A Bit of Fancy for the Fridge

{making}

As I've mentioned before there are a bunch of home improvement/decorating projects that I'm hoping to get done over this fall and winter. (although the majority I would like to get done before Thanksgiving and Christmas - and all the entertaining that goes along with them - hit)  Some of these projects are relatively small and simple (painting the ceilings of the hallways for example), others more involved (replacing the rectangular kitchen table in our tiny breakfast nook with a round table and build banquet seating around the back and part of the side walls of said nook; and redecorating our bedroom), and others have been started but still have a bit of work to be done (our kitchen ceiling makeover; trim molding around the kitchen floors; my monogram gallery wall in the living room), and then there's several places around the house that need pictures/artwork painted and/or made and/or hung.  The kitchen projects (which are part of a longer kitchen makeover odyssey), painting in the hallways and putting together gallery walls are what I really want to get done by Thanksgiving.  Especially considering that several of the kitchen projects have been "in progress" for at least two of our annual "Pre-Thanksgiving Dinners" (a yearly tradition dinner party with some of our friends the week leading up to real Thanksgiving).  Bu,t in the meantime while I've been waiting for my husband to be able to get to the bigger projects (or back to them lol) I have gotten a couple smaller projects done.  One that I am particularly happy about is a little upgrade I made to my refrigerator.....

Probably about 9 years ago I had painted the panels of the door between my kitchen and craft room (which is really the house's dining room, but I need a craft room more than a formal dining room hehe) with chalkboard paint. (keep in mind this wasn't that long after chalkboard paint came out), and it has gotten so much use: as a menu board, a place for notes, the bottom half is great for kids to draw on, and of course special decorations for parties and holiday and seasons.  Of course in the years since I painted that door chalkboard anything has really taken off, and here I was with a good portion of the can of chalkboard paint left over.  A few years ago in a magazine I saw a refrigerator that had been painted in chalkboard paint over the entire surface and thought "hhmmm......" but I have to say I'm glad I didn't jump on that idea, because I like what I ended up with much better.  Another trend that I'm glad to have seen grow in recent years is the use of frames for things other than just pictures.  And so my refrigerator makeover....................

Now there's a couple reasons I really wanted to do something with the fridge. {1} we have a plain white freezer on top refrigerator (which is fine with me because I hate side-by-side or bottom drawer freezer fridges) and {2} our fridge sits in it's own little alcove just outside the main part of the kitchen (a little strange, I know, but the house was built in the 1930's and it works for me) and it's actually the first thing you encounter as you enter the kitchen (from the front hall anyway which is the most used entrance to the kitchen) so I wanted it to be cute.  

So, without further ado, here's how I did it......

{1} Decide how big you want your painted area to be/how much of the door surface you want to cover (I taped up some black paper to get an idea of how big it should be) and sand your fridge where the painted areas will be (or use a self etching primer, but keep in mind that unless it's clear or the same color as your fridge if its anywhere other than only under the other painted areas it will show up, so I just sanded mine)

{2} Blow up an image of a frame that you like the outline of to the size you want the frame on the fridge to be. (keep in mind that it will be in silhouette so the outside edge of the frame is what you really need to look at) trace the outside edge of your frame image (or an actual frame if you have one the size and design you want) with a pencil onto the door of your freezer (or refrigerator).

outline of the "frame" traced onto the freezer door with pencil

{3} Decide how wide (thick) you want your frame to be and measure and draw straight lines to make the inside edge of the frame.

{4} With a fine detail brush, carefully paint along your pencil line for the outside edge of the frame.  Tape off along your straight lines and fill in the frame (you can use chalkboard paint or craft paint for the frame).  Let dry and do a 2nd coat if needed

cutting in around the outside edge of the "frame" using a detail brush

the "frame" completely painted

{5} Decide how wide a border you want to leave between the "frame" and chalkboard (I used that black paper again to help determine exactly how I wanted it to look) and tape off the area you want left blank

using black paper taped onto the refrigerator for figure out the perfect size for the chalkboard

{6} Following the package directions paint the "chalkboard" area with chalkboard paint

{7} *optional* paint a gloss varnish or sealer (such as Mod Podge) over the frame area (I did this on mine because I wanted the frame to be a little different from the chalkboard part and to help keep the paint from chipping)

{8} Prep the chalkboard surface as directed on the packaging (usually by rubbing over it with the side of a piece of chalk after the paint has dried for at least 24 hours) and add cute magnets and accessories ;)

(It absolutely needed the locker chandelier that I got on clearance - to use for parties - at Walmart and decided that it could go on the freezer door, at least for now.  My husband was less thrilled about it than I was haha.) This is the perfect time of year (back to school time) to find little frames and accessories to use on the fridge too, since they sell them for lockers.

I haven't decided yet if I want to paint a chalkboard on the bottom door too or not yet, but of course if you do want to then just resize your frame and repeat the same steps