When we moved away from our previous home, we chose to sell our Big Chill fridge with the house, even though it was one of my favorite things we owned. The reason we chose to sell it was because the dimensions and the handle side didn’t fit the layout of our new kitchen. So we said a sad goodbye.
But my heart wasn’t ready to move on from colored kitchen appliances! No way José. And when I saw the Big Chill Pro line, I fell in love all over again. They’re clean, modern and you can choose almost any color.
But as we got deeper into our renovation, other things started going over budget, and I had to start getting creative with what things I could cut from the budget, save for later or replace. I decided to replace the fridge and stove with a DIY option.
I’ve been promising for months I’d explain how we got this fun mint color, and so here it goes!!!
But first, the before pics…
The fridge we bought was this one. Since I knew I was recoloring, I tried to order a simple white fridge, but in the end, for what we wanted (clean lines and no ice maker on the front) and what we needed (counter depth) to fit the space, we had to go with a stainless steel fridge.
The stove is from a random small company I found online. I actually think it is out of stock now. It was a good deal, and I love the shape of it, but functionally it hasn’t been our favorite stove, and I wouldn’t recommend it (so I am not linking to it, sorry!).
If I could go back, I would probably choose another stove, but during the past year, we’ve grown accustomed to its quirks (the stovetop is hotter than anything we’ve ever had and the inside is a little cooler than it’s supposed to be, so we’ve learned to make adjustments on our end for accuracy). Anyway! It’s pretty to look at!
At the phase that the kitchen was here, I could have stopped. I fully realize that probably 90% of people would rather have stainless steel than a colored stove. But I’m not 90% of people, so I kept going!
My friend kept telling me not to paint, to use vinyl. But I was like, “EW NO!” because I am really stubborn, and I was concerned the vinyl wouldn’t look as legit as paint.
Well, fast forward a couple months, and after Laura had called every paint company we could find who made “high heat paint,” nothing was really safe enough to use on the oven. And especially not the paints you could custom color. Since the oven heat is so high, especially when you open it up, we had to find something that could withstand heat.
So I finally caved and revisited the vinyl idea.
We called a local “custom vinyl” shop. This is basically a car shop that puts the big graphics on the sides of buses or puts flames on the side of a sports car. I was definitely out of my element, but they said their vinyl was safe up to 900 degrees (or maybe it was 1000, I can’t remember). Either way—it was safe.
So I went to the shop with my measurements and a paint color swatch I was hoping they could match. They said they could custom print any Pantone color. They could also do the matte finish that I wanted (and it was still supposed to be easy to clean). Awesome!
It took a few rounds of sample prints to get the color just right. I also had a lot of canceled appointments because a girl wanting to get her fridge recolored is not QUITE as high a priority as a bus that needs a country music singer’s face on the side of it.
But after about a month of going back and forth, they came to my home and installed the vinyl for me.
I opted to get it professionally installed because I’ve worked with big surfaces of vinyl before, and it’s very tricky to avoid wrinkles completely. I valued the polished look more than saving a bit more $ in this instance.
They had to remove the doors from the stove and fridge to install it, and then put them back on when the vinyl was on so that it was one big, seamless surface.
All in all, I paid about $400 for the vinyl and install. I think it’s more worth it than painting because, in addition to the safety issue, it’s also fully removable if we ever want to go back to the stainless steel! I intend to keep it forever, but just in case we have to move or whatever, it’s good to have options!
I’ve had it on for about 3-4 months now, and it’s still blowing my mind on a daily basis. I love the color. It adds so much personality to our simple kitchen. Before I was nervous that it looked like EVERY kitchen on Pinterest. Now it has its own custom detail.
These photos were taken during our domino shoot by Alyssa Rosenheck.
Here’s a photo of our kitchen all zoomed out! I am thrilled beyond words with how it looks today. It’s definitely my dream kitchen. I hope I explained all of that well for you. Please let me know if you have any questions at all! xx -Elsie
P.S. Love this post? Check out How to Paint a Refrigerator with Appliance Paint!
How come you didn’t do the dishwasher too?
Now that you have had this for awhile, do you still love it? Has the vinyl stood up the heat of the oven? Has it been easy to clean? I am a bit clumsy so I always worry about nicks of snags-has that been an issue? Love it, and want to try it, but would love to know if you would spend the money on this application again? Thank you!!
Great idea and post. But, this is the most important question and information for this idea. It’s a shame that it remains unanswered.
What type of shelving did you use that is sturdy enough to support the weight of all your items but without brackets?
Hi! Thanks so much for posting this amazing vinyl idea. I’m looking into appliances and REALLY wanted a Big Chill, but all the reviews I’ve read have been very bad. What was your experience with them?
Hi!
I only ever had a Big Chill fridge (no other pieces) but I loved it. But to be honest- for the same price I love the higher end kitchen aid appliances more, just from a purely functional storage standpoint. But I will say the last time I checked Big Chill had some new styles that looked really good- I’ve only ever had one style fridge. XX!
Is there any way you could link the vinyl you used? It’s the exact color I want and itd save me from having to get samples and search. Thanks, Elsie!!
OBSESSED! What shade is this? It’s the perfect minty turquoise!
What Pantone color did you use? Love this by the way so creative !!
Can you link us to the brand of vinyl you used for this project?
curious to see how this is holding up. i’m looking to do this myself.
It’s great! Still looks the same. :))
Heya, seriously thinking of doing this for an Air BnB – would you recommend for renters? Does the vinyl easily get nicks?
I am in the process of remodeling my kitchen and would like to replicate the white shelves as you have in your house. Can you help me with sources? I like the clean look you used without brackets.
Thanks so very much!
I swooned when I saw this – thank you for sharing! Now that it’s been 2 years, how is the vinyl holding up? Is it lifting or scratched? How has it been to clean? I hate stainless and dealing with the marks and stains!! I would love this as an option – but with 8 and 10 year olds in the house, I’d like to know more about the durability. Thank you!
Hi! It’s holding up amazing! Almost no visible wear at all. 🙂
Elsie, did you use a vinyl shop in Nashville to buy, measure, & install? Husband & I just bought a house here & would LOVE to revamp the double oven on the cheap!
That’s great! Thanks for the reply! 🙂
Hi Elsie! Long time lurker on all your accounts, especially since Nova came into your life. I adore her and you and all the things that you post. We recently purchased a mid-century modern home in Norcal and will be working on the kitchen after we move in. I absolutely want to try this out on our new appliances. Do you know if the vinyl is easily removable by you or a professional in case you ever want to change the color in the future? Just curious. Thank you for all that you do!
Hello, BEAUTIFUL job on those appliances not to mention the sooo cute kitchen!!!
Any suggestions for an old leatherette texture finish fridge… Do you think the vinyl is thick enough to hide the texture look?
I recommend this blog all knowledge seekers about kitchen and home appliances.
Thank You So Much!
Very tasteful! I love the color you picked for your appliances and everything about your kitchen is lovely!
I too was wondering if you could indicate the type of vinyl that was used.
It’s the kind of vinyl they use on cars and buses. xx!
What vinyl company did you use? I cannot seem to find heat resistant vinyl on the web.
This is such a cool hack. I’ve used the stick on cabinet liners in the bast on the trimming of a tv so it wasn’t an eyesore but what you did here it genius!:)
Are you available to hire for designing renovations? I looked on FAQs but nothing is up on that page.
This is seriously my dream kitchen
Do you also have any posts on where to start/what to do/what to expect if you are looking to buy a fixer upper and renovate yourself?
thank you!!!
It looks fantastic. What makes the vinyl stick, is it an adhesive product and did they use a shrink-wrap technique for the corners, like when they shrink-wrap a vehicle? GREAT JOB 🙂