DIY Up-cycled Nightstand turned Toy Fridge!

Well, Jordan is out watching the Flyers game with some friends, Lily is in bed, and I am surprisingly not too tired yet, so I thought I'd update this bad boy and watch some vintage Dexter. 


For all those over achieving parents that need one last gift for their kiddos and actually have a spare minute to not only breathe, but tackle a new project, this post is for you! For the rest of us, this is a fun project to start after the holiday season is over…like in the spring. 

One of the very first projects I saw that I knew I wanted to tackle on Pinterest was an old television stand turned into a full kitchen play set! Every neighborhood yard sale, bulk trash night, or Sunday afternoon drive, I kept my eyes peeled for the perfect piece to turn into a play kitchen for Lily to use. Sure, the plastic ones are nice and durable, but where’s the fun in that? We stumbled upon this guy at Columbus Market one Saturday afternoon for only $15. 


We thought we could make a refrigerator out of it fairly easily and if that didn’t work, we could always use another piece of furniture to hide all our junk. We decided to make the top drawer into the freezer area We headed to Lowes to grab some supplies. 

Supply List:

Hinges we chose!

• Spray Paint (We went with a white primer (Velspar). I was feeling ambitious but also didn’t want to spend all day literally watching paint dry so I opted to use spray paint. We were also feeling thrifty so we only bought one. Needless to say, I made another trip back to Lowes for another can).
• Hinges (for the freezer door)
• Hardware for the doors
• Plywood (for shelves) 

Fridge door
(my foot's a photobomber)

Jordan tackled the hard work while I made Lily some lunch. He first cut a door for the freezer and attached it with the hinges. The door was a little snug but he sanded it down and that actually helps the door stay shut. Like I’ve said, we aren’t professionals, but we do what we can and we’re proud of our results! He added a shelf to the fridge since there was a gaping hole from where the drawer was by just measuring and cutting a piece of plywood. He also drilled holes for the hardware. 

My task was to paint the piece white. I ended up with spray painted hands (as per usual) but I liked the final look (on the door, not my hands). After it dried, we attached the hardware and admired our handy work so far. I decided I wanted to paint food on the both doors so even when the fridge was empty, it still looked like a fridge. I do not claim to be any sort of artist, but I like the way the food came out. It's very me! I also wasn’t a fan of the indented parts of the door, so I found a small wooden chalkboard at A.C. Moore for cheap, painted the outside white, and we used some 3M Velcro stickers to attach it. Jordan also made a shelf out of some left over plywood so Lily could keep her fridge stacked and stocked!




We couldn’t wait for Lily to see the final product! She loved it so much she climbed right in! I can’t wait to start round two of this project, the sink/stove! We bought a couple of trunks at a yard sale along with a nightstand. (I think this project will have to wait for spring). By that time, I should have cleaned out Lily’s room to make room for all of her Christmas loot! Speaking of loot, this project did not come close to breaking the bank either! We spent around a total of $50 on the piece of furniture and all the supplies!