About Me
The Monarch Studio was founded by Lauren, a mom of 2 kids, after she made a mud kitchen for her then 2 year old daughter and saw how it opened up a whole new world of play for her. In 2019 we started to make high quality, handmade, mud kitchens for children, in our garage, to bring these play experiences to families all across the country. We believe children belong outside and off screens. Mud Kitchens provide a space where children stay engaged for hours at a time, providing them the life long benefits of time outdoors, engaged in sensory, imaginary, exploratory, and independent play. If you don’t have a large outdoor space, not to worry! We designed the kitchen to fit anywhere…from a large outdoor yard to a city apartment balcony! It is important to us that our kitchens be hand made in the USA. We have outgrown our garage and have turned production over to a highly skilled Amish wood shop in Ohio that we adore and hope you will too.
Shop our Bestsellers
Beautifully crafted from a durable mix including real stone, these tactile stones will support children in identifying facial expressions and emotions and will help them to communicate how they are feeling and to understand the feelings others. There are 12 stones measuring 1 3/4″ inches each and covering the following emotions: happy, sad, angry, surprised, frightened, worried, proud, confused, calm, bored, shy, embarrassed. Age 2+.
these stones are from YellowDoor and are made in China.
Description: Our Double Sink Mud Kitchen with a back wall is perfect for all sorts of activities such as water play, sand play, and sensory play, outdoors and indoors, year round. Let your child’s imagination run wild by giving them pots and pans, some objects from nature, and scoops, and see what they create. We have been building mud kitchens for over 4 years and have perfected the design. They are built with “L” shaped legs to provide extra support, there are no visible screws on the surfaces, and they are quick and easy to assemble.
The bins are 6” deep, 9.25” wide, and 11.5” long.
Age recommended: All ages love and benefit from sensory play, but if we had to put a recommended age, it would be from walking until pre-teen (1.5 to 12 years old).
Each kitchen comes with a lower shelf, tabletop, 4 legs, a back wall, 2 stainless steel bins and their lids, 2 hooks, 1 shelf for the back wall, and all hardware needed for assembly. Accessories such as play food, pots and pans, baskets, water dispenser and utensils shown in photos are not included. The kitchen will ship 1-2 weeks from ordering date and will arrive in 2 boxes. 1 will have the wooden kitchen and the other will have the bins.
Dimensions: The kitchen is 38.5” long and 16 1/4" deep. The legs are 24” tall.
*WE ARE CURRENTLY OUT OF WATER FAUCETS*
To Add Running Water: Running water can be added to your kitchen by purchasing our Green Water Faucet Kit, which includes a bendable green faucet, table top extender, and hardware, so you can attach it to the side of the kitchen. Our green water faucet attaches to a garden hose for running water in your kitchen!
To attach the faucet to a hose YOU WILL NEED TO BUY (each piece is approx $6 at your local hardware store)
1. A FAUCET CONNECTOR (see photo) THAT IS 12”-16” LONG AND 1/2 INCH FIP TO FAUCET AND 1/2” FIP TO VALVE (see photo)
2. BRASS GARDEN HOSE ADAPTER 3/4” FH X 1/2 IN MIP (see photo)
Our Mud Kitchens are handmade in the USA by highly skilled Amish builders out of all natural, pine wood. We do not use pressure treated wood.
Stain:***We currently are not able to offer the option to buy the kitchen with stain already applied to it.***
We recommend adding weatherproof staining if you will keep it outside for extended amounts of time and want it to look new for years to come. Please check with your local hardware store to find out what stain is recommended for your climate. Stain will need to be maintained yearly and leaving it unstained will allow it to beautifully grey as it ages, just like a natural wood fence or deck. As the wood ages, it will slowly grey in areas that get the most sun/rain. Greying wood is not an indication that something is wrong with the kitchen or that it is no longer safe to play with. It is simply a change in color and the kitchen will remain as strong and sturdy as the day we built it for years to come.
Assembly: Some assembly is required and we will send easy to follow instructions and all needed hardware. The only tool you need is a screw driver or screw gun. The table, lower shelf, and back wall are all completely assembled so all you have to do is attach them to the legs. Assembly takes about 10 minutes. Watch our quick YouTube assembly video.
Our mud kitchens are not to be climbed on or sat on. Always supervise children when playing with water and small objects.
Measure, cut, whisk and stir your way to sequencing success! These tactile stones show a simple image of a cooking process on one side and a related word on the reverse. Ideal for introducing key vocabulary, the stones can be easily lined up to show the stages of a recipe, indicate an area for a specific task or allocate roles. Made from a durable stone and resin mix, each set contains ten process stones measuring 1½-2″ high. Age 2+.
Made by YellowDoor in China
Serve up some delicious looking kebabs with this intriguing and realistic selection of fruit and vegetables. Children will love to find a stick and thread their chosen stones onto it, exploring food, fine motor skills and pattern making as they play. Robust and easily cleaned, each set includes twelve tactile and durable stones, two each of the following: banana, zucchini, mushroom, pineapple, sweetcorn and watermelon. Measures 1½”. Safe for age 2+.
Made by YellowDoor in China.
These Rustic Pourers are made from a stone blend, are perfect for small hands to scoop and pour, and are a great alternative to plastic scoops. They can be used with wet and dry materials making them perfect for mud kitchen sensory play as well as indoor play kitchens. Each set comes with three pourers, ranging from approx 4” to 5 1/2” long and approx. 2” deep.
Made by YellowDoor in China.
The Bubble Whisk makes bubbles even bubblier! Use in soapy water play, mix up mud, scramble pretend eggs, and in the bath.
The whisk is great for working on fine motor skills.
• These rollers offer an imaginative way for children to explore the natural world through creative play.
• Roll into play dough or clay and stamp with the bugs to create hands-on habitats!
• Count the bees on the honeycomb, match the ladybugs to flowers and tell stories of what is happening close by when you look carefully.
• Children can experiment using different amounts of pressure and rolling in different ways, honing their fine motor skills as they create tactile patterns and beautiful works of art.
The set includes the following bugs and their habitats: butterfly and meadow, bee and honeycomb, spider and web, ladybug and flowers, caterpillar and branch, grasshopper and grass. Made from our durable stone mix, each set contains six rollers (each measuring approx. 3 x 1¼”) and are easy to clean. Safe for age 2+.
Made by YellowDoor in China.
***WE DON’T RECOMMEND USING PLAYDOUGH ON OUR MUD KITCHEN TABLES BECAUSE OF THE GROOVES IN THE WOOD, BUT WE DO ENCOURAGE ALL TYPES OF FINE MOTOR AND OUTDOOR PLAY AND THESE ARE TOO GOOD TO RESIST!***
Our re-usable bag is a favorite for carrying useful items such as snacks, coloring supplies, small toys, water bottles, and treasures found on walks, while showing your love for Monarch butterflies.
Designed and printed by our neighbor and friend Basementartist
Includes free shipping
Our beautiful Monarch t-shirts are hand printed by artist Basement Artist. They are soft white cotton and would look great tie-dyed!
These beautiful stone sensory animals can be used in wet or dry sensory play set ups. They incredibly soft and the perfect size for little hands to play with. Ignite imaginary play by adding these animals to your sensory play!
Inspire your little one to cook with our beautiful Mud Kitchen Recipe Cards! Use common ingredients found in your outdoor kitchen (backyard) to make up yummy meals such as stews, pies, cookies, meatballs, and more! Practice counting, measuring, identifying objects, mixing, pouring, and hunting!
Also comes with 10 lovely butterfly counting frames and a graph, making this a little preschool math pack. Use the counting frames to count the butterflies and then put the same amount of rocks or sticks in the frames. Use the graph to make potions and graph your ingredients!
13 pages of fun included!
- 2 pages each with 4 recipes
- 1 potion graph
- 10 butterfly counting frames
Our Sensory Play & Mud Kitchen Set Up Guide is perfect for those just getting started with sensory play and their mud kitchen. We give 10 of our favorite easy set ups, ideas for tools and equipment to use in sensory bins, how to color rice and epsom salts, how to make Oobleck, and theme ideas. The guide is 5 pages.
***Does not include blueprints or instructions for building a mud kitchen***




Set your curious tool loving kid up with their own tools and see what they create! These are all the perfect size for small hands and have everything they need to start experimenting with wood working. Add them to a Mud Kitchen set up or use them on a work bench.
Great for ages 8+
Included:
Safety googles
safety gloves
hammer
2 screw drivers
tape measure
right angle
pliers
4 pencils
ruler
level
2 pencil sharpeners
scissors
2 caribeeeners
4 clamps
tool apron
carrying bag