Lovevery Play Kitchen Review 2024 + Black Friday Savings!

Wondering if the new Lovevery Play Kitchen is worth it? In this post, we'll look at how to get the Lovevery real working play kitchen on sale, the cost to self curate and recreate it on your own, and my thoughts for making a decision that suits your family best!

NOTE: Lovevery's new play kitchen is included in their Black Friday Sale! Click here for up to 25% off savings sitewide!

Watch Lovevery Play Kitchen Review

Lovevery Play Kitchen Review: Initial Thoughts

Lovevery just released their real life working play kitchen for kids and it’s definitely the most original, one of a kind play kitchen on the market. Complete with kids kitchen utensils, working water, and a customizable back splash.

I’m going to try and recreate Lovevery's kitchen using Amazon alternatives and dupes!

Wooden Chopper and Cutting Board 

The internet has plenty of montessori cutting options to day like this set which features a wooden knife and similar cutting board plus 5 other knives, a peeler, and an apron.

Kids Colander 

You can find these really easily ranging from multiple packs, cute designs, or stainless steel.

Stainless Steel Utensils + Drawer 

I won’t lie, Lovevery’s utensils are superior to every other I’ve ever tested and it’s driven my crazy they won’t sell it as a standalone item (it only comes in the montessori placemat set). 

It comes with 1 set of utensils and a drawer for them. It honestly looks a little awkward in the promo photos having such a big drawer with 3 tiny utensils… maybe that’s me wishing they had more affordable utensils available though. 

But you can find stainless steel utensils, which include a knife and your choice of animal engraving even:

Towel with Hooks 

It comes with two hooks and a towel. You can easily opt for any adhesive hook to attach to the side of a play kitchen and get as many as you’d like in whatever style you wish.

A benefit to DIYing this is that you can opt for little baskets that fit onto your hooks and can hold play food or act as accessory storage. The baskets typically come with their own adhesive hooks too!

And then you can obviously choose whatever dish towels you like!

Drying Rack 

The Lovevery play kitchen includes a drying rack that fits into the sink basin, just like their play sink from the Helper play kit. Additionally, the play sink from that play kit does fit into the play kitchen. The Lovevery drying rack from the sink measures in at 9 x 5”

In order to find one that small you have to look for RV dish drying racks with your best option being this one but you’ll need to remove the base plate (it comes off) in order to match the sizing I think.

Fresh Water Tank

Lovever’s real play kitchen includes a water basin that holds about 5L of water and features a slow flow faucet so kids hopefully don’t burn through it super fast. 

The water goes into the sink, which has a locked in place basin behind the cabinet door. The dirty water bin also has a little red stopper signaling it needs to be changed. 

To create your own “working” water flow system in a play kitchen there are tons of tutorials out there ranging anywhere from $10-50. Essentially you get a rechargeable water pump, and have a water source and “dump bucket” in the cabinet. Alternatively you can just get a water tank:

Play Kitchen

Lastly I want to talk about the cost of purchasing a wooden play kitchen in itself.

Obviously we know Lovevery is a B-Corp with sustainable practices and the highest quality materials; something you often lose when venturing to other marketplaces like Amazon or Wayfair.

So for review purposes, I’ll say the Ikea kitchen is the most comparable to Lovevery’s for most montessori families as it’s been the viral play kitchen families have been turning into a working kitchen for years and currently retails for $100. 

It’s noteworthy that they are not a 1-1 comparison, the Ikea one has some upper storage which I LOVE and an open back, making it great for playing with siblings in a restaurant or different housing scenarios. You do lose counter space for the “Stove” but I’ve always just put a cutting board on the panel to work around that. 

Other wooden kitchens on the maret can range all the way up to $1,000 (yes, I'm being totally serious!) with MANY Pottery Barn and West Elm play kitchens costing more than Lovevery's.

So in that sense Lovevery’s price tag actually isn’t crazy. But the big differences are that those $300 play kitchens are typically much bigger. 

In my research, size is the biggest determinant on price, closely followed by aesthetic. We had a little green kitchen for a long time and it was about $100. 

Lovevery Play Kitchen vs Alternatives Financially

If you add up all of the most expensive alternatives I mention in this post you’re looking at spending anywhere from $268 to $555. If you add up the cheapest options I mention, you’re looking at spending $192. 

For Lovevery’s Black Friday sale happening here, the more you spend the bigger the savings and that does include the play kitchen and reading skill sets which I’ve covered before and am a HUGE fan of! With that in mind, I’d definitely get the play kitchen on sale now because that’s a huge savings! 

Lovevery Play Kitchen Review

I haven’t had the chance to test the play kitchen out yet, so this review is based solely on photos, talking with you guys in the comments and DMs on social media, and reading other’s reviews. But I think for most families this decision comes down to a few things:

Intention

Do you want an actual child size kitchen that follows the principles of montessori? This means your child would have complete independence for snacks, drinks, washing hands, etc. 

Or do you prefer your child uses a stool at the real kitchen/bathroom sinks and you’re looking for more of a play kitchen that has a stove top and oven knobs for the pretend aspects. 

Space

For years I always said that montessori kids kitchens were silly and that families could just use a kitchen helper and their real kitchen… I have countless videos on my Youtube channel of our old house and how spacious the kitchen was and how often my daughter moved around independently.

Fast forward to our new house, where you can’t open the dishwasher and freezer at the same time and there’s NO WAY a big kitchen helper is comfortably sitting at the sink while my husband and I move around the space and my views have totally broadened.

I think if you have a kitchen that’s big enough for a toddler tower and independence, it’s all you need. But if you have a smaller kitchen, giving your child their own dedicated space for kitchen work or even turning it into a self care station with brushes/a mirror on the side, it totally makes sense. 

Handiness vs Convenience: 

if you’re a DIYer then making your own working play kitchen using the IKEA one is probably the route I’d go. You can customize it to exactly what you want and I do think the set up is great for multiple kids (based on experience).

If you’re struggling with decision fatigue or too much on your plate, I think it’s well worth the price difference to have a done-for-you solution that you know is amazing quality.

Lovevery Play Kitchen FAQs

What else will I need with the Lovevery play kitchen?

Intention will dictate what you need for the play kitchen! If you plan to use it as a real working montessori kitchen, then you'll want toddler plates and toddler cups. You may also want baskets like I mentioned for storing additional towels, snacks, or speciality kitchenware (tongs, rolling pin, whisk) that may or may not fit in the utensil drawer.

If you plan to use it as a pretend kitchen you'll want pretend pots and pans, a shopping cart or basket with food, or a tea set.

If you plan to use it as a self care station, I'd suggest baskets for combs/personal care items, a soap dispenser, and a mirror.

Ultimately it depends if your intention for the kitchen is more play or purpose driven. 

Can I swap out the backsplash?

Yes, if you decide you want a different style after buying you can get a new one.

Can kids pull out the utensil drawer?

No, it was designed with a child lock stopper to prevent it from being pulled out fully without adult assistance.

Can kids dump the dirty water bin?

No, there is a safety lock to keep the dirty water bin in place and an “indicator” that works like a stop gap to plug the sink.

Will the Lovevery kitchen sink overflow?

It shouldn’t. They designed the water basin to hold about 5L of water and the waste water bin to hold 6L so you shouldn’t have any problems. It also features a red bulb that floats up when the base needs to be emptied.

How hard is assembly?

This is a brand new Lovevery item I haven’t had the chance to get my hands on yet, but in my experience assembling their Montessori shelf, it’s one of the EASIEST companies to build. They have a 3D image instructions on your phone you can zoom in and twirl around.  

Can you buy replacement utensils?

Lovevery sells a Montessori placemat and utensils here. They do not just sell the utensils though and I hope they will with this release because they are literally the best kids utensils!

Will the plastic sink mold if water sits?

According to the CEO's instagram, the plastic is mold resistant and dishwasher safe:

What plates/bowls should I use?

I have an entire buying guide on toddler plates here! But in short, I’d stick with smaller plates since the dry rack is only (likely) 5 in wide.