Here is my first DIY project, building the Ikea Duktig Play Kitchen. Okay, maybeto you this is not considered a DIY project, but for me this was definitely a far step out of my comfort zone. I have absolutely no DIY experience and was so excited to get my feet wet and try something new.
I’ll be honest a small part of me wanted to just ask my husband to build this play kitchen for my daughter. I knew he would do it much quicker and it would be a lot easier for me that way. Instead, I fought that urge, and I built it myself.
So, one day on my lunch break I decided to start my project. I know that probably sounds like a weird time to start, but hey—whatever works, right? So…. I started by opening the box and laying out all the pieces. It felt really overwhelming seeing all the different size screws and bolts and washers and pieces, etc. and then realizing that the instruction manual literally has NO WORDS. But, I decided to take a deep breath and try my best.
Let me tell you, using the allen wrench they provided was just not going to work. It was hurting my hands SO much. I don’t think of myself as weak, but I felt pretty defeated using that thing. Luckily my husband has a pretty extensive tool kit, and I found an allen wrench that was WAY BETTER. If you are able to, get a better one before starting this project, your hands will thank me later.
I got pretty far on the base of the kitchen when I realized I had messed up and put a piece in upside down. This is one of those times where some words in the instruction manual probably would have been helpful. Whatever, I figured it was no big deal since I just built it, I’d just take it apart and try again. I wasn’t able to do that right away because I had to go back to work. All I could think about from my desk for the rest of the day was finishing the kitchen! That night I got back to work building the kitchen, while my husband put our daughter to sleep. Here’s a pic of my little helper. I worked for about another half hour and then had to put the baby to bed.
We started again the next morning. It was Saturday, so I brought the kitchen upstairs so my daughter could help me that afternoon! It’s crazy to see how much my daughter just wants to do whatever it is I’m doing. The second she saw me get on the floor and start screwing pieces together, she grabbed a screwdriver and sat down and got to work with me! It was the cutest thing and it filled me with pride that I was doing something like this and she got to see it.
Finally about another half hour later we were done! Lily jumped right into playing in her kitchen. I gave her some old utensils, bowls, and cups. She was playing “cooking” all afternoon it was amazing watching her imagination work.
I promise you, if you have absolutely no experience with building things, you can handle putting this together. I definitely messed up and had to take it apart and start over again, but it was a really simple project. I am so proud of myself, and I couldn’t have done it without my 2 little helpers. Have you ever done a DIY project? What should I try next?
If you liked this post, check out my blog Toddler Must Have - Play Kitchen which outlines all the reasons why I love this kitchen!
DISCLAIMER: These are my personal opinions, and this post is not sponsored.
Full Product Name/Link:
Ikea Duktig Play Kitchen
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