A No Cost Hack Turns This Toy Kitchen Into a Garden Center

Tiny cactus succulent plant in glass container on top of IKEA Duktig pretend kitchen for kids

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All You Need Is Time and Supplies You May Already Own

IKEA Duktig Play Kitchen Transdomed into Kids Garden Center Plant Area
  • What: No Cost Hack for Kid Garden Center
  • When: Kids outgrow their pretend kitchen
  • Why: Use things you already own
  • Where: At home

Not sure what to do with your child’s Duktig Toy Kitchen once they outgrown the toy food stage? Want to turn that purchase into something your child can use for a few more years? This adjustable height play kitchen makes a wonderful gardening center for kids, with no outdoor space required.

IKEA Duktig pretend kitchen for kids
The surface of the kitchen holds lots of plants, while the hanging hooks work great for thermometers, towels, tools, and more.

Simply set up the kitchen near a window that gets good light. Plants love morning light, but even if you have limited window space, don’t fret. You can find several kid-friendly plants that don’t require tons of light. Once you find a good spot where plants can grow, proceed to the next step.

Tiny cactus succulent plant in glass container on top of IKEA Duktig pretend kitchen for kids
My son uses the top shelf for plants like this succulent and bamboo.

Clean out the kitchen of all the cookie sets, pretend food, and tiny dishes. Now that you have space on the shelves, fill them with planting supplies, like tools made just for kids. A small bag of potting soil fits perfectly onto a shelf, and kids can store pots, draining dishes, and more in the other areas. The sink works great as a place to keep water and provide a more humid growing environment. And the surface (with or without the added top piece) will hold all their plants, seeds, and more.

IKEA Duktig
The shelves work perfectly to hold watering cans, tools, seeds, cups, and more.

The low surface lets kids watch their plants grow, and makes it easy for them to care for the plants as well. Best of all, this transformation costs nothing, especially if you already have plant starts, seeds, pots, and soil. We made this switch for my son’s seventh birthday and he’s been loving it ever since.

Don’t have a budding gardener on your hands? This toy kitchen can also transform into toy storage or an arts and crafts center. Before you get rid of it, make sure you’ve done all you can to let your kids enjoy it for different purposes.

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