This Controversial $90 Project Transformed an Apartment Fridge (But I Love It!)

When you’re renting, you have to make do with the decisions your landlord has made for the space — even if those decisions are far from sensible, in your opinion. Unless you can come up with a renter-friendly upgrade, that is. 

When one renter wanted to do something about the ugly fridge sitting in the middle of her kitchen, she decided to turn it into something “so beautiful” using peel-and-stick contact paper. “The problem with this fridge is that it stands out like a sore thumb,” the DIYer, Georgia Raddon, said in a voiceover in a recent TikTok video. “So I wanted to do something cute with it.”

After cleaning the fridge with a vinegar solution to ensure it was squeaky clean, Raddon began the process of covering the entire thing with mirrored peel-and-stick paper from Amazon. She notes she specifically shopped for a mirrored look for this project, not a duller (and more common) stainless steel finish.

Raddon measured her fridge to find out how much she would need, and bought two rolls of the 24-inch-wide contact paper and one 12-inch-by-80-inch-roll just in case she needed to correct mistakes.

Raddon used a dish towel to smooth out the surface and remove air bubbles (without adding fingerprints). She trimmed the edges with a utility knife and scissors, and she also applied a bit of heat with a crafting heat gun to wrap everything tightly around the edges.

Once the entire thing was covered and the protective plastic coating was removed, Raddon was left with basically a three-sided full-length mirror in her kitchen, so the appliance actually pulls double duty in the apartment — and looks a little nicer. She calls it a “disco fridge.”

The TikTok comments on Georgia’s DIY projects are a mixed bag. Some people weren’t in love with the idea of seeing themselves in the reflection every time they opened the fridge, and some people were worried about fingerprints. But others are fully on-board with this dramatic makeover, noting that the mirrored effect actually makes it kind of invisible and less bulky in the small space. 

“Wow, it just disappeared,” @cindysewsew wrote, with user @cammmeron0 adding, “I admit I was skeptical until you removed the protective plastic layer. I see the vision now.”

The short answer is yes, the “disco fridge” shows fingerprints, Raddon says. But “it doesn’t bother me,” she notes. “I’m not somebody who’s bothered by things like that.” She also adds that she doesn’t have kids and lives on her own, so the only person touching it often is her; it only really gets fingerprints after she cooks. 

Raddon cleans off the fingerprints with Windex or a wet paper towel, and she’s also added even more DIY creations to the top of the fridge. Those both cover up surface area for less fingerprints and add a little pizzazz.

Raddon spray-painted rainbow letter magnets silver to match the overall disco vibe, she added magnetic dot stickers to dice to create magnets, and she displays photo-booth photo strips on the freezer door. All around, the vibe is a whole lot more fun than the standard-issue black from before.