As a kid my absolute favorite thing was play food. I'd spend hours in my play kitchen, days setting up a grocery store and even went as far as seeking out a treadmill for a larger than life conveyor belt. Needless to say, when I found out I was pregnant with twins, one of the things I was absolutely most excited for was when the day came for the three of us to play store...and kitchen...and market. So, when we moved to this house last year, one of the first things on our to do list was to create a space that was for them. Right off our kitchen and dining/breakfast nook is this awkward long space. Not wide enough for a table, but long enough to easily become a wasted space. This turned out to be the best place for our kids play kitchen, which I have to say we LOVE!. We also wanted to inlcude their table and chairs. The table was a first birthday present and initially I thought we'd out grow quickly. The twins are now 2 1/2 and it's still the perfect size for them. It's super sturdy and has held up really well. Recently they made this protector for the table top and I have to say its well worth the investment!
Play Kitchen, Pottery Barn | Flower Garland, Land of Nod | Play Table & Chairs, Pottery Barn
To continue with our market theme...we added more accessories to create endless options for them to play kitchen, market, flower shop, and cafe. For the 'store section' we attached metal baskets to the walls. You can find similiar baskets here, here & here. I'd also suggest you check clearance sections for these, ours were originally copper color that we spray painted. Each basket is filled with play food. Our favorites from the past year have been this, this and this. With this play cookie set being my kids favorite thing this past year. Flower & fabric garland bring seasonal style to the space. I love seeking these items out at the dollar section of Target. I'm also loving this flower garland right now.
Wire Baskets, Home Decorators | Play Food, Melissa & Doug | Play Pots & Pans, Melissa & Doug
The 'flower shop' is a collection of vintage flower buckets, similar one found here, I also like to score these at thrift & antique stores for a bargain. They're filled with artificial flowers (tulips, ranunculas & hydrangeas). The dollar store has great options as well as craft stores, buy them when they're on sale! P & K love taking them in and out of the buckets, re-arranging them, and gifting them to me (how lucky that I get bouquets on a daily basis!) Now they're great for learning colors and counting! We already had those cute chalkboard hang tags, you kind find similiar ones here.
Flower Bucket, Terrain | Metal Basket, H&M | Chalkboard Hang Tags, Sur La Table
This shopping cart has been a much loved addition! For a similiar look without the price tag, check out this one.
Metal Shopping Cart, Pottery Barn Kids | Bistro Chair, Serena & Lily | Round Jute Rug, Pottery Barn
I have to say this space has brought a lot of happiness and fun into our home this past year! For those concerned about not having a designated 'play room' I can assure you this set up is a great alternative. Keep to neutral pieces or those that match your own decor to create a flawless flow from the 'kids' area to the rest of the space. It should also be noted we created a very simple and cheap 'accent wall' to define the space. We used this brick peel & stick wallpaper (so easy!) and leftover chalkboard paint. To tie it toether we used a simple molding piece from a local home improvement store, it also doubles as the perfect mini shelf to hold chalk! The accent wall came in around $60 all in! What play space have you created for your kids?! Would love to hear your thoughts & ideas!