How To Enclose a Refrigerator: The Easy Way

Y’all I am still in disbelief what a huge difference our new refrigerator enclosure has made.

It is a project that has been on the list for a while, along with building the appliance cabinet next to it.

Now that it’s done I can’t believe we waited so long, because it was so easy!

Let me show you method we used to make this kitchen feel custom & clean.

Supplies:

-Cabinet Grade Plywood

-Wood Screws

How To Enclose a Refrigerator: The Easy Way

Let me show you the space that we were working with:

It wasn’t terrible but the cabinets were pretty unusable because they are set so far back.

After we extended the rest of the kitchen cabinets to the ceiling this space looked even more out of place.

So the first step was to remove the two sets of cabinets.

We built the fridge enclosure & appliance cabinet at the same time, so this will look slightly different than if you were just building the enclosure, but its the same concept!

Next we cut long pieces of 2×4 to attach to the studs in the wall.

This is what the cabinet grade plywood will be attached to.

We couldn’t run the plywood all the way to the floor because there was no space between the refrigerator & cabinet base.

If there was room this is the base we would have built for the refrigerator & it would have went all the way to the ground.

Since there is not room it will share this base with the appliance cabinet.

We used clamps to attach the cabinet to the plywood so that we could level it before securing it to the frame & studs in the wall.

We also secured it to 2×4 scrap pieces we attached to the ceiling studs.

After the cabinet was secure we attached a 3″ wide ripped piece of plywood under the cabinet to give it a more finished look.

There is still space between the fridge & plywood though to allow for ventilation.

We also reattached the molding on top of the cabinets.

Once everything was attached & finished, I filled all the nail holes & caulked!

Then I applied a coat of primer & used the color matched cabinet paint to finish everything off.

Refrigerator Enclosure Reveal

I am so happy with how this turned out y’all!

It completely finished off this space & made the refrigerator feel built in with the rest of the kitchen.

The best part is that the cabinets are actually usable now & not pushed back so far out of the way.

I am so happy with kitchen upgrade & it only cost us a piece of plywood to create!

Let me know what you think of our new addition & if your fridge is enclosed or not.

You can shop all our cabinet hardware here!

Follow along with our kitchen renovation here or on Instagram!

You Might Also Like:

How To Create a Custom Looking Kitchen: Mixing Hardware Styles

Farmhouse Kitchen Island Makeover: How To Sand Indoors

How To Install Wood Flooring & Underlayment In The Kitchen

Kitchen Renovation: Lowes Cabinet, Countertop, & Installation Review

How to Extend Cabinets To The Ceiling on a Budget