Build your kids their own mud kitchen

Secure your chop saw to the bench.

Once you’ve decided on your size, measure and mark your timber in preparation for cutting.

If you’re confident of all your measurements before you get started, it can save time and effort to get all of your cutting done in one go. However, it’s also okay to cut what you need as you go along.

Once your cutting is complete, make sure to go over your timber with a sander to smooth over the edges.

There are many different ways to construct a mud kitchen. For our design, we’re starting out by dry-laying the configuration of our end frames.

Once the pieces for your first panel are in place, join them by screwing them together. Repeat this process to build your other end frame.

Stand up your two end frames on your work bench.

Lay your upper and lower boards in position so that they’re sat flush against the end panels- this gives you your worktop and shelf.

Embed screws into your first front fascia board before offering it up and clamping it in place.

Screw your front fascia board into place, before repeating this process for the front board on the lower shelf.

Then do the same for the upper and lower fascia boards on the back.

Clamp your first board in place against the back of the end frame so that it stays steady.

Lay your spacers on top before laying the second board for your splashback and clamping it in place.

Attach them to the end frames by screwing them in place, then remove your spacers.

Attach hooks to one end of the top shelf by piloting holes and then screwing them in by hand.

Once you’ve fitted the number of hooks you’ll need for your chimes, fit the board to the top of your mud kitchen so that the hooks are hanging off the end.

Cut your dowels to size in ascending or descending order of size to create your chimes.

Go over the cut ends with your sander to smooth them.

Drill pilot holes in the top of each of them and twist in the eyelets.

Once you’ve constructed your mud kitchen, it’s time to get imaginative and personalise it with some decorative touches.

We used metal handles and turned them into pretend hob burners, to do this; remove the top front fascia panel for easier access to the underside of the shelf, then mark the position and screw them into place from the underside of the top shelf.

To install a bowl as your pretend sink; measure and mark around the outside of the bowl first, then adjust for the lip of the bowl so that it’s held in place by the lip when you drop it into your hole. Drill a hole on your cutting line as a starting point, then cut out your hole using a jigsaw.

If you want to give it some extra finishing touches, going over the entire thing with a palm sander is a great way to make sure that all the surfaces are smooth to the touch.

You can also get creative with colours and give it a new look with paint, or provide the timber with some extra protection from the weather using the treatment of your choice.

Once you’ve finished installing your decorative touches, give it a good brush down to remove any dust. Finally, attach your chimes to the hooks and your mud kitchen is ready.