Toy Kitchen Recommendations?

I am the SAHM of 2 little girls just turned 4 and just turned 2....we have a kitchen that we play with (ans have played with) at least a few times a day every single day for about 1 year now. I is a Step 2 Lifestyle model 7248 and it has a fridge, a sink with a light over the top and a rack above that to store plates, a microwave, an oven, a dishwasher (all appliances have noise making digital buttons), a phone, a stove top that makes a boiling noise with 1 pot that came with set and a sizzle noise with a frying pan that came with it, also has many drawers and cabinets and 2 produce bins for storage of dishes and play food. My girls love it .... it has space for both to play at once and we adults love it because all parts can store within. My husband added (built) a fold out table on the end of it with a dry earase top and a couple of hinges so the girls can sit there and eat or do crafts. It has been the hit of the year and I am so please with how much bang for the buck we are getting. It also is narrow and about 4-5 feet long so takes up little space against a wall. I recommend also buying a bit of play food, a set of dishes -utinsels included (preferably hard plastic or we got metal ones for durability) and a shopping cart, a reusable grocery bag and a play check out counter (we us a kids lap desk with side pockets -$5 at micheals). Then you can go to the store, shop for the groceries, check them out, pay, take them home, put them away, take them out and cook food. It makes for hours and hours of fun (copy mom and dad) play and gives lots of opportunity for learning about money, food, colors of food, shapes, labeling, etc, cooking, preparing, etc. I can not say enough about how valuable this has been for us and we live in a townhome with limited space. Hope this helps (if a birthday is coming or Christmas around the corner, grandma or grandpa or aunties and uncles could give the add ons --- utinsils, cookware, etc for gifts!) go to Step2.com and look at models. Our model is $219 new but can find used at Once upon a child. We bought ours from a neighbor for $35.00 and I have seen at garage sales for about the same price or as high as $60. THere is also a little helpers kitchen brand new for $119. Maybe you can find it used at the Junior League for women garage sale at the MN state fairgrounds sat sept 27. Go to MNstatefair.com and look at the events calendar for details. Great indoor garage sale to find gently used items at great prices. Hopes this helps. Have fun and enjoy.

My daughter plays with my Little Tykes kitchen from 1985 yes it's that old... her favorite feature is that is has a table attached that pulls out and her 2 little chairs this was also my favorite part and I used that function of it more than anything. Also it has a sink,oven which are typical and fun.

First and foremost, don't pay full price for your kitchen!!! I found my daughter's kitchen on Craigslist. It's a little older but in great shape and she loves it! She also doesn't know it's not brand new :) I just typed in Play Kitchen and searched for a few weeks before I found one I liked at a price I liked.
I'm sure she would like any kitchen I chose, however, I wanted one that wasn't too big but wasn't too small. I also wanted one that was proportionate. Some kitchens had a small fridge and a large microwave or stuff like that. I wanted the appliances to look like appliances!
I ended up getting an older Step 2 kitchen. I also looked at an older version of this kitchen http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/bab/831525741.html
however it was too big for my space. Quick! This kitchen was posted yesterday! Maybe you can still get it! It looks in great shape :)

I went with the big ticket item, knowing that both of my kids would play with the kitchen for years. I ordered mine from step2.com - they often have free shipping which is nice as it came in two heavy boxes and I didn't have to haul them around. We got the deluxe kitchen. It's sturdy and has lots of great features like sizzling sound on the stove along with many cabinets and drawers for all the accessories it comes with. It was not inexpensive but I know they'll get years of play out of it and I saw it as an investment. My brother and I played with our toy kitchen until we were about 5 and 9!