and the utensil rack knobs.
3. Next assemble the kitchen according to the instructions.
4. Measure and cut foam board to fit in the back for the stick and peel subway tile.
5. Once board is cut, carefully apply stick and peel subway tile to the board.
6. Staple your board to the back of the kitchen.
7. Color over any screws with your white paint pen.
8. A key aesthetic feature I wanted to add was a succulent in a geometric pot. I painted the top rim of the pot with a thin bronze line. If your pot is breakable like mine, hot glue it down to the shelf.
9. Are you ready to see your fixer upper?! Sit back and ooo and ahh at your (ahem your child’s) beautiful new modern play kitchen! Good times and good eats will be had for years to come!
Extra goodies
- White geometric vase from Hobby Lobby
- Fake succulent from Hobby Lobby
- Wooden Play Kitchen Accessories (plates, pots, utensils)
- 14-piece Plush Vegetables Set
- Wooden Fruit Slicers Playset
- Kettle and Toaster Set