If this furniture could speak…
This vintage fridge/cooler has seen a lot of days and I wonder when I get things like this, about their original history. The families they’ve served, the rooms they’ve been in and the purposes they’ve been given.
Whatever its story, at this time in its history, it has become an adorable little potting cupboard to house garden tools and potting things, giving it a new lease in its ever evolving life.
before: a vintage refrigerator
This old cupboard is actually a vintage, probably antique, refrigerator or cooler. It came to me pretty old and worn and beat up after many years of all sorts of uses, I’d imagine.
Parts of the sides were thin pieces of very fine wood like a veneer or very thin ply, and were barely held together with old tiny nails.
While I was trying to decide how to do it up, I knew it would have to be repainted, as the basic framework was put together with various types of timber and layers of paint. This would not work well as a “restored” finish with any type of stain work. My daughter was looking for a small cupboard that she could use for her garden tools and potting bits and pieces, so I showed her this, and she picked some colours from our Fusion Mineral paint range.
Remove old hardware and clean
I removed all the old hardware which was looking pretty aged and grungy. I thought I’d try cleaning them up, and was surprised at the beautiful result.
I used the method of boiling the hardware in vinegar for several minutes (maybe 15?), and used tonges to remove them onto a paper towel where I scrubbed each piece with an old toothbrush and 0000 steel wool.
I removed all the old hardware which was looking pretty aged and grungy. I thought I’d try cleaning them up, and was surprised at the beautiful result.
I used the method of boiling the hardware in vinegar for several minutes (maybe 15?), and used tonges to remove them onto a paper towel where I scrubbed each piece with an old toothbrush and 0000 steel wool.
I love the way they turned out. See the before and after images here. They look hand forged don’t you think? Such beautiful details.
You’ll see more details in the video in this post.
Sanding and Adding shelves
While the doors were off, I sanded back the whole exterior surface and secured any loose ply or nails.
For sanding I used my random orbital sander – I’m currently using a Makita corded sander that I have attached to my shop vac to collect the dust. (Aus Amazon affil link here: https://amzn.to/41ixxcS)
Also while the doors were off, I pulled the existing top shelf out as it was very thin and didn’t hold much weight on it. The lower shelf was also not very sturdy, but it did have some existing old pallet wood under it, that I left there, to place my new ply on top.
Here are the plywood boards I measured and had cut to size for the shelves.
I’m painting the inside of the cupboard in Fusion’s Paisley.
The outside will be Blue Pine. These two blues have a similar tone, but one is darker than the other, so they’ll pair nicely for this project.
These are the colours my daughter picked out, as I mentioned, this will be a cupboard for her garden tools.
Note: If in the USA/Canada, you can use my affiliate code IRESTORESTUFF and save 10% on Fusion HERE.
Aussies can purchase right here on my website for Aus wide shipping, or locally at my shop space upstairs in Camp Hill Antique Centre here in Brisbane.
Painted and finished!
After painting inside and out in the colours listed above, I attached all the original hardware on again and here is the finished look.
You can scroll through the carousel images below to see close ups of that hardware on the cupboard. So pretty!
Also below, you’ll find a video of this tutorial if you’re more of a visual learner.
I hope you enjoyed seeing this fridge cooler to cupboard transformation.
From antique fridge cooler to quaint, useful garden tool cupboard.
Wow. Such a change. Who could have guessed what was hiding underneath that worn-out body. Seems almost too lovely to be used for garden tools. Great job
It does seem too lovely for garden tools, but the top lid that opens is a little stiff to open and on closer inspection you can tell that the side panels are patched together with different timber types over time. It’s going to be great for her needs.