DIY refrigerator design photo

by Alexey | Crafts Decor Workshop Furniture Cheap Before and After Accessories | Tuesday, August 08, 2017

What to do when the appearance of the refrigerator leaves much to be desired? Your refrigerator may be 5-10 years old and, unlike new household appliances, it still works like a clock. We update kitchen furniture, add new accessories, make repairs, and the old refrigerator no longer fits into the modern interior.

Tired of the gloomy look of your refrigerator? It's time to change everything and turn it into a work of art. Make-Self team has collected 25 examples of the transformation of old refrigerators that will inspire you. Enjoy...

Unusual examples

This approach will be appreciated by the most creative individuals: after decorating the refrigerator with moldings, carved elements, paints and a special paste that adds volume, the product becomes unrecognizable. Before you start work, choose a style that suits your interior:

The photo shows a decorated refrigerator that fits perfectly into the shabby chic style.

Decor ideas

Whether it's a rarity with rounded sides and a strange-looking handle or a brand new beauty in the high-tech style, there is always a way to decorate the refrigerator with your own hands:

• The cheapest way to hide body defects or simply decorate the facade is with stickers, fortunately there are a great many of them on sale;
• Small dents can be hidden under decorative magnets or a magnetic board;
• If you love ornaments, intricate geometric abstraction, buy colored tape. The lines are guaranteed to be smooth; no one would think that the bright, intricate pattern was created by an amateur artist;

• The easiest way is to stock up on high-quality paint of a suitable color and repaint it with an even layer of one tone. Such a solution does not require special courage from the creator - it can be repainted instantly;
• You can create an artistic masterpiece on the door using airbrush;
• The scratched case is perfectly hidden under the self-adhesive film, the main thing here is to be careful when pasting;
• Decorating with decoupage will require a little more skill, but the result can be original.

Real talent

When a person masters drawing techniques, it will be easy for him to make household appliances look different from themselves. Look at the photo, it doesn’t show a refrigerator, but rather a painted cabinet or sideboard. Acrylic enamel, gouache and paint fixing varnish help to achieve this result.

The metal surface is first treated with sandpaper; you need to sand the enamel with it and carefully treat scratches and chips. And then degrease the field, which will then be covered with paint. White alcohol is best suited for these purposes. Before work, it is important to cover handles, strips, and everything that should remain unpainted with masking tape. Don’t forget to open the windows in the kitchen and ensure good ventilation of the room. If possible, it is better to paint the refrigerator outdoors.

You can paint the surface of the refrigerator in any style, draw landscapes and still lifes on it, or simply apply a floral design. There are general tips that it is advisable to take into account for those who are trying to experiment in this direction for the first time. Do not use too dark undertones. They are translucent, so the drawing turns out to be slightly blurry. Acrylic paints are easily washed off with special solvents, so there is no need to be afraid of ruining the refrigerator. Let go of your imagination and create.

Don't despair if you don't have drawing skills. You can simply paint the cabinet a different color and thereby harmonize the kitchen space. There are many ways to decorate your refrigerator in a unique way using masking tape. With its help, it is possible to create graphic patterns by applying paints of different colors to the surface. It is easier to work with a brush or roller. Aerosols are available for sale. Spraying them significantly simplifies the task.

If you have the skills to work with airbrushes, you can create original masterpieces that can arouse feelings of envy among friends, relatives and acquaintances. This kind of painting takes a lot of time, but the result will definitely please you. The airbrush allows you to create designs of any complexity on an enamel surface. It is better to choose the theme for them together with the designer. Then it will be possible not only to create a real miracle, but also to noticeably change the appearance of the kitchen.

Art stores sell stained glass paints. When they harden, they create the effect of colored glass on a metal surface. Therefore, by choosing the right design, it is not difficult to turn the door of large household appliances into a beautiful stained glass window. To realize all this in practice, you also don’t need to be a professional artist. Sets of stained glass paints come with ready-made stencils. They are applied to the base, and then paint is applied along their contours. You can make a stencil yourself by copying the design you like with tracing paper.

Stickers

An unusual refrigerator decor is obtained by using vinyl stickers. They are a multilayer film, on the front surface of which there is a pattern that imitates a complex ornament or the surface of other finishing materials (leather, cork, stone, mica). Films with a mirror surface look beautiful. Their bottom layer is covered with an adhesive composition. It is protected by a transparent coating. Before application, it is removed and the product is carefully glued to the metal surface. It can be washed if necessary; the material is not afraid of moisture, temperature changes, or exposure to steam. Therefore, the created refrigerator decor with film in the kitchen will last for quite a long time.

Stickers are a budget option for decorating household appliances. With their help you can cover scratches and chips, and disguise any other defects. There are a lot of manufacturing options. There are products of different shapes and sizes, different colors. It will not be difficult to choose something suitable for the interior style.

Externally, this decor looks decent. The main thing is to stick the pattern correctly. Experts advise degreasing the surface of the refrigerator before work. A glass cleaner is suitable for this. Its splashing creates a layer of liquid that prevents the film from immediately sticking tightly. Without it, it will be difficult to transfer the sticker evenly and accurately to the refrigerator. This way the liquid will allow you to smooth out the sticker and remove air bubbles from under it.

Over time, the excess moisture underneath will evaporate, leaving a beautifully and evenly glued ornament. Note! You should not buy decor for your refrigerator printed on a printer. Such stickers will not last long. It is better to give preference to ready-made rolled products. If necessary, you can use stencils to cut out any design you like.

Experts, talking about how to decorate a refrigerator, advise using meter films, the width of which allows you to completely cover the surface of household appliances. Using digital photo printing, a bright design is applied to them. The film lies flat on the enamel surface, so the effect of a factory pattern is created.

Decoupage

Many needlewomen use this technique to restore furniture; designers have found that it is also well suited for decorating a refrigerator. The essence of the method is that multi-colored pictures are glued onto an enamel coating with PVA glue, and then several layers of acrylic varnish are applied on top of them.

Special multi-layer paper napkins or blanks, which are sold in ready-made decoupage kits, are usually used as consumables. Craftsmen tried to paste clippings from magazines and photographs printed on regular paper, and they also did a great job.

Method 1. Painting with slate paint and painting with crayons (+ master class)

The slate-coated refrigerator door is an ideal place for notes: shopping and to-do lists, recipes and reminders, messages for household members and cute notes. And, of course, it’s very convenient for children to draw on such a “board” while mom cooks. To turn your refrigerator doors into whiteboards, you can choose one of the following four methods:

Method 1. Painting with slate paint. This method is somewhat more complicated than the others and, moreover, it eliminates the possibility of returning the surface to its original appearance. But you can paint not only the doors, but also the entire body of the equipment with slate paint, and the coating itself will be more durable.

Method 2. Finishing with chalk wallpaper. Chalk wallpaper is easier to work with, and most importantly, it can be peeled off without leaving marks on the surface of the equipment. However, the coating is not very durable and needs to be changed periodically. In addition, it is more difficult to use chalk wallpaper to decorate rounded doors, corners, and to go around handles, displays, and protruding parts when gluing. If you want to cover the entire body, the coating will have visible seams. For this reason, it is best to decorate only the door or part of the door with chalk wallpaper.

Method 3. Attaching a magnetic slate board. Such a board can be mounted and dismantled as easily as one large magnet, and you can not only draw on it, but also attach small magnets. Most often, ready-made magnetic boards are not too large, and it is possible to purchase a large panel only to order.

Method 4. Attaching the slate board to neodymium magnets. This method is good because it allows you not to paint the refrigerator and, if desired, you can easily remove the chalk board.

• 
  How does such a large chalk board hang on the refrigerator? The secret is simple - several neodymium magnets are glued to its back

• How does such a large chalk board hang on the refrigerator? The secret is simple - several neodymium magnets are glued to its back

Next, we will tell you how to decorate your refrigerator with your own hands with a removable slate board with a frame as in the photo below.

Please note that the refrigerator does not have its own handles; its doors open using handles screwed to a chalk board

What you will need:

• Thin sheet of plywood (3-6 mm);
• Slate paint, primer (preferably), paint brush/roller, ditch;
• Moldings for framing boards;
• Jigsaw or hand saw;
• Neodymium magnets with holes for screws (the price of one magnet is about 80 rubles, their number and adhesion strength depend on the weight of the board).

This super magnet, the size of a ruble coin, can easily hold 3 kg of weight.

• Screwdrivers (according to the number of magnets), screwdriver;
• Stickers on furniture legs (they are needed to avoid scratches on the surface of the doors, as well as chips on the magnets themselves. Such stickers are sold in Ikea and hardware stores. If desired, you can glue pieces of thin rubber or fleece-type fabric to the magnets);
• Furniture handle for each board/door and screws for fastening.

Instructions:

Step 1. We measure the parameters of one or two refrigerator doors.

Step 2. Cut boards from a sheet of fiberboard exactly to the size of the doors.

Step 3. Paint the board with primer and wait for it to dry. Next, apply the first layer of slate paint, let it dry, apply the next layer and again leave it for the time recommended by the manufacturer. Finally, apply a third coat of paint (optional).

Step 4. While the paint is drying, unscrew the original handles of your refrigerator.

Step 5. We cut and install the moldings on the board (you can use wood glue). If desired, the moldings can be painted.

Step 6. Now we glue a protective cover on each magnet, then screw all the magnets onto the back side of the board. Be careful and strictly (!) follow the rules for working with neodymium magnets.

Neodymium magnets are small magnets, but very powerful. They are sold in special online stores in a variety of shapes, sizes and capacities (adhesion strength is indicated on the packaging). For our project, flat magnets are suitable so that the gap between the board and the door is not too large. The main thing is that the total adhesive force of the magnets exceeds the weight of your board twice (!), otherwise it will slide down.

Step 7. Hurray! The board is ready. Now we attach furniture handles to it.

Step 8: Now it's time to install the board(s). Try opening each door by pulling the handle, if the board doesn't move and the door opens easily then your project is complete. If you feel that the board is not magnetized to the door tightly enough, add a few more magnets.

See also: We make refrigerator magnets (and not only) from improvised, waste and natural materials

Method 5. Hand painting (+ video tutorial)

Hand painting can turn a refrigerator into a unique art object or simply into a very nice and “animate” piece of furniture. You can paint the technique with paints and brushes, special acrylic markers or airbrushes.

It is better to trust complex compositions to professionals, but you can draw a simple picture with your own hands, use a stencil or masking tape (to create stripes). Here is a large selection of photos of simple ideas for painting a refrigerator that even a beginner can implement.

Painting a refrigerator using a stencil

Painting a refrigerator using masking tape

From this video tutorial you will learn how to decorate an old refrigerator with your own hands using a stencil in the form of a lace tablecloth.

Method 8. Decor with self-adhesive film

Remodeling a refrigerator with self-adhesive film is a budget-friendly and simple alternative to photo printing and painting. All you need to do to change the design of the refrigerator: degrease the surface and remove the handles, glue the film, simultaneously leveling it with a non-sharp flat object, then wrap it around the edges, trim off the excess and return the handles to their place.

• Unfortunately, self-adhesive film, unlike film with photo printing, does not have a lamination layer and wears out quickly. In addition, it fits worse on uneven and rounded surfaces.