Retro wooden kitchen ELC v Kidkraft?

[HarriedWithChildren]

I can't decide between them for a joint Christmas present for our 1 and 3 year-olds.

ELC quite a bit larger which may help minimise squabbling but Kidkraft more detailed, e.g. phone, microwave...

Can anyone recommend one or the other please? Thanks

What did you decide? We have ordered the ELC one (4.5 & 1.5 yo DDs). Annoyed that they hiked the price up by £20 overnight though..!

I have the red retro one - the plus points are that the storage is really good (all of DD's play food and crockery etc is in there) and becausethere is an oven, microwave etc and it is big enough for two children to play with. The downsides are that the hob and the sink are actually quite small and there isn't much "surface space". We bought DD one for chrismtas this year and it was a bit of a slow burner for her but ALL her friends play with it when they come round and seem to love it.

It does look lovely. oh, and be warned, it took DH and I about 2 hours to put it together (we were drinking G&Ts at the time though).

DD is 3.5.

Thanks for getting back to me. I'm appalled by ELC adding £20, which I hadn't seen, but then I think it's really lame that it's practically the only toy store in the country and has such little quality competition.

I ordered the Kidkraft last week simply because it looked slightly better quality and because of those little extras. I think a month or so will leave enough time for DH to build it. Would do it myself but bump in the way.

Gosh, I hope they play with it... and stay out of my kitchen drawers.

Glad to see your older DC still enjoy it.

The difference is that the ELC kitchen is made in China whereas the Kidkraft Kitchens are made in the USA to a better standard.

I have the Kidkraft Red Retro Kitchen and also have the Kidkraft Tabletop Easel. Both are of very good quality and i'd recommend them to anyone

Bought mine from www.mytreasures.co.uk they were doing a deal at the time but don't know if its still running

DH put up the KK one last week and was v impressed with its quality, while I was quietly impressed with his building skills.

It has had a minor scratch on the front but no doubt will suffer worse very soon. Got it from Wooden Toys Direct (out of stock right now) for I think £138 incl PP.

I went for the Redretro by Kidkraft and got it from www.Wooden-Toys-Direct.co.uk who seem to only sell KidKraft products they were the cheapest around at the time and it arrived in just 2 days.
I looked at the elc one but thought this one was better and it was also cheaper after elc hiked the price up, This kitchen took about 1 and a hours to assemble but its great value for money and well worth the effort. The bonus part from Wooden toys direct was also the fact it came with a pan and untensil and a great fun red apron all included in the price.

My DC's have the ELC one - it is excellent and I can't imagine you could buy better quality. Apart from the plastic handles it is better quality than most "real" flat pack furniture.

Does take a while to put together though!

I got the kidkraft one at costco for a bargain £60 and because it was a display one we got it for £40 (smug emoticon). The phone and sink were missing but I contacted Kidkraft in Amsterdam and they sent me replacement parts free of charge. Cutomer service was fabulous and I can't fault the kitchen. Def buy kidkraft if you can

The ELC one is still made by Kidkraft (well it has their name on it anyway..) I was really pleased with the quality. Still smarting at the cost but as inlaws bought it happily I shouldn't dwell on it...

Our two (4.5 and nearly 2) and visiting friends love it and it's kept DD2 away from the real kitchen cupboards quite effectively

Yep, so far it has kept them out of my kitchen. I wouldn't say they play with it for hours on end but certainly keeps them engrossed while meal is prepared or cleared.

We're happy with our purchase although I wish we were Cosco members!

I also brought one of these KidKraft redretro kitchens from www.wooden-toys-direct.co.uk after ELC hiked the price up by £20.00 it made the decision for me as it has more features and looks better then the ELC version, One great thing about wooden-toys-direct is the range of product videos on the site so you can actually watch children playing with them and see some of the details better.