Is it weird to be in love with a refrigerator??
This is the easiest project ever, and talk about a bang for your buck! Our refrigerator at the cabin is pretty old (despite what the realtor told us when we bought it, but I digress) and who knows how much longer it will last, but the side of it was really cheap looking and jarring and let’s face it, practically everyone’s doing this project so I jumped on the bandwagon and I’m glad I did.
The side of our fridge is exposed and as you can see, white, and clashed with the rest of the appliances which are black. It was also a little dingy and definitely needed some TLC. Our cabinets are hickory, so my first thought was to order a hickory wood panel and cover the side, but since that would be a project for Fisherman, I knew painting it would happen a lot faster. A. LOT. FASTER.
There’s lots of ‘how to’s’ out there on this project, but I didn’t come across any that included magnetic primer. If our cabin wasn’t so remote, I would have tried the chalkboard paint first to see if the surface would still be magnetic, but I decided to play it safe and buy the primer. If I had to do a Home Depot run, it would pretty much take up the entire day, and since we’re only here on weekends, that’s a big deal. The primer cost $20 and was basically the only thing I had to buy, but if you are doing this try just the chalk paint on a part of your fridge to see what happens. You may be able to skip the primer.
Compared to some of the other chalkboard fridge projects out there, this one was relatively easy. I only did the side that you saw, and a small part of the other side. I didn’t need to worry about handles or anything like that. All I had to do was put some tape on the cabinets on the top of the fridge and on the right side of it and some newspaper on the floor and I was good to go.
I did two coats of the magnetic primer last weekend, waiting 24 hours between each coat. This weekend I repeated the process with the chalkboard paint, doing one coat on Saturday and one on Sunday. It’s recommended waiting at least 24 hours before writing on it. I’ll wait until next weekend for that but I’ll be sure to have Fisherman do it. (His handwriting is much nicer than mine.)
If you have to buy rollers, paint trays, primer and paint, you can still do this project for less than $40! I know it may seem kind of scary to take the plunge and do this. Let’s face it, it’s a big deal if it gets ruined. But it won’t. And if you have a refrigerator that has seen better days, run, don’t walk, and get to work.
Oh, and I almost forgot. Chalkboard paint comes in different colors now! Is there a green fridge in your future??
Have you ever done a project that scared the bejeebies out of you but you did it anyway? How did it go?
Partying At
Rita says
Dooreen, Love this project! You were brave to try it out, but it turned out beautiful and I bet that you can’t wait to try it out!
The Honeys says
Hi Rita! Hope all is well! Yes, I’m so glad I did it. As you can see, the white side of the fridge stood out like a sore thumb and now it looks so much nicer. Thanks for stopping by!
Crunchy Diva says
Our fridge is a huge ugly hulking eyesore and I was thinking of doing a chalk project, too! Is the side of your fridge smooth? Ours is heavily textured and I wonder if any lettering would just turn out messy….
Doreen@househoneys says
Yup, our fridge has a smooth side. I think you’re right about the lettering issue, but I would still do it. Personally, I didn’t do this project so that I could have a surface to write on. I just wanted the fridge to look a bit nicer. Consider that you can’t write on your fridge now anyway, right? If you want to write on something, get a large cookie sheet, paint it with chalk paint, and put it on the fridge. Hope this helps!
Katherines Corner says
Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop xo
denny hagel says
Incredible idea! We have an older refrigerator in our garage/play area and this would be fantastic!! Thanks!
Elizabeth Maness says
I love this idea! UI need a message board in the kitchen and I din’t have a free wall! This is perfect!
Vicky says
What a clever idea. Thanks for sharing.