mother-of-two, 35, transforms an old tv cabinet she bought for $50 into an incredible play kitchen for her daughter using old stove knobs and budget kmart buys
Smart Mom. of-
Two people designed an impressive DIY game kitchen for her little girl to surprise family and friends.
Claire, a 35-year-old primary school teacher from Victoria Ballarat, has no architectural background, but she wants to do something special for her upcoming second birthday.
Claire told FEMAIL that one day, when I sent her to the daycare, I saw that she enjoyed playing with their wooden kitchen.
\"She likes to help me cook at home, take out bowls, measuring cups and spoons and pretend to cook.
\"I started looking at the amusement kitchen but couldn\'t find what I liked.
Then I saw some Kmart\'s kitchen, which people had already painted and thought they looked good.
It wasn\'t long before Claire saw a TV cabinet transformed into a kitchen and was browsing Pinterest for advice.
\"I decided to do so.
She said I found an old TV cabinet on the local buy and sell page and I bought it for $50.
I don\'t think this project will be too big-
Just drew a shelf, a picture, a few knobs and presto-
But it turned into a much bigger project than I expected, so I got help from my partner Brad.
\"We don\'t live together, but whenever I need help with tricky issues like how to connect the stove knob, connect the faucet, he\'s always there to help cut holes in the sink or do the refrigerator door.
\"This is definitely a team effort and a love effort.
\"Whenever her daughter takes a nap, Claire is dedicated to creating.
She first unloaded the door, painted a layer of paint under the cabinet, then took the glass out of the door and fixed the ply wood to the front with a liquid nail.
She then cut the door, made a fridge and freezer door, made Kmart\'s countertop with wood grain vinyl, and made the stove top from Kmart as well with stainless steel vinyl.
In order to make the hot plate, she cut a few laps from Kmart\'s black floor mat, then installed the stove knob from the old stove and installed the faucet from the old laundry tank.
\"I used a steel mixing bowl in the sink, printed a picture of the backyard and framed it to look like a window with a small shelf with a fake plant (all from Kmart)
Claire said he also hung up Kmart\'s cooker with a hook.
To finish, she painted the side of the cabinet with a black blackboard, covered the oven door and refrigerator/freezer room door with silver paint, and installed new handles from boning.
Because it\'s such a solid TV cabinet, I\'m sure it will stand the test for years, Claire said.
About $250-
Everything, except friends and family, costs $300 to Damaris plastic baskets/containers, each with wooden toys for her birthday present.
\"We are very happy with the result and already have Damaris so that we can get her used to making sure everything is at a good level for her.
