Customer Reviews

Melissa & Doug Cook's Corner Wooden Kitchen

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Bought this Melissa and Doug Kitchen along with the Plan Refrigerator. Had thought about buying all Plan for our 2 yr little girl, but cost more than we were willing to spend. Worked out great. The Cook's corner kitchen had everything she needed(minus the fridge) and was a lot less expensive. Although is appears to be built from some sort of high quality plywood...it is sturdy and looks nice. Though probably not as high end as some of the Plan products...Melissa and Doug has quite remarkable customer service and an overall good quality product....Nice to be able to trust the company you buy your child's toy's from.

This product is fairly easy to put together, although it does take 1-2 hours to do so. It's a cute, compact kitchen that has all the things I was looking for (wooden construction, turning knobs, colorful) at a very attractive price. The problem with the unit we received is that there are a couple of scrapes and slight chips on the paint in a couple of places--not enough to make us put everything back in the box and send it back, but enough to be annoying. I will take some pics and upload so that it's clear what I'm talking about. Also, the door on the oven doesn't close as it should, but it's also not the biggest deal--could also be the result of my husband's handy work and not a manufacturing flaw. The last complaint is the sink bowl is not connected to the unit, so my 15-month old daughter always takes it out and it ends up god knows where. So far it hasn't broken, but it would be nice if it were connected to the unit.

i wanted to get my boys a kitchen because they absolutely love their melissa and doug food toys, but many kitchens are made of plastic, or aren't a unisex color scheme. i also worried about the fact that my boys are big for their age and i didn't want them hunching over a mini kitchen especially one with a large upper area which would take up space in my house AND possibly bonk them in the head (they are boys after all and tend to wrestle for stove-top space). this has worked out wonderfully and considering that i got it on sale at toys r us before i could find it anywhere online (even for picture reference) i'm glad i got it before the prices went up! the only thing my oldest son is missing is the refrigerator... and i plan to buy him a separate one to help store all the food toys he's accumulated (everyone knows that's what he likes because he insists on cooking for everyone who walks in our door). and it's easily going to last through to my third son who's still a baby, and probably past that when i undoubtedly use it for my future daycare.

overall a great buy. my boys love it, it has great basics, doesn't take up too much space, but is a good height for everyone. it's a hit with any kid who comes over and i give the melissa and doug birthday cake as a gift to most toddlers! :)

There are two reasons I gave this four stars instead of five.

I ordered this kitchen because I was looking for something inexpensive that was small and WOODEN. On the Melissa and Doug website, and on Amazon, this kitchen was advertised as wooden, so I purchased it. However, when I received it and put it together, I discovered that, although the side panels look like wood, the only parts of it that are really wood are the handles for the stove and cabinet and the poles that hold the shelf up.

The other reason I gave this four stars is because not all of the screw holes line up. You have to leave all of the screws loose and then wrench it together to get it all to fit. I even had to chisel the back shelf to get the panel to fit into the grooves so that it would slide down.

All that being said, however, I really like this kitchen, and I think it is high quality once it is put together.

Once it was all put together, chiseling and all, it looks really nice,and is very realistic. The sink bowl is deeper than most plastic kitchens, so my daughter can pretend to wash dishes. However, you might want to double-stick the sink down so it does not get lost because it just sits in the groove. This is a plus however because you can wash it out occasionally.

My daughter LOVES the timer because it really works, and she can pretend to cook. Plus, it is attached, so it doesn't get lost.

The product is made of high quality MDF, and it looks pretty real even if it is not.

About 2-1/2 feet wide and 2 feet tall, this product is small enough for my daughter's tiny bedroom and light enough to carry into the living room.

One other piece of useful information:

The oven is very small. I purchased theMelissa & Doug Slice and Bake Cookie Setand you have to turn the pan just so to fit it in the oven. Likewise, the cabinet is too small to fit the large crate from the Just Slice It Wooden Play Food Set. If you are looking for small, this might not be bad, but I thought it was useful information.

UPSIDES: Seems to have captured the imagination of a 19-month-old girl, despite the recommendation for ages 3+! Lots of things to turn, open and close. Sturdy and attractive. Straightforward assembly with all the nuts, bolts and screws in individually numbered bags. Sheet enclosed in the box detailing the checks performed by their quality control department before shipping.

DOWNSIDES: Long assembly time (2 hours and 15 minutes). Notably strong off-gassing of the construction materials. Oven door does not close completely due to an inner shelf which was cut about 2 mm too large.

NOTE ON THE MATERIAL USED: Appears to be a wood particle-based composite material. This is an engineered wood product, NOT ACTUAL SOLID WOOD! I was very surprised by this since the product claims to be wooden. This could be an advantage in some ways, since composite wood can be stronger and lighter than solid wood. However, the engineered wood smelled very strongly during unpacking, assembly and for a week afterward. Naturally, I am worried about VOC off-gassing, especially for the person assembling the product and for any small children exposed to the chemicals in the air. I would like to challenge the manufacturer to publish the list of raw materials used in the manufacturing process in the product description.

Now I am not complaining here, just want you to know what you are getting yourself into. My husband assembled this while watching a football game, and although he looked up at the TV a few times, mostly he was focused on this exclusively and STILL it took 2 hours. It has more screws and instruction sheets than any IKEA product we've ever known, though seems to slip together more smoothly than those products.

A few annoying items: they sent us 2 "hot" handles instead of one hot and one cold. I hope customer service can help us with this. Also, the door on the oven doesn't close perfectly.

It has a white plastic sink that is removable, and a real timer (screwed in so it won't get lost), 3 "burners", a fridge, a stove and clicking knobs on all appliances. Nothing makes annoying noises, and no batteries are needed.

But for under $100 and free shipping, we are all set. It's a beautiful wood look, and won't "scream" at our other furniture. We didn't want a huge piece of plastic in the living space, and since my toddler is always around me on the first floor, we wanted it to blend in with the adult furniture we have. It's the middle of winter, so playing in our cold basement would not work well for anyone.

We have other Melissa and Doug products and have been pleased, so we are happy to have found this affordable wood kitchen for our daughter. Also, my older kids are sure to be happy playing it with her once in a while, with enough room to walk around it and play with different areas.

I purchased this for my grandson's second bithday and he loves it! My daughter loves it also - the size is perfect. She has it in her kitchen so he can cook when she does.

This kitchen is adorable. It's on the smaller side for play kitchens, which is great is you have a small space. The assembly is a bit difficult - nearly impossible with only one person. We found it to be easier in some stages to flip the whole thing over (assembly instructions have you build it upside down at first - it was easier right side up). I needed a drill to get the screws into the faucet handles. My husband & I both tried and could not do that with just a screwdriver.

Speaking of faucet handles - our package came with two "hot" handles. I called Melissa & Doug and they shipped us a replacement "cold" handle. It hasn't arrived yet, but I just spoke to them this morning.

Ok the only thing I am pissed about this piece is that it's now a lot cheaper than when I bought it. For $75 this is a steal! The assembly took a lot longer than I expected. It took me two hours to put it together even with an electric screw driver -- there's just too many screws and about 14 steps I think. But the effort is all worth it because my little girl LOVES it. It's a cute solid piece of wood furniture, not cheap looking like the plastic ones. A plus - the timer works and perfect for timing time-outs for upto 3 years old, hehe. The doors are a bit tricky to install so pay attention carefully on this step. And if you screw it too tight it springs open so tighten it just right for it to work properly. One flaw with the construction is that after I put one of the screws, it made a little bump as it connected to the nut on the side and i am worried if my daughter puts pressure it will break. Nevertheless I am pleased with this cute kitchen -- my daughter has been baking cookies and pizza in it for the last 3 days she's had it. Tip : Target sells some kitchen accessories for $1 in their dollar bins - get them there if you find the M&D wooden ones unaffordable. But I must suggest buy the Melissa & Doug cookie set at least.

After tons and tons of researching various kitchen sets I am SO glad I selected this one for my girls. I knew that I wanted a wooden kitchen to last them several years of play. I had a wooden set as a little girl and to this day my girls play with it when ever they go to my parents' house. The quality of Melissa and Doug products can not be matched in my opinion. Assembly was a little time consuming but the end product was worth it. When selecting a wooden set you have to sacrafice certain things like burners that make a boiling pot sound or a microwave that they can push buttons on to hear them beep - but if quality is more important to you than technology than this is the kitchen set to choose! You can fill the sink with water for some dish washing. My girls ask me which faucet is "hot" and which one is the "cold". Very cute. My twins are 3 going on 4 and my youngest just turned 2. They all love it and I suspect will for quite some time. (I also use the timer for "time outs" or setting it when the girls need to take turns with a toy. So the set comes in handy for parents too :). Thanks Melissa and Doug for another awesome toy!