Refrigerator Shopping Guide

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Shopping for a new refrigerator? Follow this easy guide to choosing the right refrigerator to fit your home and lifestyle.

Capacity

The size of your refrigerator will depend on the size of your kitchen, as well as, the size of your household. It’s important to measure the size of your space, including the length, width, and height to ensure your new fridge will fit. Depth is a crucial measurement - do you want to stay flush with your countertops or do you have more clearance for it to protrude? Hint: you will need to leave an inch in between the sides of the fridge for proper airflow and door clearance. You will also want to consider the size of your household and your food-buying habits. These factors can impact the cubic size of the refrigerator and the configuration. If you buy a lot of frozen foods, you will want a big freezer that’s easy to access. Most manufacturers recommend a refrigerator with a capacity between 19 to 22 cubic feet for a family of 4.

Depth

There are three types of refrigerators; standard-depth, counter-depth, and built-in. Standard-depth refrigerators come in a wide array of different styles and configurations but are generally larger and offer more capacity than counter-depth refrigerators. While they will offer you more capacity to store your perishables, it won’t sit flush with your counters. Counter-depth refrigerators offer the sleek appearance of sitting flush with your cabinetry while having a standard installation price tag. These refrigerators are less deep than standard models but make up for it by being a bit wider. Built-in refrigerators are high-end and customized. They sit flush with your cabinets and can include the ability to have a panel to match your existing cabinetry. These models require a special installation that our team is happy to provide.

Style

Refrigerators come in 5 different styles: top freezer, bottom freezer, french door, side-by-side, and built-in. Top freezer refrigerators feature a traditional design that is designed to get the most storage out of a tight post. However, it puts your frozen items at eye level so you will need to bend over to get your refrigerated goods from the lower shelf. Featuring a similar swinging door, bottom freezer refrigerators reverse that and make it easy to reach your most accessed items. French Door refrigerators are similar to a bottom freezer but instead of a swinging door, it features 2 doors to the refrigerator to fit in shallower kitchens. Side-by-side refrigerators also has 2 doors, convenient for shallow kitchens, but places the freezer and refrigerator next to each other and typically have smaller refrigerator capacities. Built-in refrigerators are the priciest, high-end option and come in a wide variety of these styles. They sit flush with surrounding cabinetry and may feature a panel to blend in and have many other optional customizations.

Features

Lastly, you will want to consider which features you want. Smart refrigerators come with a variety of features, including a touchscreen interface on the door and a smartphone app that allows you to view what is inside the fridge. In-door water and ice dispensers keep your exterior looking sleek while providing easy access to drinking water. Temperature control allows you to choose different temperatures for different items, such as meats, cheese, fruits, and vegetables. The door-within-door features lets you open one door on a french door refrigerator without having to open the entire fridge to save energy and easy access to your most used items. Fingerprint resistant refrigerators are able to hide fingerprints and make cleaning easier than ever. Sabbath mode follows certain restrictions on how appliances can operate during the Sabbath. It is designed to turn off lights, controls, and noises while keeping the refrigerator running.

Shop our wide selection of refrigerators here and visit us today to meet with an appliance specialist to find the perfect refrigerator for you.