Thursday, March 18, 2010

Tres Chic Play Kitchen

Word of the day:
mon·o·ma·ni·a (mon-uh-mey-nee-uh) n.
1. Pathological obsession with one idea or subject.
2. Intent concentration on or exaggerated enthusiasm for a single subject or idea.

I confess, I've been somewhat of a monomaniac this week, or rather a duomaniac, since I've been intently concentrating with exaggerated enthusiasm on two projects this week. It's been a glorious convergence of a) Spring Break (ie. not having to drive into town to drop off or pick up kids from school) and b) Spring Weather (upper 60s all week , kids playing outside lots and lots.) This has left lots of time to devote to these two projects that I have been planning and accumulating the pieces for for some time now.

My oldest son attends the local parochial school, and I'm on the planning committee for the big Spring Fundraising Gala. After all the fun I had creating the Bugga Boo's Play Kitchen, I thought it would be great to do another one for the Gala's Silent Auction to raise money for the school. (In all honesty, I'm always looking for excuses for another project.)

Not long after committing myself to doing the play kitchen, I came across a twin bookshelf headboard on FreeCycle.org that I knew would be perfect for a puppet theater a la Infarrently Creative! With NO room for anything of the sort in our house, it would be destined for the Silent Auction as well. (I'm still tweaking the finishing touches on this project, but keep an eye out in the next couple of days for the pics!)

So, once I had decided to jump into another play kitchen, the first step was to find a piece of furniture that would work as raw material. I came across this small entertainment center thingy on the free section of Craigslist:


(Blogger tip #62 - Don't try to take a before picture while said item is crammed in the little space next to your car in the garage...)

After several weeks mulling over design possibilities, I decided to do a Tres Chic French theme, with a pale pink, black and white, a faux chandelier and damask curtains over the window with the view of the Eiffel Tower. I have to say, I am tickled pink with the results:




Since the piece of furniture was a big, fat FREE, I figured the whole thing only cost about $15 for the faucet, "sink", knobs and pulls, "window frame" (which is actually an old cabinet door that I jigsawed the center panel out of), the stuff for the faux chandelier, and the paints.  Everything else was stuff I had on hand.

Here's to hoping this little maniacal labor raises beaucoup money for the school!

Next up, the puppet theater!

'Till then,


This project is competing in the Kid's Crafts Challenge at The CSI Project!
Visit thecsiproject.com



Furniture Feature FridaysgiveawaysFunky Junk's Saturday Nite SpecialThe DIY Show Off  http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

54 comments:

  1. That is an absolutely GENIOUS idea! I ADORE that. Wish I had some girls so I could copy that idea.

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  2. Adorable! Way to go the extra mile with the decorating...especially the chandelier!

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  3. This is way beyond adorable...love the chandy!

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  4. this is beautiful! I'm sure it will do great in raising money for your school

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  5. I love it...I wish Ryleigh was still young enough to want to play with something like that it is absolutely adorable!

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  6. wow! My daughter would LOVE this - awesome transformation :)

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  7. WOW. That is a total transformation. I love it! You all see some potential that I never would have seen.

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  8. What a charming piece of stagecraft. Can't wait to see the next project. --Jane F.

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  9. Are you kidding my? I am amazed! That is incredible!
    Thanks for sharing.
    Brooke

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  10. Wow! You are seriously talented! Any little girl would LOVE that! Thanks for linking up to the POPP.

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  11. That is too cute! Very nice job :) Can't beat the price for sure and it is custom with all those great details!

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  12. Oh my word! That is amazing! A kitchen for Julia Child's no less! Love the mold for a sink-very classy!

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  13. Fantastic!! What fun. I am going to link to this post in my Inspire My Saturday post tomorrow.

    XO*Tricia

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  14. This turned out so beautiful. I love that you went with the pink, and added so much detail. It turned out darling. I would love it if you stopped by next week for my Bring In The Spring link party. Have a good weekend!

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  15. Oh, this is way too cute. I ended up buying my granddaughter a play kitchen at Christmas and thought it was pretty cute (& pricey). Now I'm jealous. So glad I stumbled in here.

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  16. *blink*

    I am so glad you landed on the SNS doorstep. I cannot WAIT to dig further into your blog and check out your other projects.

    Mark my words. You're the next blog superstar. Just remember, I found you first. :)

    Thanks for linking up!
    FJ Donna

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  17. Oh wow. That is seriously gorgeous! The chandy and the Eiffel Tower! AAHhh! I love it!

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  18. That is the cutest thing I have even seen, what a lucky girl to have that to play with, great great job.

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  19. My granddaughters would love this!! Well done!

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  20. OH MY! I LOVE the chandelier! Great job!

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  21. That is Fantastic!!! I love the French touch.
    Win Rachael Ray bake ware at my blog.
    Thanks!
    Sherry

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  22. That is way cool!

    My granddaughter would love it.

    Sweet dreams.

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  23. That is seriously adorable! I think my favorite part is the chandelier!

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  24. Very sweet! Love the parisian touches!

    Judy@cutest-little-things

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  25. Wowzer...luv this adorable little kitchen...awesome makeover! Come by and show her off at my NIFTY THRIFTY TUESDAYS PARTY...hope to see her there:)

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  26. Be still my heart! I love this...adore this...and I want to do this for my granddaughters! WOW! Thanks for the idea. Be blessed. Cindy

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  27. I just gotta comment again and say, " I think this needs a tutorial". I am soooo wanting to do this. Just adore it! Be blessed. Cindy

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  28. I really love this....especially the chandelier...that's so clever!! What is the metal piece that you used for the "base"?

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  29. That might very well be my favorite kitchen yet!!

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  30. That is the cutest thing I've ever seen!!

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  31. Can I just say that this is mY FAVORITE I've seen in a while! I'm featuring you on my blog for my Saturday shout-out!! (i hope that's okay; it will link back here to your post) Found you through the shabby nest--so nice to meet you! -shaunna :)

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  32. This is sooo cute, very creative and I love the chandelier. TFS. Sandra @sawdustandpaperscraps

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  33. That is the most adorable thing I have ever seen! I want one! The sad part is I just gave away a computer cabinet...maybe I could have made one for myself! I bet your daughter just loves it! Lisa

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  34. You are officially the coolest mom in the world. I would've loved this when I was a little girl. Your attention to detail is amazing. Wonderful job!

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  35. Checking craiglist now! this is adorable ;)

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  36. This is the cutest craftiest thing I have ever seen! Bravo!!
    Oh and I am loving that little faux chandelier, its the perfect touch!

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  37. Oh! I think this is one of my favorite play kitchens I have seen out there! Love It!

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  38. Wow Thats adorable!!!! I always see these type of entertainment center on craigslist for real cheap and couldent figure out what i could do with it!. Thanks for the idea!

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  39. AMAZING! I love this and am so excited to have found it in blogland today.Thank you so much for sharing. I want to make a smaller version for my girls and already have the main frame. I will be using yours as inspiration. Thanks so much!!

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  40. I came across your post in another blog and had to stitch on over here because this kitchen is so cute. I love the idea behind it and Im now on the lookout for something that i can transform for my little princess.

    If you get a chance I would love for you to stitch on over to my blog and check me out.

    www.sewhappysewcrafty.blogspot.com

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  41. So Chic! I love the chandelier. If my girls didn't already have a play kitchen I would definitely have to ATTEMPT this one.

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  42. LOVE this! What a great way to reuse that old bookcase. I love your word- monomania. I think I suffer from that sometimes as well!

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  43. I am so pinning this! What a great idea!!

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  44. if only i was at that auction...this is so beautiful.

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  45. Thanks for taking this opportunity to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and I take pleasure in learning about this topic. If possible, as you gain information, please add to this blog with new information. I have found it extremely useful.

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  46. I really loved the post so I used my Digg account to digg it.. It's hard to find knowledgeable individuals on this matter, but you sound like you already know what you're talking about! Thanks A rise in Amazing A lot more.

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  47. Can you give us more details in how you made the faux chandelier? Soooooooo stinking cute. Very creative mind you have. I also especially love the sink--those 2 things add a ton of character to this cute kitchen!

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  48. What did you use for the burners and the light fixture?

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  49. So clever and cute - I love this project idea. I transformed an old entertainment center into a nursery, but I'll plan on doing a play kitchen next time around:) I linked to your post here:
    http://hintmama.com/2013/11/12/todays-hint-transform-an-old-entertainment-center/

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