The Affordable Way To Give Your Fridge A Custom, Built-In Look That Feels Expensive

Your modern kitchen cabinetry is to die for, but the different appliances in contrasting colors can be an eyesore if you love visual harmony. For example, your fridge might sit at the end of a cabinet run or along a shared wall, partially exposed to a hallway or living area. So how do you hide that metallic-looking side that sticks out like a sore thumb? While you could build custom cabinetry for a fully integrated look, it's a difficult and expensive project that often requires an expert technician. The good news is you can DIY a faux built-in fridge for a luxury kitchen makeover for way less.

Simply turn the exposed side of your fridge into a simulated cabinet end panel. Then paint it to match the color of your kitchen cabinetry. With that, your refrigerator will be in harmony with your kitchen color palette in a clean, custom, and inexpensive way. That's exactly what @averagebutinspired on Instagram did. To create this creative built-in fridge DIY, the creator used oak cabinet toe kick pieces for the panels, strong magnets, hot glue, paint, and primer.

To get started, rep the sides of your refrigerator. To do that, you will need a good degreaser for cleaning, then lightly sand the sides using 120-grit sandpaper. Be careful not to oversand and damage the refrigerator's surface. After that, wipe away dust with a damp cloth, then apply a bonding primer to help the paint adhere. This will ensure your paint adheres properly to the surface and lasts for a very long time.

The next step is critical to achieving a seamless look. You want to apply a paint color that matches the rest of your cabinetry exactly. That's what will help the finished work look like a real built-in fridge, like it's an actual part of the cabinet. So, if possible, bring a sample of your cabinet color to a paint shop to find a close match. Next, create custom magnetic trims using oak toe kick panels or plywood. Cut four pieces to fit the four edges of the fridge's side. Prime and paint the trims in the same color as the fridge's sides and leave to dry. Then attach tiny but strong magnets to each trim section using hot glue. After that, simply stick them onto the painted fridge side. And that's it.

Now you can customize your new faux cabinet panel. You can give your fridge a custom makeover with an easy photo gallery DIY or place a cute magnetic chalkboard on the faux cabinet wall for family notes, weekly menus, or fun doodles. Alternatively, turn this into extra storage space by installing stylish magnetic shelves.