Customer Reviews

Little Tikes Deluxe Wooden Kitchen and Laundry Center

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The kitchen is very cute. I bought it for my daughter. I like that it was not all plastic (although it does contain particle board and wood veneer...so if you are looking for 100% wood, this is NOT it), it wasn't overly girly, and it included both kitchen AND laundry accessories.

Some pictures of this product on the web show metal-looking accessories. This is inaccurate...all accessories (pots, pans, phone, laundry basket, etc.) are made of plastic. Also, the door handles, clock, and knobs are made of plastic as well.

My daughter (2.5 years old) loves this kitchen/laundry center - especially the bell that "dings" when the laundry is "done." The knobs also make a clicking noise when you turn them. A larger kid might enjoy a larger kitchen but this fits great into our living area and is a fine size for my daughter.

The dimensions of our finished product were:

Height = appx 41"
Depth = appx 14"
Length (with ironing board out) = appx 45"
Countertop height (where the sink/stovetop are) = appx 20"

I have two minor complaints:

1. Assembly: I am a Mom who is 7 months pregnant. I'm no engineer. I felt like "Mom the Builder" as I was putting the thing together. It wasn't difficult and everything was well-labeled, but it was tedious. The instructions do not have words - just pictures (43 steps in all!), but they were easy to understand. It took me about 4 hours to assemble the whole thing on my own (no assistance from my husband). All in all it was easy to assemble, it just took a loooong time.

2. The CAMS (or "tumbler locks?") that are used in assembly: When you tighten the cams "tumbler/turn locks" that are used to hold together various pieces around a screw, DO NOT TIGHTEN THEM TOO MUCH. I've assembled a lot of furniture in recent months with similar cams and I'm familiar with how they work. I don't over-tighten them and plus, I'm not overly strong, but when I hand-tightened them, some of the veneer almost split on the outside - indicating some of the wood (or wood-pulp) on the inside of the piece of wood was breaking. Oops. My husband said he could put some wood putty on there and it's not as though there were TONS of cams, but for the few you do have to use: DO NOT TIGHTEN THEM a lot and watch to be sure the wood on the other side of the cam doesn't start to poke/break through.

Even with the cam issue, the piece - once assembled- seems sturdy. You can attach it to the wall if you are concerned about it falling on your child, but at this point, that doesn't seem like an issue where we've placed it in our home. We'll see how it holds up for my toddler in a few months, but for now, we are pleased with this product and would buy it again! As my husband just mentioned (after watching our daughter play): I think this will turn out to be a very worthwhile purchase.

We bought this two years ago for my now 4 and 2 year old. I loved it b/c it was "wood" and not plastic. It's gender nuetral and has so many fun options. It also has "cupboard space" which a lot of kitchens don't have. I also liked that the hinges are at the bottom of the oven and dishwasher doors instead of on the sides like cupboards. They love the laundry center and still play with this kitchen everyday. I guess one thing I was expecting since it is wood was that it would last for many years, especially because my kids are not hard on their toys and I'm always nearby while they play with it. When we put it together we ran into some problems- the little spice shelf was splintered and the board between the oven and dishwasher cracked. It was Christmas Eve though and too late to make a return. Those issues have actually been fine, but my husband has had to jimmy-rig a few other spots that have broken (can't remember what those were now). The latest is that the bottom of the dishwasher collapsed. We're still not sure how we're going to fix this one since the boards are so thin and split easily so we don't dare drive a nail or screw driver through them. If I could do it over again, I wouldn't buy this kitchen. Even though we got it using a coupon and on sale for 25% off, I still don't feel like it was worth it. We have a 6 month old and I don't think this will last long enough for her to enjoy it. I would've bought a more expensive, durable kitchen made of hard wood rather than partical board.

This toy is super cute and I love that it is not all plastic, and that it is gender neutral, so my 4 year old son and 17 month old daughter can both play with it. However, it was a BEAST to assemble. I did not read these reviews before trying so I overtightened on of the cams and it popped the wood out the back a bit. Next, a shelf that was to connect to a back piece was mis-drilled by about an inch and when I made a new hole, it cracked the shelf. Finally, there were no guide holes for four of the hinge holes and when I was trying to push the screws in it caused the shelf to break a bit where the dowel is. There is also a section where I can only get the screws about halfway in, so it would help to have a short screwdriver, or an angled screw driver, thankfully it is a hidden area behind the kitchen.

I am hoping my kids are not as rough on this as I apparently was during assembly. I think if I had owned a drill, this would have gone a lot smoother, but one does not expect pieces to come mis-drilled/lacking drill holes when they pay over $200 for a toy. I would return this toy and get another one (same model) if I was sure it would not also be missing guide holes, and if I had another 4 hours to spare to assemble it again.

Nice item, fun, kids love it. There ARE numbers on the plastic holding the screws etc so don't miss it. Otherwise you will be cursing Little Tikes. Do not over-tighten during step 32 and tightly clamp part AF over screws during step 36 to prevent splitting. Took some time to assemble but worth it.

My 2 year old daughter loves her new kitchen. The colors are very cute and gender neutral. Has lots of activities in a compact size. Easy assembly in just under 2 hours.

I wanted to get a non-girly kitchen for my 2.5 year old son and I did a lot of research before deciding on the Little Tikes Deluxe Wooden Kitchen. I love that it is relatively small and that the colors match well with any decor. It IS time-consuming to put it together- approx 3 hours- but I think it was worth it since it seems a lot more sturdy than the cheap plastic versions that are out there. I found the directions easy to follow, and from reading other reviews I was aware that the parts were numbered on the plastic lid, which saved my husband a lot of frustration.

My son has loved playing with this kitchen- opening and closing the doors, turning the stove on and off. I especially like the muffins "cooking" in the oven- a cool hologram feature that shows raw batter from one angle and almost-cooked muffins from another. We have not used the small chalk board on the side because I don't want my son to get chalk dust everywhere, but I think it is a nice touch. The rest of the features are pretty standard- microwave, stove, sink, phone, clock, refrigerator, a few pots and pans- but the laundry center makes this a little different from all the other kitchens out there. My only complaint is that the laundry basket and washer/dryer are very small- my son can only fit one shirt in there- but it is very cute to see him doing laundry! The ironing board and iron are nice touches but he rarely plays with them- maybe because I don't iron very often and he doesn't really know what they are!

So far this kitchen is holding up well and I'm happy with the quality for the price paid. A couple of the hinges are a little off so the fridge door scrapes a bit and the oven falls open too quickly, but these are minor issues. Initially, my son had trouble opening the microwave door since there was a fairly strong magnet holding it shut, but my husband just reversed that piece and it opens and closes just fine now.

If you are interested in a wooden kitchen I would highly recommend going to a store to see this kitchen up close- the pictures don't really do it justice. Highly recommend this cute, functional kitchen!

This is a great little kitchen for our 3.5 year old. We have only had it set up for a few days so this is an early review.

It has nice unisex colors that don't look too bold in our house. There are so many little features, more than most kitchens. Most importantly LOTS of places to store food/dishes.

The set up was not too complicated although took FOUR hours! Very tedious, have a drill, that will help. Also, the screws are numbered underneath the plastic holder which I found out halfway through.

So far so good, it is everything we hoped for.

**update 11/2011 - three years later we have two boys, 6.5 and 19 mos and this kitchen is still great! It is one toy that has lasted though the years and a big hit with boys and girls of all ages. Highly recommend.

After many trips to different stores and hours of reading online reviews and looking at different kitchens I decided to go with this one. I love how it has a very modern Pottery Barn look and isn't huge so it doesn't take up so much space in our playroom. I also like that it has a wash machine and kitchen in one to save space. My daughter is almost 2 and she loves it!!! VERY happy with this purchase....
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This kitchen was a great choice for our family! It is well built fairly easy to put together. If you are familiar with putting together furniture you should have no problem with the assembly, however if this is your first attempt...CAUTION! Set aside plenty of time and space to assemble this kitchen.
The kitchen colors are perfect for just about any decor! It sits in our dining room next to our beautiful china hutch and it blends in very well. Great choice! We are extremely pleased with this purchase.

After researching and reading reviews for play kitchens, we decided on the Little Tikes Wooden Kitchen. I wanted something sturdier than plastic and I loved the gender neutral colors. My two year old adores it and is especially having fun with the laundry center. I applaud anyone who put this together under 4 hours! While it's not hard to put together, it is time-consuming, so set aside enough time to get it done. My only problem with assembly was that the white backgrounds were way off and cumbersome to get into place. We had to create our own screw holes to make it work so that took up some time. Definitely look at the plastic tops of the hardware....it's numbered!!! I was thrilled when I saw this and it made everything go faster. Great product....highly recommended!!