Mum’s outdoor play kitchen ‘better’ than her actual kitchen

A mother-of-two has morphed both Bunnings and Kmart items to help create a ‘mud kitchen’ for her children — and they won’t leave it.

A very handy couple have used their great DIY skills to create an impressive play kitchen for their children — with the project costing as little as $200.

Carly Jade, 31, from Emerald Beach in NSW, said she has always wanted a big mud kitchen for her kids to get creative and use their imagination.

And after having some pieces of unused wood laying around from previous projects, she got creative herself.

“My partner and I have always been makers and doers, with projects in the works, but I’ve been dreaming up something like since before we even had kids,” Carly told news.com.au.

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Carly Jade, 31, painting the play kitchen for her two toddlers. Picture: Instagram/our_emerald_home

Carly’s husband Josh built the frame out of decking framing timber purchased from Bunnings. Picture: Instagram/our_emerald_home

She got her husband Josh, 32, to build the frame out of decking and framing timber they had purchased from Bunnings for $70, while she did all the painting, styling and decorating with items from Kmart and various op-shops.

“We make a good team. Josh makes my visions come to life,” Carly said.

She said the pine decking boards were then attached using a “brad nailer” nailing gun before the entire wooden surface was primed and painted.

The savvy couple are teachers. Picture: Supplied

“Josh put all the pieces together because I can’t use a nail gun to save my life,” she joked, “and I did all the decorating to make it look pretty.”

The pair used cutoffs of blackbutt timber they had lying around to make the taps and spouts.

“We also had old an piece of rattan marine grade suitable for boats, so wet weather proof,” Carly said.

“But everything together, including the leftovers, cost us $200.”

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The rest was made with rattan and paint along with unused wood from previous projects. Picture: Instagram/our_emerald_home

The mum said her two kids, aged two and four, are “obsessed” with the mud kitchen spending hours a day playing.

She joked that it’s nicer than her newly renovated (real) kitchen.

When it comes to cleaning it, Carly said she just “blasts it with the hose”.

She also said it was an “incredibly easy project” with her biggest struggle being over the choice of paint in colour.

The mixing bowls are from Kmart and cookware from op-shops. Picture: Instagram/our_emerald_home

Carly, who is a lover of all-things DIY, has an Instagram page dedicated to her projects — with her mud kitchen praised as her “best so far”.

“Definitely one of your best projects,” one of her 16,000 followers wrote on a video showing off the kitchen.

“Wow this is amazing,” said another, while a third added: “Oh my I needed this for the kids.”

The couple now have their eyes set on building a new vanity for their main bathroom and will soon start transforming their outdoor entertaining area.