Kitchen inspiration - finding the perfect fridge

When you think of your kitchen the first thing that probably comes to mind is worktops and lighting but what about the one appliance you use daily? Ours is built in but when we move later this year we don't plan to take it with us but rather opt for the Smeg fridge we have been craving for for years, even if it's not the most practical. Putting aesthetics aside it can actually be quite a hard decision finding one that fits both the needs of you and your family as well as the style of your kitchen and is often something that is overlooked.

Being a really important purchase and an essential to your home it's a really good idea to know what to consider before you make the purchase. Here are a few tips to make the process as easy and as stress-free as possible. 

Size and capacity

The first thing you need to consider is how much food you need to store in your fridge/freezer. The storage capacity is usually managed in cubic feet, and generally combination fridge/freezers or chest freezers tend to have the most space. Think about what you need your fridge for, do you tend to buy mainly fresh food or frozen food. Once you’ve settled on size and capacity, it should be easier to determine the rest.

Additional features

To get more bang for your buck as they say, there are a number of additional features to watch out for when you’re purchasing this essential appliance. Some have a frost-free feature that helps to prevent the trays from icing up. Auto-fast freeze allows the fridge freezer to cool down when the temperature is too warm. Both of these features are handy when you’re investing in a new appliance. However, if you want to opt for a smaller fridge like the one we want it may be an option to get a backup stand alone freezer, something as simple as an ice cream freezer or a remote freezer, which are ideal for display.

Energy and the environment

Whenever we make a big purchase we really take into account the energy efficient especially as we are trying to make our home more eco friendly, check out my post about tips on doing this.
Every fridge freezer that you’re considering will have an energy efficiency grading from A to G. Manufacturers carry out Trading Standards tests to grade appliances in regards to the number of kW used times the average national cost of electricity. More often than not, the more expensive the appliance, the better the running costs as energy-saving features such as thicker insulation and alerts to warn you of an open door are additional features.

Style

When it comes to style, there are two main options to choose from. With an upright fridge freezer, you’ll find it easier to take out items, and there will be compartment and shelves to store your food. These of course come in different sizes to suit your needs from the small half fridge with tiny frozen compartment to large double doored fridge freezer combo. Another option which I talked about is a chest freezer. This has a large amount of storage space meaning it can store over-sized items. However, the food at the bottom of the freezer can sometimes be hard to access, and chest freezers usually take up more space in your home.

Ease of installation

Once you’ve decided which freezer to buy, you’ll want the installation to be as little hassle as possible. Make sure that you accurately measure the space that is available and check that your new appliance will fit through doors when it is delivered. If you’re going to fit your freezer underneath a worktop, make sure there is a gap of at least 25mm at the top, back and sides of the appliance so that warm air that is produced can be properly ventilated.

So if your moving home or simply upgrading your kitchen space and your in need of a new fridge freezer than do take these tips into account. it's not something we think about every day but it's certainly an important purchase as if you invest into the right one for you and your family needs you shouldn't need to replace it for years.

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