dc fridge conversion - isolde part 2

In this post I address the front door insert of the refrigerator, and the decision on the direction of the door swing.

the painted piece parts set against Westfalia's factory cabinet door; the aim was to come close to the plastic trim around the cabinet door and its door latch handle; since i bought off the shelf spray bombs i am quite happy with the result

I have done a lot of research on Formica plastic laminate this few days. I was initially led to believe that I have to buy a minimum size of 5 x 12 feet sheet at a cost of about $160 (cost plus shipping). It turns out depends on the series and thickness, some are available in smaller sheets. The cost also vary with the thickness, but seem not much a function of the appeals of the design. I made a few call locally and typically much cheaper than buying online due to online always charge a hefty shipping.

The best price I found is at a big box home improvement center but she have been unable to enter the order into their computer ordering system.

Gowesty sell a 2x4 feet plastic laminate they claims match the factory cabinet grey for $30 plus shipping but I decide against this option.

I don't mind buying a large sheet of Formica for I can use the remaining to build a dinning table, providing the graphics and color lend themselves to the project. I also explore other options with material that I have on hand and with minimal incremental cost to complete.

thinking out of the box, i thought of using the leftover maple veneer - my idea is to stain it with a bright color without unduly obscure the clear vertical gains

still more idea - using a sheet of japanese shoji paper; it would be stained and protected with a layer of fiberglass and resin

the maple veneer and shoji paper in the natural state

these are the Formica abstract patterns that i narrowed down

this sculpted surface called fossil grew on me over time - it has raised surface contours; but it is too close to the existing cabinet color and will look like a failure to match the cabin color

formica's 100th anniversary collection release

I started to google the web to find full size appearances of these Formica laminate in application. It turned out Formica has a series of Eames wire base table with these selections with a great blog post on dezeen. Interesting how my search comes a full circle.

the halftone series

the endless patterns

the dotscreen series

a tasteful use of these series in a modern kitchen; that is exactly my preferred way to use plastic laminate - lay on a thick stack of plywood with edge exposed; both beautiful and functional

one of the decision i need to make is if i can configure the door to open to the left which is more ergonomic than the factory opens to the right; however the access may be impeded by the bench seat when folded down as the bed

when open the door stays within the exterior width of the fridge without encroaching into adjacent space - good!

the second potential problem is the ability to slide out the wire shelves and the water collection tray under the freezer compartment; this will requires the door to be open about 130-degrees; this can be done with the bench seat configured as the seating configuration

next i set out to test stain the veneer and the shoji paper with a tube of red acrylic artist water color i already have

i diluted the acrylic water color with water to reduce the color intensity - this is a bit too pale

a bit darker - it seems to begin to obscure the CVG figure; though likely would return once a clear varnish is applied

To pick the Formica laminate that would be suitable for the fridge door insert as well as my planned dinning table project I set the sample chips against my kitchen plywood table. Formica is a very durable surface and is one of the most economical. The problem with integrating them into a design is the treatment of the edge. To have the laminate sheet covering both horizontal and vertical surface typically results in sharp corners where the two surfaces meet. This results in many problems. The corners are very prone to chip. The sharp corner is uncomfortable, as well as dangerous to small children. It is also unsightly.

To me one of the few ways to use plastic laminate is to use it only for top surface with a substrate that lend itself for a aesthetic side. I like sheet goods a lot and plywood is my favorite. I like the unpretentious appearance the plys exposed.

the grey one are definitely out of the running; i also don't like the look of the dotscreen series in large expanse

i can safely say that my finalists are the orange and yellow halftone series

i tried different depth of stain on the shoji paper

stained maple veneer

orange halftone

yellow halftone

fossil with sculpted surface

stained shoji

Right now I am leaning towards the orange Formica halftone. I want the extra material for use to build a 36" x 80" dinning table using plywood as the substrate. Stay tuned.

update - 13.05.2015:
The local big box store finally manage to figure out how to enter this never-sold-in-their-store item into their system. Of thousands of Formica sold through them I would not be surprised none of this ever was sold. I am happy as the price is 25% lower than a flooring store that I have purchased similar item before. Online the cost is a whopping 78% higher due to shipping.

I order a piece of 36" x 96" sheet. It would give me enough material to also face a 36" x 80" dinning table that I plan to design and build.

the orange one is Tangelo Halftone 6620-58