Twice Lovely turned this hideous entertainment center:

into this awesome play kitchen:

The kitchen has a “Tres Chic French theme,” complete with a chandelier, stove, sink, and view out the window.

Best of all, since the entertainment center was free from Craigslist, the whole thing cost about $15 to make.

Like this post on turning a nightstand into a play kitchen, both projects show how imagination can turn old furniture into a great toy for your child’s enjoyment. [Apartment Therapy]

I love this whale bookcase by designer Justin Southey. What a bummer it doesn’t seem to be for sale. So adorable for a kid’s room. [Apartment Therapy]

So as I mentioned before, there are going to be a couple of changes around here, and all for the better of Savvy Housekeeping. The first of these changes is the new Kids category. As you can probably tell from the title, this category is for anything child or motherhood related. There are two major reasons for this:

1. I realized I already have a lot of child-related posts and it made sense to make it into its own category.

2. I am pregnant! Baby Savvy is due in May. So naturally, I’m going to be more interested in everything baby/mother-related and will want to share.

You can peruse the existing Kids posts by clicking here if you are so inclined. Here are a few that stood out to me:

Turn A Wardrobe Into Secret Playroom

Turn An Old Nightstand Into A Play Kitchen

Have A Child’s Drawing Made Into A Plush Toy

15 Baby Money Traps To Avoid

Cardboard Box Rockets and Castles

This is so cute. Child’s Own Studio has a service where they will take your child’s drawing and make it into a custom soft toy. They look pretty close to the drawing too:

Learn more here.

Sometimes I think it’s a bit of a shame that everyone buys the same costumes from the store for Halloween, especially since it is so easy to make your own. Case in point, this Last Minute Kids’ Owl Costume by Ellen Baker. She used a kits tee-shirt, fabric scraps, and a pair of kits sunglasses to make this original-looking owl costume. Very cute.

Mint.Com has an interesting article on 15 Baby Money Traps To Avoid. Here’s a run-down:

Infrared baby monitors
Bed in a bag
Convertible cribs
Diaper wipe warmer
Bottle sterilizers
Baby videos
Vinci tablet
Baby knee pads
Color changing spoons
Thudguard
Walking wings
Baby TV
Baby perfume
Baby food processors
Baby gates–Pet gates are cheaper.

Read their reasoning here.

I hadn’t even heard of some of these things. Perfume for babies? Huh?

The only thing I’m not sure of is convertible cribs, which seem like they could save some money.

What do you think are the biggest baby money traps?

How cute are these Child’s Menagerie Chairs and Table? I particularly like the table, but the chairs are cute too:

From the site:

All pieces are finished with a water-borne, non-toxic natural varnish to protect the wood and ensure that the pieces can be easily wiped clean of fingerprints (and peanut butter & jelly).

This set is on the pricey side–$198 for the chairs and $238 for the table, or $598 for the table and two chairs. Pretty adorable, though. [Ohdeedoh]

I recently stumbled upon the idea of using a Dynamic Frame for displaying kid’s art. The frame has a latch that easily opens so that you can insert a new drawing. That way you can change out the artwork whenever there’s a new creation ready to be displayed.

On top of that, the Dynamic Frame acts as an album, storing up to 50 drawings at a time. So not only is this a good way to display the child’s art, it reduces clutter too.

Dynamic Frames start at $25 and go up, so they aren’t the cheapest products out there, but they definitely beat slapping the kid’s art up on a refrigerator.

Straight out of Chronicles of Narnia, this homeowner used a wardrobe as an entrance to a secret playroom for his child.

This is brilliantly simple–just cut a hole in the back of the wardrobe and push it against the door to the playroom. Voila! All that’s missing is the fur coats.

This is one lucky kid. Design Milk pointed out this awesome pirate bedroom by Kuhl Design Build.

Normally I’m not that into overdone kid’s rooms, but this room is like a bedroom and a fort.

Like I said, that’s one lucky kid.