Fridge Fronts From Season 1
In season 1 of Shark Tank (episode 15), a woman by the name of Jan Augenstein pitched a product called Fridge Fronts, a magnetic “face” to dress up old, worn out-looking refrigerators.
Click the image to visit Best Appliance Skins (previously FridgeFronts.com) and see this dizzying selection of affordable and decorative magnetic refrigerator and appliance covers for yourself!
I remember thinking that this was one of the coolest things that I had seen, and an absolutely brilliant idea. What an economical way to improve the looks of an appliance!
The Sharks Did NOT all Jump on This!
It therefore stunned me to see Robert Herjavek, Kevin O’Leary and Damond John all bow out fast. At the end, it was Barbara Corcoran and Kevin Harrington going in together at $50K each for a combined 50% share of Fridge Fronts.
Although the show aired in April of 2011, I never saw that particular episode until the fall of 2014, so after watching it I skidaddled over to the internet to search for Fridge Fronts to see what became of the company.
To my utter delight, FridgeFronts.com (Note: Now known as BestApplianceSkins.com to better represent their offerings) was alive and, evidently, doing exceedingly well! It was wonderful to see the way Fridge Fronts has evolved to what they are saying is over 11 million designs!
By the way, I used to be able to watch this episode on YouTube, but can no longer find it. Fortunately, it’s still up over at Daily Motion HERE if you want to see it! (At least it’s there as of October 2020).
They’re now MORE than just Refrigerator Magnets!
Furthermore, there are now dishwasher covers, mini fridge covers to decorate dorm room style refrigerators, and a “man cave” fridge (or “woman” cave refrigerator as the case may be), and washer and dryer covers which are about to hit the market as of this writing (and which I just heard about).
have returned to the FridgeFronts.com website countless times since my first visit; I find it to be a very inspiring site.
The company has come a long way since Jan Augenstein appeared on Shark Tank with her original handful of designs – the fanciest of which was a cheery beach scene.
Now you can choose from a nearly endless array of designs from animals, art (for example, one cover looks like a book shelf filled with vintage books, street scenes, abstract art, and countless photos and scenes), holiday themes, beach scenes, camouflage, chef themes, flowers, landscapes, chalk board/dry erase, and even “wood” or “stainless steel” – which, as you might imagine might look nice on that old harvest gold or avocado green fridge (if it’s actually still in use!). There truly are so many that it’s difficult to believe. Seriously – you really do have to see it to believe it.
As is often the case with such things, Fridge Fronts / Best Appliance Skins falls square into the “I wish I’d have thought of this!” category!
It also falls into the category of gift ideas for the person who has everything else! It is such an affordable item I can hardly believe it myself.
By the way, if you do not have a magnetic appliance, the company also offers a vinyl design that peels and sticks easily to the surface. They’ve thought of it all!