Remember when we DIYed a play kitchen for Clara last Christmas? It was such a hit then—and still is—that we immediately wanted to expand it. More kitchen = more fun, right?
We decided the perfect addition would be a refrigerator. Luckily, we had an extra cabinet from a kitchen remodel sitting in the basement for nearly a year that was just begging to become a fridge. It came from Habitat for Humanity Restore and had been waiting patiently for this very upgrade.
The cabinet had a few problems to fix before it could be fridge-ified. It needed shelves, flat sides, and a refreshed look. First I removed the doors and added three internal shelves using a single 10″ pine board from the hardware store. I screwed each shelf through the sides for a simple, sturdy attachment.
The shelves gave the cabinet useful storage spacing for Clara’s play food. Instead of very narrow shelving, we left about 7″ between shelves—wide enough for many of her taller play items and easier for little hands to use.
To create a clean, box-like appearance and hide screw holes, I cut plywood panels on the table saw and glued them to the recessed sides. I clamped them and used heavy objects while the glue dried. The small amount of plywood required was inexpensive and made the cabinet look much more finished.
After adding a top panel and smoothing the surfaces, we lightly sanded the doors and cabinet face—just like we do when painting real kitchen cabinets—to ensure good paint adhesion.
To make the fridge doors magnetic, we applied three coats of magnetic primer to the door fronts and then primed the rest of the cabinet with a low-VOC primer we already had on hand. Three coats of magnetic primer gave a reliable magnetic surface; a good shake before painting helps keep the metallic particles suspended.
Once the primer was dry, we painted the outside semi-gloss white to match Clara’s existing play kitchen and painted the interior a light blue (leftover Benjamin Moore Sylvan Mist) for a fun “chilled” contrast. The outside took one coat thanks to the white primer, while the magnetic doors needed three coats to cover the dark primer.
I reattached the doors with new hinges and added long 7″ pulls that matched Clara’s kitchen. The hinges and handles were the only hardware we bought for this build, and they kept the look cohesive.
For a playful touch we considered adding a faux appliance logo using scrapbook stickers, debating names like “Cool” or “Chilly.” In the end we decided the clean look without a logo suited the rest of the kitchen better, and we skipped permanently applying the stickers.
When the DIY fridge was finished, we set it up next to Clara’s original kitchen for Christmas morning. To make the gift complete, we stocked it with play food—most of which we already owned from previous toy purchases. Seeing everything together made a delightful little play zone.
Much of the play food came from Melissa & Doug sets we bought on sale, plus a few DIY touches. We saved tiny Ben & Jerry’s cartons (emptied and cleaned) to add realistic details, and Sherry found wooden eggs, crates, and small takeout containers at a craft store to fill out the fridge shelves.
We also added a rolling cart we found at a thrift store for $5. It was already a convenient color and makes a great grocery cart or mobile pantry for Clara. The cart holds produce, pantry items, and rolls around for extra play value.
Here’s the budget breakdown for the fridge and cart project:
- Cabinet – already owned (originally around $15)
- Wood for shelves & side panels – $14
- Primer & paint – already owned
- New hinges – $5.25
- 7″ hardware handles – $12
- Scrapbook stickers (unused) – $5
- Thrift store cart – $5
- Wooden eggs, crates & takeout containers – $6
- Tiny Ben & Jerry’s cartons – $2.50
- Other play food – already owned (about $30 originally)
- Total: $50.75 (approximately $95 if you had to buy the cabinet and all play food)
The magnetic doors were worth the extra effort—now Clara can decorate the fridge with her drawings and little notes. We’ll share photos or video of her opening the gift, just like we did last year. For the record, the photos here were taken in our playroom, which still shows paint from a recent shoot—the wall color is the same Sylvan Mist we used inside the fridge.
So, any other Santas out there working on last-minute projects? Are your kids as obsessed with play food—especially eggs—as Clara is? Do you notice how play fruits and veggies are often life-sized while pantry items are smaller? We’ll be here pondering that while we wait to see Clara’s reaction.
P.S. We grabbed a quick video of Clara playing with her kitchen recently—just a little peek at how much fun she gets from this simple setup.