How To Choose The Right Refrigeration For Your New Kitchen

The top priority in designing a kitchen should be setting up the space for efficient cooking & living. The wheres & hows & whats all should tie in to create a space that you not only love being in, but love cooking in. At the core of the kitchen lies the refrigerator; the placement, size & style can make or break your day to day experience in the space--so we are here to help pick out that perfect fridge! Each family or individual's needs are different from home to home and from kitchen to kitchen; this is what makes picking out the right refrigeration for your new kitchen so exciting but also so crucial for efficiency and ease.

It's important to hone in on what your cooking & food preparation needs are, what your space limitations and opportunities are, and finally your style and aesthetic requirements. Where they coincide is where you will have success. HGTV has a great questionnaire to get actively thinking of how you want and need to use your new kitchen--check it out HERE.

Food Preparation Needs

Consider how you ideally want to store your groceries, including refrigerated and freezer dependent items & what you like and don't like about your current or past kitchen refrigeration spaces.

High-end models offer some really neat ways to store & make cooking life that much sweeter. Adjustable shelves are a perfect way to modify your fridge to fit that big birthday cake, a pitcher of iced tea, or lasagna for dinner. Vegetable and fruit crispers with varying setting options are becoming a staple in refrigerators & a new, popular trend we are seeing more of is a drawer between the main fridge and freezer that can assist with defrosting meats or keeping beverages extra cool.

Space Opportunities & Limitations

Refrigerator units greatly vary in overall dimensions, so the biggest question to address is how much room you have in your kitchen for your fridge. This will determine what type of brand, style & model you should purchase. For instance, side-by-side refrigerators are a great fit for spaces with a small clearance between the appliances and island but they may make it difficult to store wide items like frozen pizzas or cakes.

Another great way to save space, money and time is choosing a refrigerator with through-the-door filtered water. It's nice and convenient and also saves on energy because you don't have to open the appliance door. If going this route, make sure you are able to install a waterline nearby.

Stand Alone vs. Built In

Stand alone fridges are becoming a more popular route as more kitchens lean towards an "industrial" look. An example of a stand alone fridge can be seen below; it fits beautifully into the opening and is trimmed with matching molding to fit the kitchen. It is in a neutral location where it can be accessed from multiple points--need a quick snack from the living room? It's just a quick step away.

Style & Design Wants

Refrigerators come in three basic designs; side-by-side, top mounted freezer and bottom mounted freezer. A popular spin on the bottom-mounted freezer is a french-style fridge door--we love how it combines two great features into one!

As you increase in the size & convenience of a new refrigerator, you will most likely increase in price--but a great perk of getting a new fridge is the cost you'll save on your utility bill. Home refrigerators account for about one sixth of your home's electricity bill, but if you replace your old fridge with a newer model, you can shave off roughly $30 of your utility bill annually.

Side-By-Side

A huge perk of this design is the ease in accessing both the freezer and fridge, the great amount of space (usually 22-26 cubic feet) and the variety in price. With wooden panels or faux cabinets, you can blend this type of fridge right into your kitchens cabinetry for a sleek look.

 Built in Stainless Steel With Freezer Drawer:

Bottom-mount freezers are more convenient because the main fridge compartment is at arms length and eye level. They have about the same amount of space as top-mounted freezers (16-23 cubic feet) & are also in the same price range. KitchenAid has some great options for Stainless Steel fridges for varying prices and needs--check them out!

Wine Refrigeration Options

More and more homes are embracing their love of wine and are showing off their bottles with either a tall-wall or under the counter wine refrigerator. We love the look of either and found that homeowners were happy with their investment in homes where we installed them. Take a look at how they fit into these two kitchens below!

Embrace the challenge of finding a perfect fitting refrigerator for your kitchen--with all the options and support out there, your perfect refrigeration system is awaiting you!