Pretend Play: Wooden "Dishwasher"

Our next project was TRULY INSPIRED! I have a HARD TIME keeping my daughter OUT of our dishwasher! She loves to "help", but often ends up trying to sit on the door while it is open!! Argh!

I decided that maybe if she had a dishwasher of her own, she might leave the real one alone while I did dishes. Besides...she would also have some "extra storage" for the multitude of play dishes that seem to have reproduced overnight!

I decided to "re-use" Ana's plan for the washing machine http://ana-white.com/2009/12/plans-toy-washing-machine.html but with a few modifications. (Ana didn't have a plan for a dishwasher, so I needed to come up with my own plan.)

I started out with a VERY LARGE purchase of wood! I wanted to make 5 different projects, so I took the time to plan out the wood I needed to purchase and made ONE BIG trip to Depot! This is what 5 projects worth of wood look like, cut and ready to go:

Next, I nailed together the "basic frame" for the kids washing machine. I didn't cut a hole in the inner door frame as called out for the washing machine, however. I wanted to be able to use that piece of wood as the dishwasher door. (This also means that I didn't need the washing machine door OR the piece of acrylic called for in the original plan.)

Then, I made sure to prime the piece VERY WELL, and paint with 2 coats of white paint. I also painted the dishwasher door separately. I then installed hinges to the door, and added the door to the piece so that it would open "downward". I also added a handle to the door and knobs to the front face. The knobs were vitamin bottle caps (black) and soda/water bottle caps (colors).

Because I used the same plan as the kids washing machine, the dishwasher and washing machine were the same size footprint and fit well on top of each other!

NOTE: Please add a screw to the inside of the dishwasher and to the inside of the door, and connect the screws with a string. This will help prevent TOES from being banged if the door falls open quickly.

I was right...the toddler loves her dishwasher, and promptly filled it with anything that wasn't nailed down! It cost me about $20 to make this project! Money well spent for a piece of "sanity"!

Please feel free to use these plans to build furniture, for sale or for pleasure, but please do not sell the PLANS as your "own".  Please also give credit to me and link back here!  I hope you enjoy them!!

***I am NOT LIABLE for any plans featured here. Please take every precaution and use your own discretion to make sure these toys are safe for children to play with them.