We bought this kitchen set for my daughter this past Christmas. She had just turned two, and was always playing with kitchen sets at friends’ houses and daycare. This kitchen set is rather expensive compared to most others, but we felt it was worth the extra cost for a few reasons. For one, this is set up in our family room, so I liked that it looked nice, and had a flat back so it could be flush against a wall. Also, it has everything a kitchen set needs, with no need to buy any extras. This set includes a washer/dryer (only one hole, I guess it is supposed to emulate one of those combo washer/dryers in one), a fridge, an oven, a dishwasher, a 2 burner stovetop, a microwave, a sink, a clock (doesn’t actually tell time, but the hands move and can be used to learn how to tell time), a chalkboard, an ironing board, an iron, a laundry basket, oven mitt, a few “spices”, and a telephone. I might have missed some things, but that’s most of it!

One downside to this kitchen set is that assembly is required, and there is a LOT of pieces. This cannot be assembled at the last minute. It took my husband a few hours on Christmas Eve (yes, we waited until the last minute, even though the box was in the closet for a couple of months!). Thankfully all pieces were there, and the reaction on Christmas morning was well worth my husband’s efforts.

Another downside is that the doors to the oven, microwave, fridge, and dishwasher can be hard for a small child to open. The close with magnets and the magnets are tough. Most of the doors are easier to open now, but the microwave still gives my daughter issues at times, likely because of the angle she has to pull. We were going to cover half the magnet with tape to make it less strong, but it seems to be ok for now.

Another note worth mentioning is that while it is a “wood” kitchen, there are a lot of plastic pieces (the washer door, for example, as well as the sink, burners, knobs), and the wood is a laminate, not solid wood. So if you are looking at this one specifically for the wooden aspect, you might prefer some of the other wooden kitchens available.

What I do like about this kitchen is that my daughter loves it. Mostly she loves hiding things in the oven, and “bathing” her smaller stuffed toys and dolls in the sink, but I know this set will last her a long time. This is not a kitchen she will outgrow soon. I could easily see a 6 year old still having fun with this kitchen set, whereas others on the market are geared to toddlers only, and are too small for older children.

Another thing I love about it is that it is not noisy! It seems so many toys now make so much noise, but all that this one has is a clicking and buzz-like sound for the washer, and I think that is it! I like that I don’t have to worry about batteries dying, and my daughter does not mind that she has to make her own noises.

This kitchen is large and heavy. We bolted it to the wall, just to be on the safe side. I think it is sturdy enough that it would not tip, but if it were to fall, it could hurt a child, so best to be careful. No bolts were included for this; we used our own.

It seems like I made a few negative comments about the kitchen, but in reality I am very pleased with it. I love the look of it, my daughter and I have fun playing with it, and every child that comes to visit does as well.

Rating: 9