IKEA Duktig Hack Partner Look

There is that time when you need to buy big toys for your kids, and let's face it, if you don't have a big kids room, then you are doomed to have toys everywhere in the house. I am super annoying when it comes to my flat. I worked my ass off to make it look pretty, and I was so afraid it will get filled with different kinds of wood and crazy colors. So when Pepa asked to have a Kitchen for her second birthday, I started planning the "partner look" with my kitchen.

​I looked for every kitchen possible and checked the possibilities of "hacking it," and the best one was IKEA Duktig. It is already pure and mostly white like the kitchen at home. But it has a lot of greys and a different kind of wood. But that isn't too hard to change.

​First things first, Open the box and decide which colors you need. Separate the parts and plan what will you do with every piece. Doing this will make it easier to work. I finish this in several days, and I took each part out when needed - this avoids unnecessary chaos.

You need to find a varnish that is kids friendly; I found the ALPINA Weißlack für Innen that is made for toys and can get licked without being worried about poisoning. Please check this! Don't forget it is a children's toy and need to be children safe. The color that matched my kitchen fronts was Cremeweiss and silk matt finish.

The working surface of the Duktig is already varnished. If you are good varnishing, you can buy a colored varnish, and after some small sanding, you can add layers of it until achieving the right color. On my case, I wanted it to seem like oiled wood. For this, you use a sanding machine like my BOSCH PMS 160A or just sand off the old vanish by hand. When you are varnish free, clean and change the wood color with wood stain. I used CLOU water-based stain in the same color as the surface of the kitchen: OAK. You can add many layers of it. Every layer will get darker than the one before. Don't forget to use gloves and a sponge for better results and cleaner fingers.

I added a coat of varnish in super matte as I am sure that Pepa will use water on hers. you can add some wood oil as well.

​My kitchen sink and tap are black, so it was just intelligent to make them black as well. These parts are plastic. Use a base spray to avoid flaking and then using a kid's safe varnish spray. Cover the area you are working over as you don't want to ruin your floors. Let it dry and repeat until it is all covered.

​The DUKTIG kitchen doesn't come with a wall. And that makes it easier for a kid to drop things through that gap, ergo, chaos. I measured the back of the kitchen and bought a cheap MDF/wood thin plate. Then, nail from the back. Then I bought some "tile stickers" and pasted them. You can paint it in color, or use any folie as well.

​To finalize the kitchen partner look, I needed leather grips. I made my kitchen grips last time. But it would have been too expensive and time-consuming to recreate them. I found IKEA makes leather grips but not in black. I always have leather stain or dye for Pepas shoes. I just dyed the grips to black and achieved the same look.

​This was a very subtle DIY hack, but I am so in love with the results. It fits my kitchen. It doesn't look like I have a toy laying around. It is like a mini-me partner look kitchen standing there. I bought plastic baskets at Superbazaro (from Maedchenitalienber) in the Mulackstraße in green for Pepa to store all the toys she uses in the kitchen. Don't they look fantastic? Add a little plant, some, and you will be ready to do some cook-offs with your toddler. 

I hope this was helpful for you guys and if you have any questions, shoot!