Tell me about play kitchens

yellowtulips80

I'm looking at play kitchens as Lily's big present this year.  I have three that I like.  One is plastic and one is wooden. 

Oh, and I also like this one.

I don't want one that is pink and girly because this baby boy will want to play with it too in a few years.   So it also needs to be pretty durable.  What else should I be looking for in a kitchen set?

 

 

mingaling2

I love our IKEA kitchen.  It's wooden, neutral, very sturdy and will last through several kids.  It's also height adjustable. And I love their kitchen toys (they're actually real tiny pots and pans).

BottomStar

I'm trying to decide between the IKEA one and the one below.  Either way, I'd always go wooden over plastic, and we're getting the IKEA pots and pans too, because they are just too cute and Marlowe really only wants to play with ones that look real.

https://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=537929&parentCategoryId=85185&categoryId=85231#tabs

war_eagle

I went with this recommendation:

https://smallnotebook.org/2011/11/20/gift-recommendations-for-small-kids/

MLvK

mingaling1:

I love our IKEA kitchen.  It's wooden, neutral, very sturdy and will last through several kids.  It's also height adjustable. And I love their kitchen toys (they're actually real tiny pots and pans).

this. And my little boy loves to play with it too.  

Daisy22

The third link you have is the one we are getting for the boys. It's 69.99 at TRU right now too

slwprincess

We have a red kidcraft one (different from the one you linked).  I bought it on kidwoot last year and it was Gavin's big Christmas present last year.  So far it has held up surprisingly well.  Our only complaint was that some of the pre-drilled holes were not spaced correctly so DH had to make his own.  Sophie is already into playing with it and my mom even bought them some more "groceries" to go w/ it for Christmas this year.  If I hadn't gotten the deal on this one, I would have gotten the IKEA one b/c Gavin loves playing w/ it everytime we are in the store.  We do have the IKEA pots and pans- way cheaper than any others and Sophie loves banging them together (they are metal).  Oh and FYI, my mom has been finding great deals on the Melissa and Doug sets (food and other) at Sams. 

Mylittlehill

I like this kitchen (I believe Costco currently has it in stock).  https://www.step2.com/p/LifeStyle-Deluxe-Kitchen

 

my other two favs:

https://www.step2.com/p/LifeStyle-Grand-Walk-In-Kitchen/?related=true

https://www.step2.com/p/Fresh-Market-Kitchen/?related=true (my goddtg has this one and LOVES it, so does DD when she visits).

seansgirl2006

We have one of the ones you mentioned and love it.  Basically the only reason we ended up with this one is that I got it for super cheap at a consignment sale.  I like that it is flat and goes against the wall.  Ethan had a tool bench that you needed to be able to walk all the way around so it stuck way out and took up too much room.  I like this one because he seems to have enough space to play without it being huge so we can keep it in our kitchen.  Also, this is horrible but I like that it has a microwave.  Guess I use that thing way too much because he likes to put things in there and say "beep beep beep" and then open it up. 

tracigator

We have a Melissa and Doug wooden kitchen that is just awesome. Hands down, the best thing we've ever gotten them. After tons of research, I went with a wooden kitchen and I'm really happy we did. 

Also, the Melissa and Doug food sets are great.  You can find good deals on them at a lot of the Michaels stores - pair them with one of their coupons that come out every week.  Amazon sometimes has good deals on them too. 

The kitchen itself is sturdy and has held up great.  The boys play with it every single day and you can't even tell.  Look for something that has storage - shelves, oven, etc. that the kids can use to not only cook but that can store the food.  Also, if you're thinking that both kids are going to play with it at the same time, you might want to just look at sizes of the kitchens.  Some kitchens are compact and only 1 kids can play in it comfortably and other kitchens are larger.

Roci26

zulily.com has a deal on some wooden kitchens.

remote_girl

been looking for the best deal on two specific kitchens and just thought i would share...if you go to hayneedle or wayfair and add a kitchen to your cart and go away for a day or two, often when you go back they will offer a code for an additional % off! i forgot that hayneedle did that when we were crib shopping, but i went to check out wayfair again today and they offered another 10% off (plus free shipping and no tax).