Dhano923's Full Review: The Step2 Company Step2 Lifestyle Dream Kitchen
When my son was approaching his second birthday, I told my husband that I wanted to get him a play kitchen. My son always loved to watch me in our kitchen, and loved to pretend to cook in my pots and pans. I thought a play kitchen would be great for him. Initially my husband hesitated, but then realized that my son really would enjoy something like that.
Living in a townhome, we had limited space. I needed a kitchen that had all the "amenities" -- sink, refrigerator, cabinets, etc but that didn't take up a ton of space. A friend had the Step2 Deluxe Kitchen, which was adorable but definitely too large for our living room. I went to Toys R Us, and found a Step2 Lifestyle kitchen that was too small. I wanted to get one that was between the Deluxe and the Lifestyle versions. I ended up on the Step2 website, and found that they had the Dream kitchen which was the medium version. After measuring the area I wanted to put the kitchen in, I found it would be a perfect fit. I immediately ordered it via the Step 2 website. At $149, it was in the same price range as other kitchens I had seen but not liked, plus I found an online coupon for free shipping, which saved me the time and effort of going to a store and figuring our how to bring this big toy home.
The Dream kitchen is great. It has all the basics: refrigerator, oven, microwave, sink and cabinets. There are two cabinets on the top and one under the sink, as well as a utensil drawer under the sink. There is also a cordless phone that sits net to the microwave. There are 3 drawers and one pull-out basket for dishes and play foods. The microwave and oven have battery operated buttons that beep and ding, just like real appliances, and there is a light over the sink that the child can turn on with the press of a button. The kitchen also comes with a "working" burner (battery operated) where you put the special clear pot on it and it makes sizzling noises.
The kitchen arrived only 3 days later, in a very large box. After my son went to bed, my husband and I opened it up. The kitchen comes as one large plastic piece, on which you attach several smaller pieces such as the doors to the oven and refrigerator, the cabinet doors, etc. It came with clear instructions, but being a Step2 product, it was very easy to assemble. It took us about 20 minutes to attach all the doors, put batteries in the microwave and oven controls, put batteries in and attach the light above the sink and and stick all the decals on the various areas such as the trim and oven.
The kitchen also came with a play set which included 2 each of plates, bowls, cups, sporks, and a couple pots and serving spoons. I had also ordered a food set with plastic foods from the 4 basic food groups.
My son loved his birthday gift and couldn't stop playing with it. He loved "cooking" food for us and bring us the plates with utensils, then he would pretend to wash the dishes in the sink. After a few days, the sizzling burner stopped working because my son spilled water on it and we didn't notice it for a few hours. (I did call Step2 to see if replacement burners were available and they said yes, but I never ordered one). He loved all the storage and constantly moved things around form the cabinets to the drawers to the refrigerator. We loved how durable the kitchen was, and also like the fact that there were no sharp edges or heavy parts.
Fast forward to now... our son is now 4 and we have a 2 year old daughter. They both love to play with their kitchen! My daughter will cook, and my son will bring us the food. They organize the foods, and they play together as they cook. We've bought them additional dishes and play foods, so they have a wide assortment of accessories. When we got this kitchen, we didn't realize we would get so much use out of it. It was a great gift for my son and a wise investment as parents.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 149.00 Type of Toy: Playscene
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years
Every child's (and parent's) dream come true! Appliances make realistic electronic sounds Complete with lots of storage space and 37-piece accessory s...More at eBay
Little chefs can flex their culinary muscles with the incredibly realistic Step2 LifeStyle Dream Kitchen With loads of space and so many activities th...More at BabyAge
Every child's (and parent's) dream come true! Appliances make realistic electronic sounds. Complete with lots of storage space and 27-piece accessor...More at Big Toy Express
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.