DIY play kitchen sets are a great alternative to more expensive, already built play kitchens. Usually, homemade play kitchen sets are more affordable, especially if you re-purpose materials. Plus, you can make a homemade play kitchen as eco-friendly as you like, so long as you choose green materials.

• Safe and eco-friendly play kitchen features.

Aim for materials such as real wood, not plywood or MDF, organic fabric for curtains and of course add eco-friendly play food and play dishes. If you’re at a loss for how to get started on your own DIY play kitchen, see these options below. Each takes some time, but if you get started now, you’ll have your cute kitchen ready in time for a Christmas unveiling.

• DIY Play Kitchen from IKEA Hackers

   

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• DIY Play Kitchen from Southern Exposure

   

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• DIY Play Kitchen from The Crafting Chicks

   

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• DIY Play Kitchen from What Happens at Naptime

   

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• DIY Play Kitchen from Happy Hawkins

   

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• DIY Play Kitchen from Apron Strings

   

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• Virginia's easy to make Ikea-based toy kitchen

   

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• Jack's Suzy Homemaker Play Kitchen

   

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• DIY Play Kitchen from Ana White

   

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• DIY Play Kitchen from A Project Hopper

   

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• DIY Play Kitchen from DIY Network

   

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• DIY Play Grocery Store from Domestic Candy

   

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DIY Play Kitchen from IKEA Hackers: This bright and cheerful vintage style play kitchen offers tons of play space plus an awesome window view. I wouldn’t modify with MDF, but otherwise this kitchen is amazing.

DIY Play Kitchen from Southern Exposure: Recycled nightstands and coats of fresh paint, along with some really cool knobs and accessories allow for a fully functional and super cheerful play kitchen.

DIY Play Kitchen from The Crafting Chicks: One of the more beautiful play kitchens I’ve seen, this blue beauty was, incredibly, the builders first project – wow right!?

DIY Play Kitchen from What Happens at Naptime…: This play kitchen safely features curtain instead of cabinets (zero slammed fingers), plus low shelving for younger, shorter kids.

DIY Play Kitchen from Happy Hawkins: See how to transform a $10 end table into a wonderful play kitchen.

DIY Play Kitchen from Apron Strings: This kitchen is tabletop and space saving, plus offers a very unique working burner light. Classic white dishes and knit play food add lots of charm.

DIY Play Kitchens from Ohdeedoh: Ohdeedoh features play kitchens often, but two cream of the crop creations include Virginia’s easy to make Ikea-based toy kitchen and Jack’s “Suzy Homemaker” Play Kitchen, that includes an awesome table component.

DIY Play Kitchen from Ana White: Just beautiful (the stars are an amazing touch). A pregnant mama made this one no less!

DIY Play Kitchen from A Project Hopper: A sweet, gender neutral kitchen handmade by one very cool dad. No in-depth instructions offered, but a good base design in the works.

DIY Play Kitchen from DIY Network: Very in-depth plans regarding building an entire play kitchen. I especially like the little touches on this kitchen, such as the text on the different appliances.

BONUS! DIY Play Grocery Store from Domestic Candy: Domestic Candy is one of the coolest blogs I’ve run into lately. The entire blog is amazing and crafty, but this play grocery store takes the cake – or sells it, as the case may be. This play set is a bit more costly, but it’s so gorgeous I had to share. You can lower costs if you can build a playstand yourself, which is possible,  No in-depth instructions offered, but with a little creativity, and maybe a playstand base, this is entirely doable.

• Also see - DIY Green Toy – Nine Affordable Play Kitchen Sets

Look at this gorgeous Wooden Vegetable Set! It’s the perfect accessory for your child’s eco-friendly play kitchen.

Made by Just Hatched, these beautiful wooden vegetables are handmade with poplar, sanded smooth and colored with certified AP Nontoxic watercolor paints. All the gorgeous details are wood-burned and then each piece is finished with a natural homemade beeswax wood polish. This particular set is made just for the buyer and comes with 5 wooden vegetables: Tomato, Cucumber, Onion, Potato and Carrot plus a cotton muslin drawstring bag.

There’s more where this came from too!

Just Hatched carries other amazing play food options as well, such as a lovely Wooden Fruit Set (shown below). You can also purchase wooden food items one-by-one. Check out Just Hatched for the full selection.

Learn more about eco-friendly play kitchens:

• DIY Green Toy – Nine Affordable Play Kitchen Sets
• Eco-Friendly Play Kitchen Food
• DIY Play Kitchen Food & Dishes
• Eco-Friendly Play Kitchen Dishes & Accessories

+ Just Hatched

You don’t have to spend a lot of green on cool eco-friendly summer toys. You, along with your kids can make a whole slew of eco-friendly toys all on your own, with low-cost eco-friendly or recycled materials. Following are 20 eco-fun, summer toy projects.

• Really neat rock dominoes (shown above) – one of those I can’t believe I didn’t think of that ideas.
• Make a recycled Cardboard Playhouse like the one shown above from Make Baby Stuff, then break out the non-toxic art supplies and let your little one decorate to her heart’s content.
• If you’ve got some tools and are good with wood you can make a working wooden boom crane that little kids will love.
• Kool-Aid dyed play silks – kids love play silks. You can toss them up, use them as doll clothing, use them for dress up fun, or fly around the yard with them swooshing behind you. You can find inexpensive silks at thrift stores OR silk material which takes a little more work because you’ll have to cut the material and mend them, but no big. If you don’t want to use Kool-aid try dying the silks with some homemade juice dye (made from plants).
• Organic finger paint – not freakishly bright, but non-toxic subtle paints you can make with the kids.
• Flying fun with a super slick recycled cardboard origami hang glider.
• Build a Bubble-Powered Rocket – with recycled paper, TUMS and film canisters. This rocket actually lifts off.
• Nine amazing DIY play kitchens and one totally hip homemade oven!

• Seriously amazing homemade baby blocks (shown above)! Use scrap wood or sustainable wood and non-toxic paint
• Start saving toilet paper tubes now and by mid summer you’ll have enough to build a toilet paper tube playhouse. Use non-toxic glue and duct tape to create your playhouse.
• Excellent collection of old-fashioned, handmade toys from Mother Earth News.
• The Perfect Dollhouse: A homemade miniature villa from Family Fun. It’s a tiny, completely custom, recycled dollhouse box. Tidy enough to slide right under the bed. So creative that it’ll be a hit all summer. The sky is really the limit with this project. You probably have tons of recycled bits around the house that will work for this cool project.
• Toy boats made with recycled blocks.
• Make a butterfly house.
• Future directors will adore making a homemade movie wheel – be sure to use recycled paper.
• 100% awesome recycled cereal box houses.
• For baby fun and learning make a beautiful soft book of colors with fabric scraps.
• Got summer pixies? Make some creative homemade fairy wings that your little one can decorate and fly with all summer long.
• Homemade puppet theater – then add some sock puppets.
• After hours and hours of Zelda, I’m pretty sure my son Cedar would faint dead away if I made him this sweet grappling hook – not for irresponsible kids though.

[images via Martha Stewart]

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Affordable play kitchen sets are one of those time tested toys that kids go back to again and again. On the downside, finding an affordable and eco-friendly play kitchen set can be super hard. However, since they’re truly one of those must have childhood toys, one option is to make your own play affordable kitchen set. This leaves the materials up to you and you can use recycled goods. Best of all the cost will be considerably lower.

The following DIY play kitchen options are easy and affordable and if you get started now your child can have his or her very own green play kitchen set for the holidays.

• See 12 more DIY play kitchen sets

My most favorite DIY play kitchen of all time is Lili’s Play Kitchen via Ohdeedoh shown above. Cost – about $30. Your child’s amazement will be totally priceless though!

Browse the gallery below for other great DIY play kitchen set ideas (see links below gallery)

1. Sweet pastel kitchen – this truly amazing kitchen is giving my old favorite above a run for the money. I LOVE the green and the little cloth accessories!
2. Eco-Friendly Play Kitchen – $12 instructions let you build this amazing DIY kitchen.
3. Re-purposed entertainment center – Terribly creative, practically free, and a great way to keep furniture out of the landfill.
4. Adorable red & white kitchen – $59 will get you this sweet red and white dream kitchen.
5. Beautiful blue play kitchen – This looks like a master toy builder made it, but you can do it yourself.
6. IKEA hacker play kitchen – Ah, IKEA – grab an inexpensive shelf or two and you’ve got a super easy DIY play kitchen. This one is dreamy.
7. Blue entertainment center kitchen – another fab entertainment center saved from the trash.
8. Homemade cube kitchen – This play kitchen is a little more expensive than some DIY versions, but it’s lovely and easy. All cubes are made with beautiful sustainably grown and harvested baltic birch plywood that is finished with eco-friendly paints.

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