fridge makeover - a touch of folk art design for my farmhouse kitchen

 

Since the premature death of my beloved industrial fridge (well, actually its extended temporary convalesce, since really we just need to repair its compressor) I have embarked on the search for a satisfying alternative.

This is a big challenging for me 🙄

All of the tantalizing fridge options that I love love love are outside of our limited budget (I want to retire before I’m 90!) and I have an intensive aversion to inserting a big huge rectangular box that I don’t love into my kitchen that I do love… I mean, really, fridges are big huge expensive pieces of ‘furniture’ that grab the focus in the kitchen, so inserting some huge expensive focal point into my very personalize kitchen is not a simple task for me!

Plus, none of the options provided enough storage space – our milk and cheese stock alone overwhelms the fridge, never mind the toppling bundles of veggies…so stressful!

So, of course, as is the case with all my ‘money vs design challenges’ that I face (…aka cause…which are MANY) – my fridge replacement challenge provided an opportunity for a creative outlet…a fridge makeover…and the opportunity to paint my fridge…

Forward dive into my ‘painted furniture’ and ‘folk art’ Pinterest folders – woohoo!  Double fridges, fridges disguised as wardrobes…even passage doors disguised as fridges!  Oh the limitless possibilities! To add to my excitement, we already had two ugly fridges strewn about (seriously, do we really need a beer fridge in the carport anchored by a few odd beer cans and some left-over dribbles of frozen margarita mix??)

This was really really fun…once I shook off my preoccupation with ‘what if it’s a dumb fail?’ and concern over how a painted fridge should look (I still don’t know the answer to this – other than it should look however I love it to look)…plus, considering my rustic casual style, I had a lot of latitude to work within.

I went through a few trials with handles…again haunted by confusion around how it should look…I’m loving the latest trial with the coloured birds.

AND I love love love having two fridges (yes, I know, not powersmart, thank you) – one for dairy and one for organics (aka veggies)…ooohhh now that’s an idea – vintage signage on each ‘milk’ & ‘organics’…maybe once I finish some of my other incomplete projects:)

Painted Fridge Makeover Project notes:

The two fridges have flat doors with texturizes stamp patterns (little squiggled lines).

I removed the door handles, by popping off the handle covers to reveal the screws, and filled the holes with the drywall compound that I used for the faux finishing.

I applied several coats of drywall compound over the whole surface (drying between over several days and finishing with a light sand) to fill the surface lines and screw holes and to create a thin base for creating a faux finish with slightly mottled colors and border lines:

• Compound color: I added  a bit of paint to the compound for several of the coats to add a slight color variation (just as I did for my wall plaster finish…although this mottling isn’t particularly evident in the final product, so likely wasn’t overly necessary.
• Border lines: I etched border lines into the compound, about 2 inches from the edge, to create the look of wood trim or edging

Base foundation paint color (and trim): I applied several coats of white washed the whole surface, somewhat dry brushing the white wash on to create some translucence (so the mottling would show through) and subtle striated lines.

Decorative paint details: I used acrylic house paint, some of it slightly diluted with water.

Top coat protective layer: 2 coats of Polyurethane Floor clear coat.

Handles:  I predrilled holes, ensuring they weren’t close to any possible coils (which I think are possibly in the side panels…only insulation in the doors of these fridges), and used ~1/2 inch wide thread wood screws (likely metal screws would work equally well).  I also painted and distressed the handles to match the colour of the painted details.

At 18 months, all finishes remain durable and washable.

Have a beautiful week!
Xoxo shelley