Mod My Fridge!

So if you were around last summer for the refrigerator posts, you may remember that I was leaning towards modding a panel front refrigerator as the most cost effective way to get a stylish fridge. After some regular Craigslist watching, $400, and the manual labor to haul it home 30 miles, I'm now the proud owner of a 5 year old, cabinet front, counter depth, GE fridge similar to this one.

So what's a steampunk homemaker to do with such a thing? It probably isn't the obvious first thing, but I've started by buying gauges on Ebay.

I liked the irony of having a heater gauge on a refrigerator.

This one is actually a working fridge thermometer -- if I get the probe sensor inside, I'll actually get the internal temperature on the outside.

This one is just a pressure gauge, easy to find on eBay.

Gauges for Milliamperes and Microamperes

Beyond the obvious "buy cool stuff" part of it, I think the actual first step is going to be finding/fitting/cutting some brass sheets to replace the cabinet fronts with.

I'm not the most artistic person, so I'm a bit worried about the whole "design something that looks good" aspect of this project. I'm taking inspiration from this Kohler ad, the Steampunk Treehouse, and Roger Wood's Klockwerks.

I'm soliciting ideas -- what else should I do with it? Do I go overboard and cover the entire front or should I take a more restrained approach? Any ideas for how to cover the black plastic of the water dispensor and the black handles that run the length of the doors? At this stage of the project, I'm open to any suggestion, no matter how crazy. Bring it on.

Steampunk Refigerator, con't.

So I dragged the family to the suburbs today to check out the refrigerator I've been lusting over since the refrigerator post, the Elmira Stove Works Antique fridge:



Turns out it's a GE fridge that Elmira puts a fiberglass face on. (Slightly disappointing.) The price was just under $4000 US, and that was before a $500 charge for the nickel hardware. (There are a couple other models and different hardware types available, so prices vary. The picture above and what we saw are not the same fridge.)

I wrote down the model number and did some research. What we saw was a GE PSS25MGMBB, which is no longer for sale according to GE's website. The 2 alternatives GE suggested to me were both $1800, and a web search found someone who had bought one for $1500. (The web search also turned up some temperature control problems.) Hmmm....

As Ben said, would you mod a fridge for $3000?

So, scratch the Elmira Stove Works plan, and back to the drawing board. My new thought is one of the refrigerators you can install your own panels on:



GE has one for about $2600 (they are only charging about $200 above their basic model for giving you the privilege of putting your own face on). Surely for $1400 I can make, or find someone to make, a cool and interesting cabinet face for it.

Any sugestions on what, exactly I should do? I'm all ears.

Steampunk Refrigerator?

I was browsing refrigerators this weekend with some family members looking for a new one, and was struck by some of the trends in refrigerator aesthetics that would fit nicely into a steampunk kitchen.


The first is Kenmore's new Pro series with -- get this -- analog dials. Sure, it's still stainless steel, which is not at all steampunk, but it's nice and industrial looking to be able to check the fridge and freezer temperature by looking at these nice gauges on the front.

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Second is the new Jenn-Air Oiled Bronze Kitchen Suite. According to the marketing spiel, "the subtle interplay between bronze and copper allows oiled bronze appliances to blend beautifully with rustic, modernist, or classic town and country settings." Not entirely sure about that, but I did like the "old metal" look of it. I'd try to replace the stainless steel handles with something custom, but

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The coolest fridge by far is the Elmira Stoveworks Antique Styled Fridge. Available in 2 depths, they come in black, white, bisque, blue, red, or green. You can get brass or copper door frames and handles. (Imagine a black fridge with brass frames and handles...)

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Last, one of the trends in refrigerators is the ability to replace the fronts (and sides) with custom panels (in theory to match your cabinets, though they wouldn't have to). Viking makes some that you can put any 3/4" thick surface on. Imagine the possibilities: embossed copper, polished brass (wonder if it would be too heavy?), leather.... Frankly the creative openendedness is a bit overwhelming.