This DIY “Built-in” Fridge Makeover Looks Like It Cost Thousands
Some DIY projects divide the internet. Whether it’s LEGOs as a catchall for your keys, or hiding the TV with a few clever (and sneaky!) IKEA DIYs, commenters are either going to love the look, or hate it. And that’s exactly what happened with this faux high-end built-in fridge makeover.
When Leigh Born showed off the process of refreshing her dated black fridge with some plywood and green paint, well, she caught a bit of flack from lots of mixed reviews — but the end result will absolutely blow you away.
“I am SO excited for this project to be finished,” Born (who runs the Instagram handle @dwell.and.bloom) wrote in a recent caption first shared on September 17. “It will make my kitchen look PRACTICALLY finished. All the other projects are superfluous but totally necessary in my mind. Would you ever paint your fridge????”
Using plywood, molding, paint, and some Rub ‘n Buff, Born faked the look of a high-end refrigerator to blend into her cabinetry. But people in the comments weren’t buying it.
“Is step 5 throw it out?” one person commented. Another said, “No ma’am! This is a no no,” with someone else saying, “It doesn’t look anything like an expensive fridge. I think you simply painted your fridge green.” They followed it up with, “If you love it, that’s all that matters!”
Others were concerned about the fridge’s ventilation. “That thing is going to heat up quick with no ventilation,” one person said. (Born did clarify in a comment on her original video that she took the fridge’s need for ventilation into consideration when building her custom refrigerator cabinet, so keep that in mind if you want to try this DIY project out in your own home.)
However, the aesthetic haters clearly didn’t click on Born’s profile to see the final result. After a few coats of paint, the fridge looks completely amazing. Most importantly, she seems happy with the final product, too.
“Was skeptical but this turned out fantastic,” one person commented on the second video Born shared. “As a fellow DIYer, I have no problem telling people when their projects look a mess … but this looks GREAT!” another added.
Born also painted her dishwasher the same green to further customize her kitchen. “Remove, sand, prime, paint, add hardware,” she wrote on Instagram. “It only took me so long because I switched paint colors and waited over a month for the handle to come in.”
A little bit of paint and some creativity can make your kitchen look that much more expensive — and when you’re going for a custom look that suits your needs, who cares what other people have to say about it? It’s a good lesson for any DIYer: If you love it, then that’s all the praise you need.
Further Reading
I Tried the 90/90 Rule and My Closet Is Now Fully Decluttered
Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About Article’s DTC Furniture
See How a Stager Used Paint to Transform a 1950s Living Room
