A Lick of Paint & Some Wood Glue Can Work Wonders

I am a firm believer that a lick of paint and a dab of wood glue coupled with a little imagination can work wonders.

Little chairs with our two older sons' names. 

The chairs I used here were old wooden chairs with damaged seats that were being thrown out by a local kindergarten. With the help of some wood glue, cut-to-size plywood and a couple of coats of paint, they came up nicely and have lasted the last 4 years well.

A homemade toy kitchen for the playroom.

A few years ago, we wanted a play kitchen for the boys but didn't want to get the same one that every other house in Germany seem to have. Having recently moved to our house and having installed a new kithchen, we ended up with quite a few bits and pieces that inspired us to build our own toy kitchen. 

The basis for this is one of those mini Ikea coffee tables that cost about €10. We'd had it for years and it was living in the cellar . On one half of the tabletop we painted two black circles as a hob. In the centre we installed a cheap kitchen tap and glued a flat-based metal bowl in front of it as a sink. The splashback is a cut-off from the bargain box in the timber section of our local DIY store. A few hooks and plastic utensils finished it off. Three years on, it is still in regular use. Only this morning I was offered a cup of coffee (a brown stone in a wooden cup) and a banana split (a blue bucket filled with various colours of Duplo and a toy wooden spoon) made in that very kitchen.