First, I'll talk about assembly of the kitchen. Then, I'll talk about the kitchen itself.============
ASSEMBLY
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You'll see several other reviewers talk about the difficult assembly of this product. Make no mistakes, putting this together is a non-trivial task, but I have to applaud KidKraft for the thought they put into the packaging to make the assembly as pain-free as possible. If you've never done this sort of furniture construction before, then building this is outside of your league, but anyone familiar with Ikea-type furniture should not have significant problems.
To wit:
* All parts are labelled with a letter in the instructions, and each part has a sticker affixed to it with the same letter. Makes identification of each part MUCH easier.
* All screws/bolts/washers/etc are packaged in a "compartmentalized" plastic clamshell container. This makes it much easier to keep your 5mm screws from mixing with your 7mm screws. Anyone familiar with d.i.y furniture construction (from Ikea, et al), will know the aggravation that comes with having these tiny parts come in one big plastic bag.
* Assembly directions have big, clear illustrations (no text) with zoomed-in detail drawings when appropriate.
* Great customer service. A big insert repeatedly says to "Call us!" if you have any problems whatsoever with assembly. Turns out one of the pieces in my kit was chipped. I went online to kidkraft's website, and within 5 minutes had ordered a replacement part totally free of charge. (NOTE: I ordered it 2 days ago and shipping is stated at 7-10 days. We'll see if they are able to follow through as promised.)
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ASSEMBLY SUGGESTIONS
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Most of the assembly can be handled by one person, although there were a couple of parts (hanging the doors, etc) where a 2nd pair of hands is useful. Total assembly time by myself (with occasional help) was about 3-4 hours. I found the following tools to be real time-savers:
* A powered screwdriver. You need a phillips head screwdriver. Using a cordless driver obviously saves time.
* Your own hex allen wrench. They provide a little one, but the simple one I own (for my bicycle) is easier to handle.
* Small-sized phillips screwdriver (aka jeweller's or electronics screwdriver). There are several screws that are quite small. Having a smaller screwdriver will make your life easier.
* Box cutter or other cutting tool. There is a lot of tape in the packaging. (Styrofoam taped to pieces, etc).
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THE KITCHEN
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Ok, so once you've built it, how does it measure up? I gotta say, this thing looks even better in person than it does in the product photos. The detailing is really cute, and there are a bunch of extra touches: a "cordless" phone; the oven/stove knobs click when you turn them; the turntable in the microwave really turns; the oven and microwave doors are both see-through, so your kid can see whats in them; water dispenser on fridge; and so on and so forth. Also, the kitchen feels sturdy and well-made, so I'm hopeful that it will stand up to the abuse from a little dude.
However, the best endorsement is from my 2-year-old son: He absolutely loves it and will play with it for hours and hours.
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SUMMARY
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This is a GREAT play kitchen for kids and I'm thrilled with the purchase. This is our first KidKraft purchase, but I am so happy with it that (barring unforeseen issues), KidKraft has earned itself a loyal repeat customer.
Assembly...it's really not that bad.We laid out all the pieces by number (it comes with easily removed number stickers on each piece) and all the nuts, bolts, etc. by letter.Putting it together was easy because we could easily grab the parts we need.With two of us, talking and not rushing, it took a couple of hours.Well worth it, really, when you consider how inexpensive this wooden kitchen is compared to pre-assembled ones.When assembled it looks GREAT.Everything matched up, screwed in, and shut tight.We had to file the glue off the one dowel, but no biggie.
Storage....that was our other big concern.Would all the play food, pots, etc. be too small for this kitchen?Nope!I'm amazed at how much we fit in this thing!We ordered:
Melissa and Doug red wood pot set
A wooden tea pot
The Green Toys Cookware and Dining Set
Melissa and Doug cut-apart foods
Melissa and Doug pizza set
Melissa and Doug Play Food set
Two chef hats
A wooden/felt cupcake baking set
Everything fits!We even had room for a half carton of "eggs" and two mini gallons of milk (with plenty of room to spare).Even nicer, everything is in scale with the kitchen...the Melissa and Doug wooden food and pots look like they were made for the kitchen, and the Green Toys food set stacks nicely in the storage area.It might be nice if there was a drawer for forks, mixing spoons, etc., but the storage is simple enough to allow inserting bins or baskets.
Our kids love the kitchen.There are lots of doors that latch, the microwave has a spinning turntable, the knobs click and turn, the faucet handles turn...there are so many cute details that make pretending a fun experience for them.We're very happy with the product.I can't speak for durability or customer service yet, but hopefully that won't be an issue.
Buy KidKraft Red Vintage Kitchen Now
OK, I did my homework and read a ton of reviews before purchasing so I was forewarned.
[Most of] Assembly took 2.5 hours. It was smooth going, no cursing, everything looked great until we came to the very last two pieces. Some of the holes that were supposed to be pre drilled did not appear to be and they were in a very tight, hard to estimate spot. After sleeping on it my husband looked more closely with a flashlight and found some dimples in the paint that turned out to be the holes that we needed for the rest of assembly. We thought it was telling that there was a notice in the box saying "Please let us help!" with a help # and a website for ordering every possible missing piece for free! They have obviously had enough problems with missing pieces.
Having gotten through the expected assembly challenge I have to say...
This is the cutest play kitchen I have every seen!! It's even nicer in person than the picture. It also seems like it's made to last. I'll update my opinion on durability after it's been played with for a while.
One thing is certain, I'd rather be looking at this lovely toy taking up space in my house for a few years than a tacky plastic or pastel one. Let's face it, any play kitchen takes up quite a bit of visual space.
My 2 year old daughter loves the clicking knobs, microwave turntable, and turning facet handles. It fits a lot of pots and dishes and there's plenty of room for food in the fridge.
Shop around for a good price, I got it from Costco online for about $ (with free shipping) just after Christmas.
Read Best Reviews of KidKraft Red Vintage Kitchen Here
I've assembled and repaired hundreds of things over the past 45 years for myself, my children, and my grandchildren. I am pretty handy, and generally love the challenge of putting things together and solving puzzles. But this product was one of the hardest and most frustrating things I've ever put together! After four hours of increasing struggle, I was ready to throw it into the garbage! Aside from dozens of pieces, screws, etc., the instructions consisted of 23 consecutive diagrams with no words. The very tiny screws, especially for the hinges, were an extreme challenge very, very frustrating. The screws did not "set" easily into the holes (they were not pointed and had threads that were shallow and close together). For one door that had two hinges with three screws each, I managed to easily strip four of the six holes (with very little pressure). Included with the instruction booklet came a sheet stating in bold, four times, "Please, let us help!" I have to wonder, if the manufacturer knows it's going to be so difficult that you need to phone for help, then why not improve the product and the instructions?
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I love the style of the kitchen a lot of compliments from everyone who has seen it.It is cute and compact for all the accessories it features.All of the doors swing out, which is very important because doors that flip down become places for your child to climb on, and the door would either break or tip the kitchen over.It is fairly heavy as the majority of the kitchen is some sort of wood or wood composite (can't tell as it is painted an all-over red laquer).Some of the silver parts are metal, but unfortunately not all are, with both plastic and painted wood used.I worry about the metallic paint used who knows these days whether it's safe or not.The overall durability seems quite good to my critical engineer's eye.
I didn't have too much trouble assembling, but I can easily see where a less patient or less spacially-oriented person would have issues.If you've had trouble putting anything together, you will probably have a problem with this.As careful as I was, I still made two mistakes.The refrigerator door arrived with a piece of plastic broken (the broken piece wasn't even in the box, so obviously not the fault of the distributer), so I called KidKraft directly and they immediately sent a replacement door.
My biggest problem with the piece is the small scale.I understand that it can't be any bigger without being a tipping hazard, but the toy is rated for 3+.My son is not yet three years old and he often kneels to play with it.Yet the picture shown on Amazon displays a girl who seems to be perfectly sized for the toy.A buyer would assume she is an average three year old.She's either small for her age or a bit younger.I would be so angry if I bought this toy for a three year old, just to find they would grow out of it in less than a year, especially considering the price it is going for right now.Fortunately for me, I have a one year old daughter who will get several years of use out of it.
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