fridge makeover

This is one of those projects that made me sigh with relief when it was done. I dream of one day owning my own house with all of my own lovely appliances. But for now (preaching to the renters), I have to deal with the fridge I have been given. The dealing has been difficult.

This refrigerator is icky. It's old. & it's probably a little moldy in spots I can't reach. 

But now it's lovely & bright, thus the sigh of relief. I know most people who enter my home are not as bothered by the rust spots as I am, but ever since we moved into our house I have been discreetly trying to hide these rusty little eyesores. Over-loading the fridge with pictures & magnets, placing the garbage can just-so, downright denying their existence - but then I decided to go big or go home with some shelf liner & paint. I'm pretty happy with the results. 

All you'll need for this tutorial are:

• Shelf Liner

• Acrylic paint

• Masking or painters tape

• Scissors

• A paint brush

• A squeegee (optional)

First I lined the side of my refrigerator with white shelf liner. I found a squeegee & a bit of patience helped. Since my shelf liner was not as wide as my fridge, I rolled it out sideways in segments. If you look closely you can see a bit of overlap, but the painted stripes help to mask this. I cut my liner 1/4 inch larger than it should be on the sides & the top since the directions said the paper may shrink over time. 

Then I taped out my stripes & painted them. I used acrylic paint & I found that two light coats covered pretty well. Because you're painting on what is essentially plastic, be mindful of your brush strokes. Paint in only one direction in large sweeping motions. 

You may be asking yourself why I didn't just use a patterned contact paper, & it's because I'm cheap I couldn't find a pattern/color that would work well in my kitchen. Plus the painting works well because then you can choose your own color & pattern! 

For now I'm going to stick with the one side decorated. I decided not to paint the front because I didn't want the stripes to be overwhelming. Just a pop of color on the side will do for my teeny kitchen.

Much better, am I right? Goodbye rusty jerk spots, hello beautiful stripes.

xoxo, 

-m.e.

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Related // Learn how to DIY your own Recycling Bin. Also, see an update on this project one year later.