It’s been a dream of mine to makeover an IKEA play kitchen for my daughter and this Christmas seemed like the perfect time to gift it to her. I weighed the options between the IKEA DUKTIG (the more popular option) and SPISIG and decided on the smaller footprint of the SPISIG for a few reasons. Mainly, the size fits our home better and the price tag was cheaper which made sense since I was only keeping the base of the kitchen and customizing the rest. I was heavily inspired by this one by Little Reeser House! Of course, the play kitchen is already super cute to start with…but it was still fun to create something new from it!
The video shows the process and how straightforward it was, I’ll break down the measurements and tips below in case you have the IKEA play kitchen itch as well.
IKEA SPISIG Makeover
Unbox: Unbox the play kitchen and separate the pieces. I kept all the pieces to the base of the kitchen.
Paint & Sand: Lightly sand the pieces with sandpaper and layout to spray paint in light coats. I used two cans of spray paint and three light coats, waiting for each layer to dry between spraying again. Follow up with two coats of matte clear coat spray paint. I sprayed the doors, base, bottom shelf, and handle the same color and I painted the sink white.
Assemble: Assemble the play kitchen base according to the IKEA instructions. Assemble everything but the countertop!
Countertop: Trace the original countertop shape on a piece of project board wood. We already had this from a past project, so use what is available to you! Using a drill and jigsaw, carefully cut the hole for the sink out. Now cut the counter shape and sand with fine sandpaper. Attach the countertop to the base of the kitchen with hinges or small L-brackets and create two new holes for the dowels that were included in the play kitchen. Hinges are what I had on hand!
Back Panel: Cut 24 inch 1×2 boards for the back brace of the backsplash, use wood glue and a nail gun to attach to the base of the kitchen. Cut a thin wood panel for the backsplash measuring 21×24 inches and attach with wood glue and a nail gun.
Handmade Tile Backsplash: Paint peel and stick squares in varying colors to resemble handmade tiles. After 2-3 coats, cut to measure 4×4. Glue to the backsplash.
Floating Shelf: Cut a 2×4 piece of wood to measure 21 inches. Attach to the back panel with heavy-duty wood screws. You can also use L-brackets!
Wood Burners: Cut a small wood square dowel to 1 inch, you’ll need 16 small wood pieces for the wood burners. Glue to the wood coasters. Once they are dry, sand well and glue or nail to the countertop.
Faucet: Use the original sink faucet as a guide and trace the faucet shape on paper. Transfer to wood and cut carefully with a jigsaw. Sand well. To attach to the counter, drill two holes in the bottom and two holes on the countertop. Gently hammer dowels in place to connect.
Faucet Knobs: Cut 1/2 inch wood dowels to 2 inches and sand well. Glue next to the sink faucet or use dowels to connect.
Finish! Accessorize and add side hooks!
Accessories:
Everything else was thrifted!
