Functional Toddler Kitchen – IKEA Hack with Working Sink!

Play kitchens are great. But FUNCTIONAL toddler kitchens are even better!

Functional play spaces encourage independence, learning, and active participation in daily tasks. With the right adjustments, you can create a functional kitchen for your toddler to practice real life skills all while having fun!

We converted an IKEA play kitchen into a functional toddler kitchen, and our son can’t get enough. In this post, I’ll show you how to easily create a functional toddler kitchen with a working sink. Let’s get into it.

• How to create a functional toddler kitchen
• Toddler-proofing the kitchen
• Skills to teach your toddler
• Supply list

All products I used are listed and linked at the bottom of this post.

How to Create a Functional Toddler Kitchen

These are the steps to follow if you want to turn a play kitchen into a functional kitchen for your toddler.

Step 1: Order the Kitchen

There are several ways to get your hands on the IKEA play kitchen.

You can of course purchase one on the IKEA website, but (from experience) they do often sell out. I was too impatient to wait for IKEA to restock, so I searched third party sellers for other buying options.

I ended up finding mine on Facebook marketplace! It was VERY loved, and covered in glitter stickers but it was available right away so we made it work.

Step 2: Prep the Kitchen

To prep the toddler kitchen for functional renovations, you’ll need to remove the shelf under the sink on the right and remove the toy faucet. If you purchased a new kitchen, just don’t install these items.

Step 3: Make the Toddler Kitchen FUNCTIONAL

Select a water dispenser

You’ll need to select a water dispenser for your functional toddler kitchen. I spent HOURS looking for the perfect water dispenser, until I found The One. Let me save you some time here, Get This One!

Not only does it look great, it has all of the features that I was looking for. It has a long lasting charge, I’ve had it for over a year and only charged it a few times. It dispenses water quietly. And most importantly, it has a programable function that controls how much water comes out! This means that your toddler won’t flood the house the first time they use their new sink. You’re welcome.

Drill holes in the sink basin

This step will allow your sink to actually drain!

Using a small bit, drill holes into the sink basin focusing on the center. Make sure that you drill enough holes to allow the water to properly drain (you don’t want old water lingering in the sink).

Pro Tip: I used a small flat blade to scrape off the extra plastic residue left under the sink basin from the drilling process. This allowed the water to flow more easily, and created less splatters when draining into the jug below.

Add the drain system

Put 2 clear plastic jugs under the sink: one to hold the clean water, and one for the dirty water. Place the water jug in the back, and align the empty jug under the holes in the sink.

Toddler-proofing the Kitchen

This step is totally optional. But if you have a curious toddler like I do, you’re going to want to toddler-proof your functional toddler kitchen a bit.

Day one, hour one: Noah knocked over the functional faucet, took the sink basin out (filled with water), and opened the cabinets to get a better look at the plumbing system (gah). With the following minor adjustments, you can avoid this initial mess all together.

• Secure the faucet and sink basin with squishy double sided tape.
• Secure the sink cabinet with the water jugs using magnetic cabinet locks. (These are the BEST! We use these all over our house for baby proofing cabinets).

Adding Accessories

We went super simple with the accessories knowing that we’ll add more as Noah grows and is able to do more independently.

• Mirror
• Stainless Steel Creamers
• Toddler Cups
• Scrub brush
• Hand broom
• Duster (I used sticky hooks to hang these from the side of the kitchen)

Skills to teach your toddler

Our functional toddler kitchen is positioned between our dining table and Noah’s bookshelf. We jokingly call this area, “Noah’s Apartment”. But really, this functional kitchen has given him the space to feel independent and grow skills that give him confidence.

We started with this list of skills and plan to expand on it as he shows signs of readiness.

• Grab a drink of water
• Clean up spills
• Wash hands
• Pour water
• Wash utensils
• Wash Hands
• Brush teeth

Here’s a list of everything we used to create Noah’s functional toddler kitchen:

Supply List

• Drill (with drill bit)
• IKEA play kitchen from amazon, IKEA (or FB marketplace if you’re lucky).
• Best Water dispenser
• Clear plastic jugs
• Mirror
• Stainless Steel Creamers
• Toddler Cups
• Scrub brush
• Hand broom
• Duster
• Sticky hooks (to hang items from the side of the kitchen)
• Double sided tape (toddler-proofing)
• Magnetic cabinet locks (toddler proofing)

Have Fun!

I was surprised how easy it was to create this functional space for our toddler. It’s now a staple in our toddler’s daily routine, and Noah’s favorite place to play and learn.

I hope that you feel inspired to create a functional toddler kitchen of your own! Check out the supply list below to see where we found everything. And leave me a comment with any questions or fun ideas that you have!