I’m not going to be mean to refrigerators. I don’t think they’re particularly ugly, but they can look drab if the rest of your kitchen is spectacular. Seeing all the different ideas people have used to camouflage the refrigerator makes me aware that I’m not the first one to go down this road. I do have my reservations on many such ideas though. A popular way to make a refrigerator vanish seems to be to build it into your cabinetry (click here to see what I’m talking about). So the same laminate that’s used for the the cabinets is stuck onto all the doors of your inbuilt fridge to make it look like just another cabinet. Here’s my problem with it. Your kitchen cabinets are very likely to outlive your fridge. Will refrigerators be the exact size, say, 10 years down the line? A salesperson at a modular kitchen store told me that the standard sizes of refrigerator have, in the past, changed by a few inches. So when you do buy a new fridge later, it’s either going to make room for dust if the fridge is a tad smaller, or it might just not fit into the space dedicated for the fridge. And will you still have extra laminate lying around? Even if you do, since your existing cabinets have been out in the open for a while, they’re definitely going to be a few shades darker (or dirtier) than the laminate that’s going to be stuck on the new fridge.
I’m also averse to the concept of an under-counter refrigerator. It makes your fridge disappear, alright, but the convenience you’re trading off is simply not worth it. You will not only have to bend to reach out for the vegetable pan, but for everything else too! And a full-fledged under-counter fridge would necessarily mean that you have three or four separate fridge units. When you can’t remember where you’d kept that bowl of lasagna, you’re going to have to open all of those units to find it. And of course, under-counter fridges are definitely more expensive than the regular ones. I’d be happy to pay a premium on an innovation that makes my life easier, but that definitely isn’t the case here.
So today’s post stays clear of ideas that involve structural alterations to your kitchen. I’m just focusing on the fridge! Can’t there be ways of prettifying your fridge instead of tucking it away somewhere? Of course, there are! If you can draw fairly well, then you should definitely think about sketching on your fridge with a permanent marker. And it’s not as risky as drawing on a wall or using paint. A swoosh of thinning solution or a nail-polish remover is all you need to wipe away your mistakes and start all over. This one’s the most amusing fridge sketch I have seen!
Another option is to turn your fridge into a sophisticated chalk board. I love this idea for so many different reasons. Chevron stripes on my fridge is like a dream come true! The dull colors are just right if you don’t want to draw attention to your fridge. And when someone does notice it, you’re sure to be flooded by compliments! If you like the idea, click on the photograph to check out step-by-step instructions on how to make this your fridge!
Now, this fridge sticker has given me a sketching idea that I’m giving a very serious thought to. If you like an organized fridge, then you probably have a floating idea of what kind of food goes into which row in the fridge. How about drawing that out on the fridge door to make it easier for the hubby and kids? I’m talking about drawing three rows of food art. So let’s say you draw a milk carton, bread, cheese, and desserts on the top row. Fish and meats on the second. Salads and pasta on the third. You not only have an artsy fridge, but written instructions for the rest of the family to follow when they’re putting things back in! Two birds with one stone, I say!
If you can’t sketch or paint for nuts, then look towards full-size sticker! There are shops and people selling fridge stickers, and you might find interesting ones like these!
I haven’t ever lived with wallpaper, so I’m not sure if it’d be very high-maintenance around food. You don’t usually make much contact with any part of the fridge besides the door handles, a food stain from a spill doesn’t seem far-fetched. But wallpaper definitely throws open a whole world of decorative patterns and prints for your refrigerator.
With all that I can do to beautify my fridge, I am convinced never to go in for an inbuilt or under-counter fridge. For anyone who thought fridge art is just about fridge magnets, I hope this has been an eye-opener! But, sure, you could have art and fridge magnets too! Fridge art will surely need a touch-up at some point of time. But if it’s just about darkening a sketch with a permanent marker, how hard can it be? So what’s stopping you from grabbing that permanent marker?!