Making Over a 20 Year Old Refrigerator
This below post about making over a 20-year-old refrigerator contains affiliate links, meaning that I receive a small commission on products sold from this post. Thank you for reading!
The refrigerator that came with our new apartment (which is in my parents basement - yes, we live in my parents basement!) was in perfect working condition for being a 20 year old fridge. However, it LOOKED like a 20 year old fridge! We wanted to freshen up the look of this unit for our renovated space. Sure, we could have picked up a new one for around $400, but why?! This one was working just fine!
Our fridge was perfect for a chalkboard fridge design. Plus, I thought it would be really fun to see our son coloring on this chalkboard one day. After a DEEP cleaning, my husband started by framing the fridge out with stained cedar wood. He didn't screw the wood in quite yet - I first painted it with Krylon Chalk Board paint. I applied three coats, even though I could have gotten away with two.
Framing the fridge with cedar wood
After the front of the fridge was painted and framed, I painted the sides white. I found a stencil that I liked at the craft store for the side design, which would give a cool aesthetic and would clean up the mottled sides, which was due to the age of this appliance. There are tons of stencil designs out there to choose from! I used Rust-Oleum Metallic Pearl Mist spray paint with this stencil. This spray paint provided the perfect finish for this subtle enhancement.
The handle that we used is actually a gate handle from Amazon, which had a very affordable price tag. It was inexpensive and just what we needed for the look of our fridge. True kitchen hardware of this size could have cost us a lot more. It's good to know this type of hardware is available if needed though!
Refrigerator AFTER
I must say, this refrigerator, along with all of the other basement upgrades, makes the kitchen look like a million bucks!
BEFORE pic of our kitchen
AFTER photo of our DIY Chalkboard Fridge and kitchen makeover
Kitchen AFTER, with our DIY fridge.
And Theo loves it! I am so glad we saved this fridge and did not opt for a new one.