Parker's new play kitchen...

I'm so excited to share this post with you guys today!  Ever since I found out I was pregnant with Parker, I looked forward to buying a cute Pottery Barn Kids kitchen for him to play with. But when the time came around to actually getting one, the one I wanted was $799, and I just couldn't justify spending that much on something I didn't even know if he would like or play with.  So I did some Pinterest searching and found several really cute hacks of the IKEA Duktig Kitchen, that inspired this project. IKEA recently dropped the price of this kitchen from $99 to $79, too! 

My mom comes to watch Parker for me on Monday's so I took a trip out to the store by Mall of America and probably spent 3 hours there. I had never actually been inside the store and loved looking around at everything, I found so many great deals! I bought the kitchen and got to work during Parker's nap and after bed for the next 3-4 days. 

​Here are the different things I did to transform the standard DUKTIG Kitchen into this gold & gray version:

• I spray painted most parts of the kitchen gray using this spray paint.
• I spray painted the included microwave, oven and dishwasher cabinet handles and footings using this color gold. 
• I created a backsplash for the kitchen using Smart Tiles and posterboard.
• I added this marble contact paper to the countertop - but honestly I really liked the natural wood that it comes with too (see picture below).
• ​I added knobs to look like stove or oven controls. 

The finished kitchen!

The before picture of the kitchen.

The burners on the stovetop light up, too.

Utensils and veggie basket are both from IKEA.

If you want to transform you own IKEA kitchen like this, here's what you'll need:

• Matte gray spray paint, I used this one
• Gold spray paint,I used this one
• Clear enamel spray paint, I used this one
• Poster board
• Tile for the backsplash, I used these because they were self adhering and required no grout, but they are kind of expensive. I bought 5 individual sheets. An alternative option is to buy paper from Hobby Lobby with a pattern you like, I was debating whether to use the shiplap style (you can see an example in the pics below.) 
• 3M adhesive strips to put on the back of the wood on the kitchen to adhere the backsplash when it's complete
• 4 knobs, Iused these, they matched the gold spray paint nicely
• Painters Tape
• Razor blade
• Scissors 

Process

1. Unpack all parts of the kitchen.
2. Gather the sink, faucet, three door handles (microwave, oven and dishwasher) as well as the hooks that you hang the spoons from. Lay them out on newspaper or cardboard and spray them with the gold paint. Once dry you can add a second coat and touch up any spots. Note, I put the pieces into a cardboard box so that they didn't need to be flipped over. See picture below.​

3. Assemble the bottom half of the kitchen, excluding the oven and dishwasher doors, the back piece and the four footings that go on each of the legs. 

4. Then, using your painters tape and newspaper you'll need to tape off the inside of these cabinets so they are still the natural color. Once they are all taped off, you can begin spray painting the bottom with the gray color. IMPORTANT: You will need to tape off the bottom board about 1" in so that once you attach the doors the little bit of the board that sticks out is gray. (See picture).  When dry, apply second coat and touch ups as needed. Finish off with the matte clear enamel. 

5. Using the painters tape, tape off the glass part of the oven door, and then spray the oven door and the dishwasher/cabinet door gray. Let dry, apply second coat as needed. Finish off with the matte clear enamel. 

6. Assemble the top half of the kitchen, do not put the microwave door handle on yet though. Using the painters tape, tape off the areas you do not want gray. For me, I wanted the back of the two cubbies to be white and the microwave on all sides to be white as well. Note: It may be easier to spray these as individual pieces rather than assembling it first, but I chose to assemble it and tape off what I wanted to maintain white.  Let it dry, apply a second/touch up coat, and finish with the matte clear enamel. 

7. At this point you can pretty much put the top half of your kitchen together and the bottom half of your kitchen together, you are just missing the countertop and backsplash. I actually debated for a long time as to whether or not I was going to add the marble contact paper because I liked the look of the natural wood so much.  But since I decided to buy it, I went for it and applied the contact paper. Since the corners of the countertop are rounded, I would suggest putting it flat on the top and rounding off the corners and then cutting a really long thin piece that goes along/on the edge of the countertop. You'll need to use the razor blade to cut holes in the contact paper where the stovetop and sink inserts go.

8. Make your backsplash. I laid the self adhering tile sheets to the poster board and cut it down to just slightly bigger than the backsplash area so that I had a place to adhere it to on the back side of the kitchen. 

9. I placed the 3M adhering strips on the back panel of the two side pieces and along the top so that it was securely adhered to the kitchen. 

10. Ta-da! You are all done! 

The plant. utensils & pots and pans are all from IKEA. The candle, salt & pepper shakers and petite glass bowls are all for styling purposes and aren't there when P plays with it. :) 

Time & Money Saving Tips
1. A cheaper alternative to the backsplash tile is paper like this shiplap one below, it's less than $1 per sheet at a craft store. You can buy three of them and adhere them to the poster board to create a quick and inexpensive backsplash. This shiplap was $.69 per sheet at Hobby Lobby. ​

2. Below is an in progress picture of the kitchen while I was assembling it, without the backsplash attached and with the original countertop, which I actually really like! The marble contact paper was a total pain to put on, so if you like this look below, you can save some time and money by using the included countertop with no additional modifications. Then you won't need to purchase the contact paper or worry about cutting out the holes for the sink and stovetop.

This whole project may seem a little overwhelming, but I promise once you dive in and start doing it, it's not that bad! There are endless ways to hack this kitchen into one that fits your unique style - the opportunities are endless! There are so many cool colors and backsplash options you can do. You can check out Pinterest for additional ideas, too! Thanks so much for all of your sweet comments on my Instagram post about this, it was a really fun project. Up next: hacking the IKEA LAAT table! I'm excited to share that project here, too! 

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