So Cool In the Kitchen

MISS ME?!

Even if not, I missed working on the dollhouse! So, tonight, I intentionally carved out a pocket of time to see if I could finish a project I started a little over a month ago! (The digital age of taking pictures provides the date stamp for when I began something I thought was so simple and would take a day or two ... 👀)

No matter how long it took, it's finished! Check out the refrigerator make-over! It started out looking like this:

It was a part of an entire kitchen set I bought at an estate sale. It was a 5-piece set from Michaels! See?!

Back in the day when there were price
tags! And, assuming a 40%-off coupon was
used, the set should have been about $35.
Not bad!!

Okay, anyway. I really like the set, but I wasn't loving the grooves on the refrigerator. I don't need the fridge to look like it has wooden planks. And, the inside looked a little worn.

So, I took care of all of that! First, I schmeared on the wood filler:

'Think I used enough?!

And, after drying for many days -- because I didn't get back to it, not because it needed it -- I sanded the dickens out of it:

A fresh coat of paint and polyurethane later, and voila!

But, wait. There's more!

I decided the fridge needed drawers on the bottom. Because, duh! I really didn't know how to make them, so, I just winged it.

First, I took some cursory measurements of the interior where the drawer would go. And, by "took measurements," I mean I started by cutting the nearest paint card/sample thing I had in front of me to the size I thought it should be to create a drawer side. Then, I stuck it in the fridge to see if it worked. I whittled the piece down until I got it just right. Yeah, so, no tips for exact process here.

I used the plastic top of a sushi tray I recently saved from the recycle box to create the side pieces. I cut the four that I needed and promptly lost two of them. They're on the floor somewhere. I think. I honestly don't know. I didn't try too hard to find them, though, and, instead, just cut two more.

I did the same, awesome-exacting measuring process for the bottom pieces. Here's the one for the freezer side:

Don't let the cutting mat nor the exacto knife NOR the metal edge fool you. While I earnestly tried to use them, the plastic pieces were just too small and slippery. I did end up using my small guillotine paper cutter to get the edges straight, though. THAT was a handy tool!

From there, I used the Quick Grip glue. Not only does it dry as clear as it's allowed (it's not its fault if you're a goopy gluer), but it dries super-fast. I wanted that to go fast so the pieces wouldn't slip around while drying.

And, so, I put the sides together, bang, bang, bang, and what do you know but the freezer side drawer was too wide! Something about not really measuring comes to mind ...

No matter! I pulled it apart, recut by hand the base to be more narrow taking a guess as to how much was needed, and put it back together again. I'd say it turned out very okay!!

If there's something I can do about the goopy parts of the dried glue, I'll figure that out another time. I'm pretty sure they're a big part of holding these little suckers together, so I'm in no hurry! Oh, and the handles you see are the edges of strawberry containers. They provide the perfect little ledge and are already angled without my having to create that.

Here they are in action!

I know they're a little hard to see, so spend
some time oo-ing and ahh-ing over the
interior paint job, too!

Here they are in real action:

Pretend those are apples and oranges in the
drawer. And, yes, that's a pumpkin in there.
Because this family really has no
refrigerator food.

A little perspective shot. And, hello, new
kitty!

So, there you go! The cool, refrigerator make-over! Pun intended.

What's next? I really don't know! I have trim painted and ready to go for the interior doorways. That I have it painted is a miracle, but the doorways aren't ready because I haven't sanded them down from filling them, like, 2 or 3 months ago!

I have accomplished obtaining new creatures for the house, though! Seeing as the little kitty up there peeked in on the fridge shot, I should introduce her mom:

Big, lap kitty!

I found those kitties as a pair at a garage sale last weekend for a quarter. 😁

So, it's time to survey the land and determine the next project! Stay tuned ...