Here we go. So I guess you could say I needed something small to break myself in for this weekend. Because this weekend is where we completely transform our kitchen.
And I won’t lie. I’ve been sweating it a couple of times. I’ve wanted white cabinets since we moved into this place 4 years ago, and it took me a few months to even embrace the idea, but here we are.
I’m like the patient who has a sinus infection, so she googles it and comes back with a panic attack thinking she has a life threatening illness. I’ve searched on redoing cabinets and I’ve found way too many limited discussion threads where people are dogging someone for wanting to paint their cabinets from dark to light, saying it will ‘decrease the value of their home.’ This has been my hesitation from the beginning. A false fear based on limited views, to change something that’s just “alright” for me, to something that I truly love. I know some people reading this probably really love my cabinets and think I’m a total idiot. But it’s just not me. And I happen to think that when we sell our cookie cutter house in our cookie cutter neighborhood, a few more years from now, it will be because some little couple is all, “BRAVO! It’s different than anything else we’ve seen out here!” {At least that’s what I pretend them saying in my head when I rock myself to sleep at night in the fetal position.}
We don’t live in a fixer-upper where it’s totally justifiable to rip the cabinets out, after going to town with a sledgehammer. {That’s hawt.} We live in a cookie cutter place where one who may be a bit timid to take a risk is completely limited by their own fears. {me.} So here I go. Painting those semi-okay cabinets to give me something I will love until I really can go buy a fixer upper and go to town with a sledge hammer. True story.
So I needed to start with something small, to get my motivation going. I found that the only options were either a minor appliance overhaul with parts from here, and it would have sufficed, for sure. Our side by side isn’t “unattractive” by any means. But I wanted it to look a little different. A subtle transformation with a functional wow. And I think that once this entire kitchen {and laundry room} are complete, it’ll work harmoniously with the overall feel. I was tired of the blah side by side look. And until we can afford what I really want {saving up cash will take a while…} I wanted to do this. And if there’s something I found in all my “research” it’s that a little how-to on this process was pretty much non existent.
Here’s what you’ll need:
• A small roller brush {aka my new bff}
• a basic angled brush
• painter’s tape
• a painting tray
• rags/dropcloths
And it’s really this simple guys…I thought it would be more to it…like a major crisis, or the paint chipping off, or the fridge not working…
I wanted to keep the handles clear, so I taped them off. I also taped off the rubber sides that keep the door closed, with one long strip. I decided I would paint the top, as well, as it came to my attention via my husband that all males over 6 feet tall who visit our home can totally see all the dust and crap lovely things on top of our fridge…and it didn’t really make sense NOT to. Taping took me about an hour, because I was precise, and I had this little booger who refused to take a nap.
And apparently it was napping strike day, because once home from school, the other two weren’t taking naps at all, so this entire project took me about 7 hours to complete, with everything included, because I was all, “Don’t touch that. Go play in the back. Do you want a snack? Mommy is painting this. Because it will be fun. Do you want to watch a movie?” Yeah MOTY I know.
So bust out your primer, and mix it WELL. I mean, spend like ten minutes just shaking and then stirring that mug, because sucka is thick. And completely separated. I thought I had it a few times, but that just wasn’t so. See my first coat? See the difference in sheen (left) vs. no sheen (right)? Again, subtle on a black fridge, but oh so exciting all at the same time.
The label said it was best to do three thin coats than two thick. So the directions I did follow. (for once-painting a fridge, even if it is just black-is still a little gut wrenching.) And I let each one dry about thirty minutes in between. Thus the time suck. After doing all I could with a roller, I trimmed it up around the hinges and handles with an angled brush.
I took a break to pick up my older two at 1, and when I came back, I started, on top of my already existent, now dry three layers of magnetic primer with plain ‘ole chalkboard paint. BTW: you probably totally know this, but the magnetic primer is so your fridge remains magnetic with all those layers on top.
Cue various distractions like the roller theif above…and after two more coats with at least 30 minutes in betweeen…I waited overnight to use my new lil chalkboard and TADA!
Yes, I am a self admitted dork. But lists are much more fun this way!
Say bubye to those dark cabbies. That’s the last you’ll be seeing of em’!
Project is Malone approved. It wipes off beautifully with a wet rag.
So there you have it. I could really use a pep talk round about now to get to it with these cabinets. I have visions of grandeur in my head, for sure. But I get to start with the tedious wiping off of doors and relocationg various whatnots. Here we go…wish us luck!
UPDATED: Please click on over to see our finito kitchen!
•This post is sponsored by partselect.com, but all opinions and thoughts are original to the Handmade Home.
I LOVE this. Thank you for sharing it. I've seen a few pics here and there but not any instruction, and it sounds really simple. I really am pumped for your kitchen redo. I don't think you'll regret it if its what you really want. What a preview of things to come!
I have painted perfectly good darker cabinets white in an older home we owned. The transformation was SO worth it! We have a house now, not unlike yours, cookie-cutter houses with cookie-cutter cabinets. They are an orangish-light color stain and I've hated them from the beginning. I want to paint the top a lighter color and the bottom set a darker color but have no clue what to pick. Good luck with your cabinet re-do this weekend!! Can't wait to see what fab hardware you pick!!
Ahmazing!!
OMG! You are so BRAVE! And look at the great results it had!? Wonderful! I feel really inspired now, FYI.
Linking over here from The Lettered Cottage, and I am so glad I did! You are soooo brave!! And you did a fab job, too! I'm also in the process of "getting ready to paint my cherry wood cabinets", so I feel where you're coming from! I've already done it once in a prev. house, tho, so I *know* I will love it, but at the same time…..YIKES!! LOL!
I'll be following your progress with interest!
Cheers!
~Terry
What??? That is awesome! Love the chalkboard fridge. Now go get to those cabs and make them something you will love. (Was that what you were looking for?)
So very brave and fa-bu-lous!! Absolutely! And go for it!! White cabinets are SO much easier to keep clean (counter intuitive, I know).
I love this! I wonder if I could convince the hubby to let me do this to our old fridge
That looks so fun. I am a little confused. The box you showed says it is magnetic paint, but you talked about using chalkboard paint, and I see that is what its being used for. Does magnetic paint come out like that?
Just curious. Love the project!
Denise
I am so jelly (yeah jealous, but all my young friends are now saying jelly… so i am jumping on that band wagon!) we just bought a brand new white side by side and I want to do this now…. I wonder if my husband would murder me????
BRAVO!!!!! Great job…..it looks so fantastic:)
BRAVO!! Absolutely brilliant! We bought our home 18 months ago and hubby wanted all stainless steal appliances for our First Home. Ummmm….I run a large family child care home with 9 kiddos under the age of 4!! Not our most well thought out decorating idea ever!
I'm taking my cabinets to light as well but, I don't think he's going to go for painting over our 'Brand-New, Beautiful Stainless Steel yadda yadda yadda…" no matter HOW many fingerprints are all over it (AND our dishwasher!) Maybe I can quietly wear him down over the next year or so!
BTW – Love the blog, found it by way of The Lettered Cottage today and you are TOTALLY going in my reader!! Can't wait to dive into your archives!
I LOVE this! I'm planning to paint our kitchen cabinets white,too. My laundry room door is painted with chalkboard paint and I really enjoy it. By the way, your napless little booger is adorable!
HAHA yes, Sandra. It was! Thanks man! GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!
Hey Denise!
Check out the links above in the supply list. {I snapped a pic of the magnetic primer} but I did three coats of the primer, and then two of the chalkboard paint on top. Both Rustoleum…I hope that helps! I used both to keep the surface nice and cling-y.
I have an old "coppertone" fridge at the lake – fishing shack. Once the snow melts I am going to chalkboard that sucka…thanks for the inspiration!
I think this idea is inspired! I almost like the matte chalkboard look better than stainless steel. And you WANT the kids to put marks on the chalkboard, unlike SS where you constantly have to buff it.
Good luck with the cabinets. I am in a similar position where I would love black cabs on the bottom and white on top. But the cabinets are nice quality wood and "some people" feel it would be a shame to paint that. It's just the previous owners picked the colors and it's not me! I think you will love your new kitchen when you are finished! Be you!
Sarah
Fabulous job!!! I think this would be SO fun to do in a colorful chalkboard paint – Hudson Paint carries some awesome options.
Be brave and paint those cabinets!! I have had a TON of cabinets painted for clients. Our secret is using a primer called XIM that we get locally at Sherwin Williams paint stores. It's stinky but you don't have to do any sanding – just brush it on! We have literally painted formica cabinets using XIM as our primer! The paint sticks, never peels or chips and looks great!
Good luck!
Love the fridge!
I recently painted my brand new cabinets, and love them majorly. Be sure to use semi-gloss paint! You can see before and afters here: http://www.yarnista.com/blog/2011/1/30/kitchen-before-and-after.html
LOVE IT. Really. Looks so, so good! Getting excited about our little road trip next week!
xoxo
shaunna
we painted our cabinets in our last (cookie cutter) house…I went from totally HATING to totally LOVING them…I say GO FOR IT!!!!
I heart the fridge…I am seriously putting this little project on my to-do list for our hideously ugly garage fridge! It is late 80's early 90's almond hideous…
That's a great idea !!!!!
Do you think I can do the same on my "aluminium" fridge ??
(i live in a fix her up… but we laready fixed the kitchen and bought a very nice fridge, but it's not magnetic !! So what's the use of a non-magnetic fridge ?!)
Hey CouCou! Absolutely! Just be sure to use the magnetic primer, and it should solve that problem quite nicely!
Oooh I love it! Maybe when we own our own home I will do that to our fridge. Though I doubt I could draw those flowers as pretty as you did!
Oh my goodness this is awesome! We are finishing up on a big kitchen remodel. I have replaced my dishwasher and microwave with black ones. We have future plans to replace the fridge and stove with black but after a trip to the orthodontist with DD yesterday that will not be anytime soon. This would solve my problem and give me my black fridge much cheaper. I wonder what I would do with the handles and ice maker part since they are white. Any suggestions? Also when you wipe it down with a wet rag does it look nice and black or does it have the white film that most chalkboards have on it?
Hi!! I LOVE your fridge!! I found you from The Inspired Room. I have actually been thinking about painting ours with chalkboard paint for some time. My problem is this – I have an off – white fridge. The handles I could do but I don’t know what to do with the water/ice dispenser. It is off white also with goldish labels – came with house – can’t afford a new one!! Do you have any suggestions?
hey girl! well, did you know that you can get your chalkboard paint mixed in custom colors? You can do something other than black that may work with that white water spout area! play around and see what you can come up with-a nice classic schoolhouse green may work, or a pastel blue…you never know-but that option is available! I hope that helps!
I love that you used chalkboard paint for the fridge, I have a fridge from the 80′s and dont really have the money to get a new one right now and when I saw this I thought that’s too cool, so I have to ask, hows it holding up? The paint chipping or anything?
PERFECTLY. Just do many coats of primer, and it will be fine. Ours has held up beautifully.
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Kinda funny question… I just got done putting the three layers of magnetic primer on my fridge. I noticed on the box it said the smoother the better but… mine seems to be a little rough. Do you think I did something wrong or is that just how it turns out?
Thanks!
Ashley, what a wonderful project! It turned out so great. Thank you so much for using Rust-Oleum. We love it so much we’re posting it as our Project Idea of the Day on our Paint Ideas Facebook page.
facebook.com/paintideas
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I love the look and am working up the courage to paint my fridge. How easy is it to clean? And when you erase the chalk, does it erase well or leave a lot of left over marks? Thanks for sharing.
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Stay true to your heart and paint those cabinets! You won’t regret it at all and, yes, I do believe that some funky, cool buyer will come to your house one day and fall in love with it’s original personality. Anybody can live in a cookie cutter home, but the free spirits of the world get to have the really fun houses.
Good luck and have fun!
I got the idea to paint my ugly appliance warehouse fridge with chalkboard paint and had browsed around some sites via google and im soo glad i found your blog. Now im definitely ready to try & tackle this project. Your fridge looks awesome! and great tip to use magnetic primer as well thats something i didn’t even think of.
Love the fridge. I have a new black stove and buying a black fridge is just not in the budget so I think I found my solution now, thanks. Last month I painted my boring oak cupboards and they turned out great. I first washed them really good making sure to get all the grease off them. Then I reoved the door knobs and hindges. I sanded them with a small electric sander. Then I painted them with a prier. I used a white semi gloss paint and painted them 2 coats. Then I took a chocolate glaze and brused it on and wiped it off with a rag, turning them into antique looking cupboards. They turned out great. I am going to buy a new countertop & a brown granite sink. I encourage you to paint your cupboards it was alot of work but well worth it.
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I love this idea! I think I might try this with our garage/beer fridge! But even with ur beautiful handy chalk art u did, what caught my eye was that freakishly weird baby on ur counter next to the fridge! Lol what the heck is that?!!
Hey! Well, there’s not really a good shot of it so you can tell, but it’s actually a portrait of my oldest when he was a baby sleeping. I painted it and love it!
good luck with the fridge! 
I love this! How do you clean your fridge once the chalkboard paint is on? We are thinking of doing this this weekend.
This is the most asked question! It’s holding up great, and I clean it with a clorox wipe. ;} It’s a fun surface for the kids to play with! Good luck and I hope it goes well!
I am torn.
between CLEVER & BRILLIANT!
So I jumped on board and painted our fridge & the front panel of dishwasher as well. I surprised my little one (she’s 5) with holiday drawings, & now she tells me every day that I’m the best mom she’s ever had! (tehehee)
Anyhoo!
Thanks again for sharing and being the source of our inspiration!
My husband insists that the texture on our fridge is going to make this chalkboard fridge dream impossible. I see your fridge has the same texture as ours. How dos it effect the finish?
I have a white old fridge. I am concerned about the white rubber seal. I do not want to keep it white but not sure what type of paint to use to it would be black but not crack or peal. Any thoughts?
Hey Autumn! Have you considered another color other than black? If you did a lighter chalkboard color, you could just leave the white stripping. You can pretty much mix any color into a chalkboard solution at your local paint store. I hope that helps you!
Can’t wait to do this…but I have the same question as others. If my frig has the textured finish…will the chalk write over it and will it erase fully?
Hey Mary,
If you are looking for a smooth finish like a classroom, that just isn’t possible with a fridge. It also isn’t possible with most things painted with chalkboard paint, though, because it’s paint. Not a purchased chalkboard. We have been very happy with ours, and it cleans up nicely with a wet rag when you are finished. A roller gets it on as smoothly as possible, and the more coats, the better, because it fills in all the grooves. Don’t expect perfection with this, but for me, it was better than my nasty generic look ! ;} It has held up nicely, and we really love ours. I’ll probably give it a fresh coat of chalkboard paint this spring, because the kids have scraped up against it in subtle places, and I’m a perfectionist. It is textured but it looks great! ;} I hope this helps!
how did you clean the supplies you used to apply the magnetic paint? the can i just bought said i need xylene. . . me and my kids can’t wait to get started on this project!!!
How is it holding up to water splashes and grease spots? How is it cleaning up? Please email me to let me know, because I’d really like to try this!
[email protected]
Could you respond on how much primer and paint was used? I found them both at Walmart but in quart cans. I don’t want to spend anymore then I’ll have to. Is one quart of each enough to do a traditional fridge? Top freezer model?
Thanks!
Hey! Just like the photos above, a quart should do it!
Oh ok great! Thanks again. Great how-to.
FABULOUS! I so want to do this. We do home school in the kitchen I could really use a chalkboard.
Found your chalkboard fridge on Pinterest and knew it was THE answer to my old, boring fridge. I mean, It’s over 14 years old, so if it didn’t turn out – no big deal. It was a little more work because it started out WHITE, but I painted that sucker all over and I couldn’t be happier! Thanks for sharing!!!
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go for it our cupboards were unfinished pine which we stained dark 20 plus years ago and 1 year ago we were finally brave enough to refinish them with rustoleum cabinet transformations it was not as easy as it says but oh so worth it we love them we did do quite a bit of sanding though to take out some of the wear and tear also to remove shine as we thought that was easier than using the deglosser i am still looking at them and thinking how much i love the look from dark walnut to antiqued white
Even though I’m a bit nervous, I think I’m going to give this a try! I have a huge old monster of a fridge that I got off freecycle. It’s beige and ugly…I think chalkboard paint is the answer!
Hello, I LOVE the idea of painting a fridge with chalkboard paint! I live in an apt. so I can’t do it but as soon as I get one of my own, I’m painting it for sure! I hope it’s okay, I’ve featured your chalkboard painted fridge in a round-up along with some other great chalkboard paint crafts and home decor projects. You can see it here:
http://jamiebrock.hubpages.com/hub/Clever-Crafts-Using-Chalkboard-Paint
Thank you so much for sharing!
thanks so much, Jamie!
You got me thinking… Do they make chalkboard paint in white? I would love to a fancy frame out of molding and paint it light purple (my daughters favorite color). Then add a white chalkboard surface to the center. Wouldn’t that look so cute hanging in a little girls room? Love your idea on the fridge though. Would keep the kiddos busy while you’re cooking.
Hi Ashley, just have to say your chalkboard painted fridge is the best looking one I have found online! I love the idea and am really considering painting mine because it’s white and the rest of my kitchen is stainless steel and really dark brown/black. I bought the black chalkboard paint a little while ago and after finding your blog I was wondering if yours is the black paint or the gray paint? it looks more gray in the picture but maybe it is because of the magnetic primer you used? Thanks!
Hey Felicia! No, we just used standard chalkboard paint. The grey you are seeing, I think, Is the primer going on. ;} It’s super black in real life! Go for it I can’t wait to see!
Thank you thank you for the tutorial! We have wanted to do this for a whole but couldn’t figure out how!
We have a stainless steel that we wanted to makeover (can’t stand all the fingerprints). One tip, if you redo a SS you need to sand it slightly before applying the first coat. And make sure you rinse it off and let it dry completely before applying primer.
Bravo! I recently finished my cabinets…painted over the cookie-cutter dark brown and made them a beautiful spanish yellow. Time consuming, but SO worth it! First, scrub your cabinets with soapy water, then sand (I used 220 fine-grain), then scrub again with TSP, then prime (really important!!) and then painted 2 coats. Finished off with new hardware on all the cabinets. The whole project took about 3 weeks, since I work during the day. Just make sure that, as you take your old cupboards down, number every single hinge and door, so you know which way they go back up!
I think that this is a great idea! im always running out of space when it comes to keeping things in the fridge. it holds magnets and then i can write on it when i need to write something down! This is amazing!!!!
I’m wondering how the refrigerator is holding up after a year? Does the paint get filmy from the chalk? Any chipping?
Hi Rachel! I did a bit of a re-post, with FAQ’s, here. Three months later, it’s still kickin’! ;}