Picking Your Next Refrigerator

9.26.22

Out of all the appliances in your home, the hardest working one is your refrigerator. Working all day every day, refrigerators are the backbone of every kitchen they are in.

Over the years, refrigerators have diversified significantly from the standard top mount design many of us are familiar with. Refrigerators now are typically larger, and more sophisticated than they ever have been. When it comes time to pick out a new refrigerator, it can be tough to know where to start. Today though, we’ll go over some tips on how to make picking out your next refrigerator an easier process.

Will the Fridge Fit?

One of the first places you’ll need to start when picking out a new refrigerator is determining how much space you have for it. Are you going for a counter depth or non-counter depth model, how tall of a refrigerator can you get, do you have any nearby cabinets or a kitchen island a large door could potentially collide with, do you need the door to open in a specific direction?

These all may seem like pretty obvious questions, but the last thing you would want to do is purchase a refrigerator and wait potentially weeks for it to arrive only to realize it won’t fit.

Choosing the Color

Second, you’ll want to figure out color. It may come as a surprise, but one of the points that will influence whether you wait two weeks or five months for a new refrigerator to arrive is the color you want that refrigerator to be. While appliances are more available than they were this time last year, the appliance industry is still being affected by supply chain shortages.

To combat this, most manufacturers are prioritizing manufacturing stainless steel appliances over black and white due to stainless steel being the most popular color. Occasionally a store may have an odd black or white refrigerator in stock, but it’s good practice that if you are interested in a black or white refrigerator, you’ll likely want to anticipate a longer lead time than for a stainless-steel refrigerator.

Don’t Forget About Design

Next, you’ll want to dial in the overall design of your refrigerator. If you're looking for a good garage refrigerator, something simple that won't break the budget or a smaller refrigerator for an apartment, the classic top mount design can't be beat. These tend to be very simple yet reliable models without any extra bells and whistles.

They also tend to be a bit on the smaller side though. If you're looking for some extra storage space though, then looking into a side by side or French door model would be a good next step. As a general rule of thumb, Side by side models will give you more freezer space, simpler design, and a lover overall cost while French door models tend to be larger, pricier, and come with additional features.

Features Features & More Features

The last thing to cover are the mountain of features you can get in your refrigerator. Do you want ice and water dispensers built into your door, or tucked away inside? What about a middle drawer that can work as a freezer or refrigerator? What about getting a model that comes with two compressors so that if your refrigerator portion stops working, the freezer can still function?

Everything you Need at Kelly’s Appliance

Hopefully this gave you some ideas of what to consider when picking out your next refrigerator. If you are in the position where you're needing to get a new refrigerator soon, or if you just want to see what's new on the market, any of our appliance experts at our store locations would be happy to answer any questions you may have.