A friend and apartment dweller recently asked us for small play kitchen suggestions for her daughter's Christmas present. We tried talking her into some DIY ideas, but she is more the DI-Buy type. If you're in the same boat, here you go - ten small play kitchens (under 31" H) so your kids can play "dorm room" and "flop house" too.
These pint-sized kitchens are ideal for small homes or if you're not sure your child is going to enjoy playing chef. If you're looking for something larger, check out our roundup of 20 Play Kitchens for Any Budget.
Editors note: this post was originally published 12/1/2009 and has been updated and added to for 2011.
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The Educo kitchens are great - we have the My French Kitchen. The food and pots and pans it comes with are a great start to stocking a play kitchen. My daughter loves it and it's nice to look at.
I love My Mini French Kitchen by Educo! Such great quality!
does anyone have the ikea play kitchen set?? how do you like it?
i'd have trouble choosing between the educo and the plan toys stove.
on a related note, i stumbled across these two cute (and affordable!) items that would make terrific additions to a play kitchen...
wooden pizza
http://www.pier1.com/Catalog/Gifts/Gifts/tabid/501/CategoryID/121/List/0/Level/a/ProductID/5469/ProductName/Wooden-Pizza/Default.aspx
wooden candy stand
http://www.pier1.com/Catalog/Gifts/Gifts/tabid/501/CategoryID/121/List/0/Level/a/ProductID/5468/ProductName/Wooden-Candy-Stand/Default.aspx
We have the kitchen and stove from Educo... we got them for my son when he turned two and they have been played with almost every day for two years now. The kids AND adults in our house love them! Well made, beautiful accessories, totally fun. And I love that they aren't so gender specific. The trouble is that now they are getting a little small for my son. Budding chef that he is - he is needing something bigger. Time for me to take a look at all the homemade play kitchens on this site and get motivated!
Here is another nice little tabletop kitchen -- handmade in the US and similarly priced.
Whoops: http://www.willowtoys.com/catalog.php?item=8&catid=1&ret=catalog.php%3Fcategory%3D1
We bought the larger of the two Alex kitchens for my five year old for Christmas this year. It seems pretty nice, just having pulled it out of the box to check for shipping damage et al. I will probably try to make some kind of DIY fridge or hack a cabinet for it to sit upon for food and dish storage, as well, but that will come well after the holidays.
The 5th one over is terrible. We have it and it's always snapping shut on little fingers. It's in the attic now.
We have this one by Educo (slightly different than the one above). Love it. I also love Plan Toys' extra fruit and vegetable sets.
The have the Little Kitchen made by a mother on etsy. Very good quality. Made in the USA.
we have the haba tabletop cooker for my son and it's been awesome for our small space.
We had the Haba cooker for several years in a small place too. Very nice quality. After awhile I wanted a bit more function with a small footprint and the got the Little Kitchen.