Have you heard of fridgescaping? The phenomenon apparently started on TikTok, and in a nutshell comes from “landscaping” your fridge.

Sounds like some people got into it during the covid lockdowns. There are various approaches to decorating the inside of your refrigerator, and ways to organize are, of course, as varied as the creators.

Some are more pragmatic, others kinda outlandish. There is practical with pastels, like Samantha Klein (samswhurld) prefers…

…or rustic and earthy, as for instance the styling by Amira Youssef (dusk2illdawn):

Others favor bright and colorful arrangements, like Tânia Lourenço (homganize):

All of the above are still mainstream. Lynzi Judish (lynziliving) takes fridgescaping to another level. Hers designs are very pretty, lushly styled, and themed. There is, for instance, a Beetlejuice…

…and a Hobbit project:

If you prefer, you can see Judish’s Hobbit fridgescape as a video. She’s also posted photos of a fall-themed project (with a cute squirrel mug) and a Bridgerton fridgescape. (Ha! There’s a hastag #fridgerton! 😀 )

The themed fridges are, I admit, kinda fun.

However: I have A LOT of questions! I’m not on Instagram or TikTok, and plan not to begin just to do a bit of research. But, like—

• I see a lot of snack-type produce. Where do the fridgescapers store their actual food? Food food, the cooked food? (Surely they do cook warm meals…?) Or leftovers?
• Are the containers food safe? Please tell me they all are!
• Are they ruining the books or photos or decorative boxes placed in the fridge?
• Why does everything need to be decanted? (Yes, I know why—it’s the look. However, all those themed empty containers are just more clutter to store elsewhere and more $$$ down the drain.)
• How do they keep re-arranging their fridges without wasting an inordinate amount of energy?

Also: While I do enjoy a (thoughtfully) decorated space, for me, function has to come first. It absolutely must; I cannot live otherwise. I have to have a home that works; if it looks good, too, that’s great! But I must be able to use things I need when I need them, not after five minutes of digging or setup. (Which is also why I must have a dedicated sewing room with the machine on a table, ready to go at a moment’s notice.) If a space or area isn’t useable, it’s a source of frustration for me, which isn’t worth it, especially not for everyday functions like the fridge.

(Apparently, the scaping fad is spreading: there is now also talk about pantryscaping, deskscaping, and doorscaping. Good grief—it feels almost like another (insert-your-term-here)core is on the loose!)

Verdict: there’s something appealing in the idea, but ultimately it’s not for me. You should do you, though. 🙂

Images: Freshly cleaned & stocked by Samantha Klein on Instagram. Fridge organization by Amira Youssef on Instagram. Greens and yellows by Tânia Lourenço on Instagram. Beetlejuice and Hobbit by Lynzi Judish on Instagram.

In Here highlights interesting spaces created by our fellow geeks all over the world.