The ideation process commenced with an exploration of children's toys, where the toy kitchen emerged as profoundly relevant to adulthood, and reminiscent of my cherished childhood memories. I then curated a mood board envisioning an all-white palette to accentuate the underlying enchantment.

Opting for a life-sized rendition, the aim was to seamlessly blend a playful concept into an adult setting. Through numerous sketches and iterations, the design journey navigated varied possibilities before coming into its final form.

To craft the technological interface, I selected Adafruit's QtPy ESP32 microcontroller as the foundation. For the stove, an LED Strip coupled with a potentiometer was integrated. While originally intending to utilize RFID for the pot, technical complications led to a streamlined solution via a simple button.

Activating the faucet involved another potentiometer, while the teapot incorporated an ADXL345 3-Axis Accelerometer. The auditory elements were generated using an MP3-TF-16P Arduino Player interconnected with a speaker to deliver the immersive soundscape.

To materialize my initial sketches, I began by creating a half-scale cardboard prototype. This miniature model provided invaluable insights into the layout and placement of various kitchen elements, serving as a guide for the full-scale build.

Transitioning to the full-scale construction, I repurposed an unused shelf cart as the foundational structure, providing stability and mobility with added wheels. Building upon this framework, I utilized foam core to sculpt the intricate details of the kitchen. The choice of foam core allowed for maximum customization and imparted a deliberate lower fidelity, preserving the essence of a prototype without detracting from the enchanting experience.

Concurrently, I integrated the previously developed technology into the kitchen setup, discreetly embedding it beneath the countertop. This strategic integration aimed to maintain the kitchen's outward appearance as conventional, while the underlying magic remained hidden, offering an unexpected surprise. Additionally, I designed the layout to encourage exploration, allowing participants to organically discover each enchanting element as they navigate through the space at their own pace.

Through building the Whimsical Kitchen, I’ve learned the power of imagination by reflecting on childhood play and the loss of that childlike sense of wonder in adulthood. This project also invites me to reflect on my own routines in the kitchen as I continue to explore additional interactions for the Whimsical Kitchen