DIY Shiplap Farmhouse Fridge Enclosure For Fixer Upper Open Concept Style Kitchen - Building Plans & Tutorial Included

Hello friends! I have the most darling farmhouse project to share today! In addition to installing “shiplap” in our new kitchen (see THIS POST for the dreadful before!) we just built an adorable DIY Shiplap Farmhouse Fridge Enclosure. This piece was the perfect addition to our open concept kitchen, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE how it turned out. I had originally envisioned a DIY fridge enclosure that was built next to a floor to ceiling wall of cabinets, but once we added the shiplap, I knew I had to carry it though the whole space. So we ended up adjusting the layout of the fridge a bit.

This post includes affiliate links, but I only share things that I LOVE & think you will too.

My original idea was to do a bump out and encase the fridge all the way to the ceiling, bringing the horizontal shiplap planking along with it. But after discussing it with my builder (aka mah husband) he… (I mean, weeeeeee) came to the conclusion that it would close the room in too much. I mean, we did just take down a wall… in that exact spot…

Marriage is all about seeing things from each other’s perspective. And Silas lets me do all the crazy decor stuff I can dream up. In addition to that, most of the ascetic design choices for our home have been things I picked out… so it wasn’t worth “fighting” to get my way. Plus, I need to stay on the good side of my general contractor. Yah know… Haha!

With that said, I’m so glad that he made me rethink this space, becuase it has honestly become my most favorite project that we have done to date.

If I had stood my ground and said “NO!” I wouldn’t have come up with the idea of an arched fridge enclosure.

I created several mock ups of what I wanted in photoshop, and shared them with Silas and everyone on instagram, and this arched one was the crowd favorite! Yay!

Like seriously, how adorable is that little peak of an arch?! I’m obsessed.

I think the idea came to me when I was looking at the arches I did in the dining room… they were a much needed touch of character to this otherwise “blah” space. You can see my tutorial for those pediment arches HERE.

Now for the tutorial and building plans on how to make your own DIY arched shiplap fridge enclosure.

Silas built this, so I am just recreating the steps from memory. Nonetheless, I hope this gives you at least a basic idea of the construction of this farmhouse fridge enclosure. I didn’t add dimensions, as they should vary, depending on what size your fridge is, and where this built in is located in your kitchen. But I will say that we left a bit of space in the back free to accommodated the plug & water hose. In addition to that, we made sure that the sides of our enclosure didn’t interfere with opening and shutting the fridge doors. We anchored and secured it to the wall itself as well- so it doesn’t move.

With all that said, here are the plans on how to build an open concept, farmhouse shiplap “peak” fridge enclosure:

Lastly, I primed this piece with Kilz Latex Primer (don’t want any wood grain showing through!) and I chalked any cracks I didn’t like (mostly on the sides where the shiplap meets the trim on the front)

The paint I finished it off with was a color matched version of “true white” by Magnolia in satin.

I truly love this kitchen of mine. It makes me excited to do the dishes and cook for my family every day.

I know it’s a little silly to be so excited over a design element… but I honestly have never seen anything like it… so I kind of view it as my “original design concept” that I am contributing to the DIY farmhouse decor movement.

And it flows so beautifully into my dreamy dining room… so you can’t argue with me on this one.

I know it’s a piece that’s viewed as “permanent to the home” but if we ever move, we either need to bring this baby with us, or it’s going to be on the “must recreate” list.

That’s one thing I will put my foot down on.

SHOP THE LOOK OF THIS ROOM: