Happy Wednesday! Today, I’m going to talk about the DIY projects we did as part of our playroom and give you the inside scoop on how I completed each one! I am not a big DIY’er and have virtually no DIY skills so these aren’t anything crazy [or someone else helped me do them lol]!
If you haven’t seen my other posts on our playroom makeover, you can find them here:
Or if you prefer to quickly shop our playroom, you can click here!
We did four “DIY” projects as part of the playroom:
- Giving the Ikea Duktig Kid’s Kitchen a little facelift
- Staining the Ikea Latt kid’s table and chairs to match the rest of our house
- Creating a chalkboard out of a broken mirror frame
- Creating a floating shelf that runs the whole length of our TV wall
Read on below to see the transformations!
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Kitchen
I looked at several kid’s kitchens for our playroom in a range of prices. Ultimately, I decided to go the economical route with the Ikea Duktig kitchen [note you can get this on Amazon. While it is cheaper to get it at Ikea, you do have to pay shipping unless you get it in store and it’s a pretty hefty shipping fee. I got ours from Ikea and it came much faster than I was anticipating.]. I thought I would just pretty it up by spray painting the hardware, putting contact paper on the countertop, and adding a backsplash.
I did end up going down the rabbit hole of Kid’s Kitchen Makeovers on Pinterest and for a couple days, I was seriously considering painting the whole thing. This makeover by Katie Lamb in particular is just beautiful. I decided I just didn’t have time to paint it and I think it still turned out great!
My first step was to spray paint the hardware, which included the following:
- Sink
- Faucet
- Cabinet Handles
- Stovetop surrounding piece
- Hanging Rod
- Hooks
- Risers
Unfortunately, my husband put together some of the kitchen before I got home without knowing I had grand plans for it, so he did have to take some of it apart so that I could get all these pieces. I would suggest doing all you DIYs BEFORE putting any of it together!
The spray paint I used was: Krylon Metallic Gold
I put the faucet and handles into cardboard to stand them up so that they would be easier to spray. I also removed the top of the stovetop and then covered the inside [which includes wires for the lights] with paper towels and taped them down.
My second step was to add the contact paper to the countertop. I used this contact paper. When you’re looking for contact paper, make sure it is wide enough to cover the whole counter with one piece.
I warmed up the corners with a hair dryer to make the paper more pliable which helped to get smooth corners. My corners still aren’t great but it was definitely easier with the hair dryer.
I cut out the holes for the sink and stovetop with scissors. You don’t need to be too careful here because both of them have lips which will cover the edges.
My next step was to install the backsplash. I used this peel and stick one and I did have to buy 2 packs [I do have some extra left over, but I needed to two packs to line it up correctly]. I chose to put backsplash in the cubbies on either side of the microwave as well. These sections already have a back so I just stuck the backsplash in there [we had already assembled that part]. We used a spare piece of wood we had from the chalkboard [more on that later] to create the backing. Once the backsplash was on the backing, we attached it to the kitchen with finishing nails.
Table and Chairs
Similar to the kitchen, I looked and looked for a table and chairs at a reasonable price point. I considered going with a more expensive set but I really liked the height of the Ikea set for a 15 month old. I knew I could jazz it up a little to make it fit into the rest of my decor with a little stain.
I stained everything before we assembled it. I used Weathered Gray stain and did 2 coats. We do have weathered gray on both our hardwoord floors and ceiling beams [read more about our ceiling here].
Chalkboard
This chalkboard was originally a mirror in our master bedroom. We had an unfortunate incident with our Roomba before the mirror was secured to the wall and that was the end of that. However, it all worked out because we were able to repurpose the frame for this chalkboard!
We used a thin piece of plywood in the frame. I painted the plywood with 3 coats of this chalk paint. I followed the directions for “conditioning” the chalkboard. Basically, you have to let the chalk paint dry for 3 days after your last coat and then cover the entire thing with chalk and wipe it off. Then you have to let it sit for 7 days before wiping down again. I don’t think I did this part perfectly because our chalkboard does still have some chalk residue on it and isn’t perfectly black. I think this is fine for how it looks in our space, but something to think about if you want it to look perfectly black [or whatever color chalk paint you use!].
Something else to consider with a chalkboard and young kids – I got “dustless” chalk and chalk holders. I had never even heard of chalk holders but they are amazing! Yes, we do still get chalk on the floor and such because someone like to throw them, but both products definitely help!
Floating Shelf
I’ve been dreaming of this floating shelf basically since we moved in. This wall is HUGE at 13′ long [and we have 10′ ceilings]. Originally, when we were building, I wanted to do bookcases on this wall above the cabinets, but the price was astronomical and definitely not in the budget. Ever since we nixed the cabinets, I’ve been trying to figure out how to fill up this space.
My brother in law made the shelf for us! It’s pine and he made it hollow since I didn’t want any brackets to show. I stained it with 3 coats of weathered gray to tie into the rest of the house and the table and chairs and I also added 1 coat of provincial to darken it a little. He attached it to the wall by putting 4 lags into the studs. The shelf then sits on the lags [and a few wood supports in the corners]. He nailed it into the wood supports to secure it. We also did have to cut a little notch out of the center for the TV cord hider to run through.
These four elements really make the room in my opinion! I’d love to see your playroom DIYs – share them below!
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