*This post was edited from December, 2017.

For my daughter’s first birthday I knew that I wanted to get her a play kitchen, but wasn’t crazy about most of the options out there (and the price tags that came with them). So I decided to “customize” the IKEA version instead and create my own little dream kitchen, complete with copper hardware, marble countertops, and an amazing, botanical print wallpaper. 

I started with the IKEA Duktig Play Kitchen, $69 a perfect blank canvas with its simple plywood and white fiberboard construction. My daughter also loves that the stovetop “burners” actually light up with the press of a button.

The wrapping paper was my jumping off point for the color scheme. I actually walked it into the paint department of our neighborhood art supply store to select the colors and walked out with this beautiful metallic rose gold and matte blue, which was bright enough to pop against the wood and white, while still being muted enough to complement the wallpaper. 

My first step was to build the kitchen so that I could get a sense of which portions I wanted to paint and which to leave as is, then mark it out on the wood. Feel free to skip this step if you try this project yourself. Think of it as me doing the legwork for you and save yourself the trouble of building a piece of Ikea furniture, twice.  

Next, I sprayed all of the “hardware” with the rose gold paint, doing thin layers and making sure to cover every angle. I got good coverage from about two coats.

For the blue accent, I painted the strip of fiberboard just below the countertop, the back of the top cabinet, and the lower cabinet’s interior shelf. It was a subtle way to incorporate the color and give the look some depth. (Can you tell that I take this way to seriously?) I applied a couple of coats to each side until I had even coverage. It took forever to complete because for the better part of a week we had intermittent rain showers and I kept having to run out and haul it back inside while still damp.  

To create the countertop I used a marble print contact paper, being sure to measure out a couple of extra inches to wrap around the edges. Once applied I cut out an X in the open spaces and then carefully folded under and trimmed the contact paper. The rounded corners are a bit tricky so take your time and cut notches as needed to get a good shape. There’s also a pre-drilled hole where the faucet fits in that you will want to punch out with your scissors, I was able to find it by feeling for the indent.

Finally, I wallpapered the backsplash with the gift wrap that inspired the color scheme and, as an added bonus, made it reversible with a sheet on the back in another print, just in case we wanted to mix things up. To create the backsplash I cut a large piece of cardboard to size (the IKEA box it comes in was actually perfect for this) and spray mounted the paper to it. There’s a bit of a seam in mine as I had to cut the paper to get the print to run the direction I wanted, but it’s hardly noticeable.

And here’s the finished product! The pots and pans are by Plan Toys, the set came with the wooden spoons which I taped and painted with acrylic craft paint then drilled holes into to hang on the rack. I made the tea towels by dip dying some fabric scraps, the wood fruit and knife are by Hape, and the faux succulent was picked up from the dollar spot at Target and hot glued in place for safety.

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Materials:  IKEA Duktig Play Kitchen: $69, Red Cap Cards Gift Wrap in Forest Blue $5, Montana Gold Spray Paint in Copper Chrome and Shock Blue Light: $7.75 ea, 3M 45 Spray Adhesive: $5.77, DC Fix Marble Contact Paper: $10

Total Cost $120