Miniature Kitchen Build Tutorial

I’m so glad you’re here! This project may seem a little daunting, but it is worth it and also gives you a lot of experience. I encourage you to give it a try!

The idea for the mini kitchen came to me when I was pretty consistently trying to make supper with a cranky toddler. A toddler who also loves to copy his mama. A miniature version would be perfect!

After doing some online shopping, I wasn’t seeing many kitchens I liked. Until I saw two gorgeous ones on Pinterest, ranging from $480-$650 not including the fridge. Definitely not in my price range! I’m not saying there aren’t any good kitchens out there for lower costs, I was just being very picky and when the “I could build that” thought popped in my head, there was no going back. I figured even if this build cost me a little bit more than I hoped, I would still have a kitchen exactly how I wanted it with a lot of experience as an added bonus.

The planning began. Sketches, Pinterest searches, more sketches, Etsy searches, more sketches, supply lists, cut lists, putting my dad and husband through lots of questions and thinking out loud... And a couple weeks later, here we are, enjoying a cute little kitchen made with lots and lots of love. I can’t take full credit though, my husband helped with lots of table saw work since the plywood is awkward and heavy and with some of the assembly because I was having major issues with the hinges. Though the planning process took many hours, it was all very fun and exciting to me, and now I get to share it with you! Let me know if you have any questions with any of the steps in the tutorial, I will gladly answer them.

I have made a list of all the cuts along with labels to make this all easier. Once you finish with a cut, LABEL THE BOARD! This will make the rest of your project go so much smoother. I only labeled the plywood pieces, but it wouldn’t hurt to label the rest too if you think you might get confused. I would suggest printing off the cut list to make things easier for you. I left an empty box on the right side for you to check cuts off as you go and keep track of what you have done/what you have left.

Also, there are a lot of pocket holes in this project. It can be hard to remember which setting and screws to use for each board - I get that! Refer to an online cheat sheet or ask me! Wrong settings/screws can mess up your project and I speak from experience.

Remember that you don’t have to do every step! Maybe you don’t want to add the pegs, the oven rack, or make your own faucet. Those are some of the added things I did. You could also cut out a shelf in the fridge if you want. Make it your own and do what you want with it! Another option I had thought about is using a wooden bowl instead of building the sink. That would take off a few supplies for you and also give your child some counter space.

Miniature Kitchen Cut List - Sheet1.pdf

Download PDF • 35KB

Wood Supply List

1. 2 4’x8’ sheets of ½ inch plywood

2. 1 2’x8’ sheet of underlayment

3. 1 - 8’ 1x10

4. 2 - 8’ 1x6s

5. 2 - 8’ 1x4

6. 1 - 8’ 1x3

7. 2 - 8’ 1x2

8. 1 - 8’ 2x2

9. 2x4 scraps (you’ll need about 8”)

10. 1 - 1 ¼” dowel

11. 3 - ½” dowel

12. 1 - 1” dowel

13. 4 - 5.5” wooden discs (these are for the burners, feel free to come up with something else if you prefer - I used 1x6 scraps)

Other Supplies

1. 2 ½” kreg screws

2. 1 ¼” kreg screws

3. 1” kreg screws

4. 2” wood screws

5. 1” wood screws

6. Brad nails - I used 1”

7. Wood glue

8. Wood filler

9. ¼” bit

10. ½” bit

11. 1” bit

12. 10 cabinet hinges - I used hidden

13. Hinge screws if yours didn’t already come with them

14. Paintable caulk

15. Paint/stain

16. Top coat

Tools

1. Kreg Jig

2. Drill

3. Table saw

4. Miter saw

5. Orbital sander

6. Brad nailer

I would suggest starting by cutting out all of the frame pieces first. Projects are a little easier when you take them one step at a time! This means four pieces for the fridge (B1, T1, V1, V2) and four pieces for the other part of the kitchen (V3, V4, V5, B2). Later, when these are cut and assembled, you can re-measure and make sure the cuts I have on the cut list work for you! On paper, they all work, but this is where I struggled and ended up re-cutting a lot of my pieces.

Once you have all of the frame pieces cut, it’s time for pocket holes. I will tell you where to put the pockets using the labels for the boards from the chart. It is suggested to put pocket holes 2” from the edge of the board and about 6” apart from each other when making cabinet boxes like this. Put three pocket holes in both the top and bottom of V1, V2, V3, and V4. V5 gets three pocket holes on just the bottom. Sand, paint, and top coat after adding the pocket holes so you don’t have to do that after assembly. I only painted what would be visible, but that is up to you to decide. I also did not paint the base at all. When you assemble the four kitchen pieces, V3, V4, and V5 will not have anything on top yet - this is where the sink and stove top will go eventually.

(the frame of the fridge)

Before doing anything else, attach the feet. You’ll want these in before any shelves/doors get in the way of your drill. To make these, I used some 2x4 scraps, cut four 2” pieces, then cut them in half at an angle. Find the center of the first piece - both ways, you need a center “x”. Place this piece on your miter saw the long way (you should be cutting through the two inch part), and put your saw at an angle - I did 35°. Line up your saw with that middle “x”, cut, and you should have two symmetrical legs. Repeat with the other three pieces for eight total, sand and stain. To attach to your base, pre drill into the center of the top of the leg, then pre drill through your base where you would like them to go. I put them about an inch from the edges. Drill your 2” screws through the base and into your leg. Make sure the screw heads are flush with the plywood so they do not affect any drawers from closing.

(on the left: notice how this screw is not flush and will cause issues when trying to slide a drawer, on the right: feet fully assembled)

Now it is time for my personal favorite part of the build, the sink! H2 will be your base with pocket holes on all four sides of the bottom. Cut 1x6s the same width for the sides, and a 1x10 and 1x6 to cover the bottom and sides for the back and front. Assemble with the pocket holes first, and then brad nail through the front board and the back board to secure the tops of the boards. Attach an 18” 1x2 to the back for the faucet to set on and the shelf support to attach to. Attach with three pocket hole screws into the 1x10. Fill all holes, scratches, and blemishes in the wood with wood filler. Caulk all of the gaps on the inside and make sure it is all smoothed out before it dries. After the caulk and wood filler are dry, give it a good sand. I rounded all edges I could to make it look more smooth and realistic. Then you are ready to paint! Watch it turn from a box made out of wood into a kid’s sink! Your sink can then be attached to the rest of your kitchen. Place on top of V3 and V4 and secure using the pocket holes you made earlier.

(sink before and after caulking, sink fully assembled and attached to kitchen)

I would suggest adding the horizontal pieces (H1, H3) and T2 next. H2 has already been added as the bottom of the sink. If you are measuring the spaces before you cut them, cut the fridge support piece (H1) a little short. My support that I had previously cut looked about ¼” short, but really the sides of the fridge were just bowed because of how tall they are. This piece should be the width of T1 minus the width of V1+V2 (about a half inch each, which is why mine was cut at 23”).

Again, I used three pocket holes on the ends of each of these pieces. Remember to sand and paint before attaching. I only painted the visible edge of H1 and H3 and the top and front of T2, but you can paint everything if you wish. When putting H1 and H3 in, keep in mind that the drawers go beneath them. You will need the height of the drawer plus a little wiggle room so the drawer isn’t too tight. Your fridge drawer is a 1x10, which is about 9.25” tall, so give it 9.5” of room. The oven drawer is a 1x6, which is 5.5” tall, so give it about 5.75” for some wiggle room. Attach T2 using a level and drill your Kreg screws right into the side of the sink on the left, and the top of T2 should be flush with the top of V5 on the right. Start with the right side, level it out, and do the left. Also notice in the picture below that there will be a board in front of T2. That is why my measurements seem off, but for now there should be a gap in the front!

(Left: Your fridge will not look like this yet, but the painted horizontal piece is H1. Right: See how T2 butts up against the top of V5)

One thing I would have done differently is this next step. I added the backing almost last, but it should be added here! This way your kitchen will be sturdy and square, making the drawer and cabinet part go more smoothly. Measure the backs of your frames, cut a piece of underlayment just a tad bit smaller than that measurement, and attach using one inch brad nails.

Now that everything is squared, now would be a good time to add shelves. You can do as many as you would like, but the cut list includes one for the cupboard under the sink and two in the fridge. You will need to cut S1, S2, and S3 along with 6 - 1x2s at 14". Adding the shelves is pretty easy - measure and mark where you want them to go, line up your 1x2 with those marks, and screw it in. Repeat on the other side and place the shelf on top. I did not nail the shelves in, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to put a few nails in through the top into the 1x2. Make sure the shelves and braces are pushed all the way to the back and there is room for your doors in front of them before any nailing. Take another look at the fridge picture a little ways up if you need to visualize.

The board with your oven knobs on it should come next for future measuring purposes. It is a 1x3 and a half inch is taken up by H3, so pocket holes on the edges can be a little tricky. My best advice is to try to fit two close together towards the bottom of each end and also use glue along the end of H3 and clamp for a while. For the knobs, cut half inch pieces out of your 1 ¼” dowel, sand, and stain. Find where you want them on the board and drill a hole all the way through. Work your way up to a drill bit a tiny bit larger than your screw - a 1 ¼” wood screw. Pre drill into the center of your knobs, drill from the back of the 1x3 into the knob, and don’t tighten them all the way. This way they can freely turn. Here is a summary of this board from start to finish since I feel that was confusing: measure, cut, pocket hole, pre drill for knobs, sand, paint, top coat, attach knobs, screw and glue to kitchen.

The next step is cutting and assembling the drawers. This is a little easier since you can cut these on a miter saw rather than the table saw. The drawer faces should be the width of your opening if not a little smaller so they will easily slide in and out. I cut the back and bottom a quarter inch smaller so that I didn’t have to worry about them hitting anything on the way in and out. The kreg screws can stick out a little sometimes and get in the way. I also attached the bottom of the drawer a quarter inch higher than flush (as shown below) just to minimize the amount of things scratching the bottom of the kitchen and also because of the Kreg screws sticking out like I said before. If you want to get fancy, you can also use drawer treads, but I wanted to save money here.

These are also attached using pocket holes. The bottom will have them on all four sides, but they will be on the bottom and not seen. The front and back will have none, the sides, three on each end. Start by attaching the bottom to the sides, making sure you are keeping the pocket hole side down with the bottom piece and pocket holes facing in with the side pieces. Next, add the back, then attach the sides to the back with the three pocket holes on that end. Save the front for later so you can paint it along with all of the cupboard doors.

(Left: This is the side of the drawer from the inside, the front is to the left and the back is to the right. Middle: Bottom of drawer. Right: Notice how the bottom of the drawer is a quarter inch up from the bottom of the other pieces)

And speaking of cupboard doors, that’s what comes next! Be sure to measure your spaces before cutting, but the sizes on the chart are the sizes that worked for me. Again, your doors should not be the exact length of the space or they won’t close nicely. Leave a small gap between the doors and above and below each door. It does not have to be that big! After cutting and sanding, try a dry fit before painting. This could save you a lot of time later! Make any necessary cuts, and get painting! Make sure to finish with a top coat for extra durability.

While the paint dries, you can make your handles if you want to make them like mine. Buying them is also an option, this is just the way I wanted to go about it and I’ll show you how I did that. I took a 1x2 and ran it the long way through the table saw at 15° down the middle so I ended up with two identical pieces - much like the feet. I don’t have any exact measurements on their length, I just cut what I thought looked right with the size of the doors. Sand and stain to your liking and attach. I attached these a lot like I did the feet as well. Measure from the side of the cabinet the distance you would like your handle from the edge, pre drill through at two places, screw in through the back with 1” screws, line up the handle, and tighten the screw. You should use 1 ¼” screws on the drawers since they are made out of thicker wood.

Now you can attach the drawer faces and you should be done with those! Hinges are the next step - and one of my least favorite. They can be tricky. Just remember that I had to redo the hinges for one cabinet four times before I got it right. Don’t worry if it takes you a few tries too! I used hidden hinges I found on amazon. I didn’t want to be able to see any hinges, but this is totally up to you. It is probably easier to use regular hinges, but that wasn’t the look I was going for.

After attaching all of the cabinets, You can add the two headers. I waited to put these on until now so you could measure the space and get the right size. For the header above the fridge doors, I used a 1x2, but had to shave off a little along the whole piece in order for it to fit. For the header beneath the sink, I used a 1x3 which I also had to trim slightly. On the 1x2, put one pocket hole on each end, and two towards the top to attach to T1. On the 1x3, put two pocket holes on each end and two towards the top as well. Sand, paint or stain, and attach.

Now that you are almost finished, the smaller, more fun details are next. Start with building the shelf that goes above the kitchen. You will need your 2x2 “shelf supports and top of shelf”, 1x6 “back of shelf”, 1x4 “shelf”, and “pegs” from the list. The 14” and 18.5” 2x2 will need two pocket holes on each end, and the 1x6 will need three pocket holes on each end along with two or three along the top. After cutting, adding pocket holes, and sanding all of the pieces, you’ll have to decide how you want to finish them. I stained everything except the back of the shelf here, but you can do this however you want! I thought stain would be easier on the pegs and shelf since these will be used more and might get scratched up if painted. Start assembly when all the pieces are dry, starting with your 2x2 frame. Make sure it is square so that your 1x6 piece will fit in there. The 14” piece will go on the left over the sink, and the 18.5” piece on the right. Next, figure out where you want your shelf and attach that to the back just like you attached the door handles. If you are planning on adding the pegs below, put it a little higher than half way up the board so you can fit the pegs underneath. Then attach the pegs the same way you attached the legs, and and easy way to evenly space them is by drilling each hole 5.5" apart. Now it is time to put the 1x6 into your 2x2 frame with Kreg screws. Finally, attach the shelf using those pocket holes on the ends of your 2x2 braces.

If you want to build your own faucet, here is how I made mine. Cut two pieces out of a 1 ¼” dowel, one at 1 ½” and one at 6”. Find the center and drill a ¼” hole into the top of each one. Drill about a half inch in, and on the smaller piece, wiggle your bit around a little to make it just slightly bigger than ¼”. On the larger piece, drill a 1” hole in the side, only going a little ways into the dowel - I used a spade bit. On the smaller section of 1 ¼” dowel, drill a ½” hole the same way. Cut a 5” piece out of a 1” dowel and a 2” piece out of a ½” dowel. Sand and stain/paint however you prefer and let them dry. When sanding, round all of the edges you can for a more realistic look! When they are dry, glue the dowel peg into the ¼” hole on the top of the 6” piece of dowel. Also put glue into your 1” and ½” holes and clamp the matching dowels in place. See photo below for more clarification. When the glue dries, pre drill into the center of the back of the sink and the center of your dowel. Use a 2” wood screw and tighten the faucet on screwing from the bottom.

For the oven rack, cut two 1x2s at 14” and 6 - ½” dowel pieces at 16.5”. Mark out six “x”s for your dowels on the 1x2s. Drill all the way through one of the boards with a ½” bit (this will be board A), but only partially through on the other board (board B). Put your dowels through the six holes on board A and press them into the half holes on the board B with glue. Let this dry overnight. Once it is dry, pull A away from B and screw B into the wall of the oven with 1” screws. Then push A all the way through to the other side and screw it into the opposite wall. I also added a puck light on the top of the oven for extra fun if you’d like!

For the burners, you can get creative! I was looking for some wood circles that were about 5.5” in diameter, but couldn’t find any. I ended up just cutting some 5.5” squares out of 1x6s and rounding the edges. You can use your scraps to make these, buy some circles, paint something on the top, or use your imagination!

Finally, step back and view your handiwork. Well done, I can’t wait to see it! Send me pictures please!

Just a few more notes before I finish:

It wouldn’t be too difficult to eliminate the fridge if you would only like to build the kitchen part. Since I have all of the pieces labeled on the print out, just ignore everything that says “fridge” in it. The supplies you would no longer need are one sheet of plywood and four “feet”. You will still need the 1x10 for the back of the sink and the 1x2s for shelf supports and handles.

I mentioned this a little bit in the tutorial, but remember you don’t have to paint the things I painted or stain the things I stained. Make it you! Match it to the rest of your house, or make your dream kitchen in the mini version. Add any handles/faucet/burners/details you want and show me what you did!

Finally, a step that will take a little bit of time but really change the end result. The edges of plywood are all very rough. It would not be a bad idea to rub wood filler across the entire showing edge of the frame and horizontal pieces, sand, paint, sand, and paint again. I did this for most of my frame pieces and also to the base. I did not paint the base pieces, but this gave it a much smoother look and feel.

Again, drop any questions you may have below, and please send me pictures when you are finished!