What would you look for in a new fridge?

[Millie Ivy]

Quick!

My FIL is going to buy us a new fridge today Total surprise, this guy loves to randomly spend money to help out his kids. yay

So now, hubs is taking me to the store soon to look at fridges, and for the most part I don't know or care about a lot of things. I want it to be large enough for good storage, ours is now.I want energy efficient, but most new ones are.

Is there anything you all particularly like or dislike about the fridge you have? A wishlist of what you want?

[AAK]

I have noticed that sometimes the "features" take away from the available space. So, if it is a feature you love, great. But, if you really don't care about that particular feature, go for a more bare bones model.

We like our fridge on the top and freezer on the bottom. Not everyone does though. Also, this is accomplished in several ways. Ours has a door and then the freezer has two pull out shelves. My mom's is just a big drawer. I think that would be annoying, she kinda has to dig around. I like mine better than hers. Now, I think they are different again, but if you go for the bottom freezer, look at how you are accessing it.

Amy

Amy

[ollyoxenfree]

I want easy access and good storage - adjustable shelves and drawers. That's pretty standard on most refrigerators these days I think. I have 2 crisper drawers for vegetables and another for meat/cheese, and it helps keep everything organized. Most important is that the drawers and shelves are all easy to remove for cleaning and there aren't a lot of little grooves or crannies for food to get stuck in.

I also like the freezer on the bottom. It means that the fridge area, which is used most frequently, is mostly at eye-level and within easy reach. I have the pull-out shelves, but because the fridge is next to a wall, I can't open the door wide enough to completely pull them out. So I would actually prefer the pull-out drawer, although I'm not sure it would work in the space I have. I hadn't thought about the digging around in a drawer. I can see that would be a problem.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

Energy Star
Ice Maker/ Water Filter (I never thought I would want one, until the house we moved into had one already)

I would love a freezer on the bottom, its more energy efficent (colder air sinks)

[Irishmommy]

Freezer on the bottom. Counter depth so it's slightly wider but doesn't stick out (and less gets lost at the back).

[Ironica]

Love the bottom freezer. Also, we have a french-door fridge, which is great for narrower aisles. Our shelves are glass, pull out, and can be adjusted separately on each side.

We have ice maker and water filter/chiller, but NOT through the door... which I LOVE! The ice just magically appears in a box in the freezer, while the water comes from a spigot inside the fridge. Much less fragile, and you're less likely to spill ice all over the place.

Our freezer is a drawer, but with a pull-out shelf also, so you only pull out "half" the freezer when you open it. We keep the most frequently used stuff down there, and the longer-storage stuff in the top shelf.

[Millie Ivy]

Originally Posted by Ironica

Love the bottom freezer. Also, we have a french-door fridge, which is great for narrower aisles. Our shelves are glass, pull out, and can be adjusted separately on each side.

We have ice maker and water filter/chiller, but NOT through the door... which I LOVE! The ice just magically appears in a box in the freezer, while the water comes from a spigot inside the fridge. Much less fragile, and you're less likely to spill ice all over the place.

Our freezer is a drawer, but with a pull-out shelf also, so you only pull out "half" the freezer when you open it. We keep the most frequently used stuff down there, and the longer-storage stuff in the top shelf.

I think I want your fridge. lol

Crossposted in Home Management..

K, so what I ended up wanting was

french doors, with a pull out bottom freezer, stainless steel, no ice/water dispenser, filter for the ice maker, pull out shelves, 24cu. Found one in our price range, but it was going to stick out into the middle of the kitchen so badly it was just too big. There were a few french door models that were similar but smaller but they were at least a grand more in cost.

So we ended up with a side by side that I really like. The reasons it will work for us are

Size- it's a shallow model, that will sit flush with the counter. This is cool as we have a galley kitchen (though wide for a galley, still)
Capacity- It's smaller, obviously, but we have an older fridge in the garage for extra stuff. When I get bulk produce, pick up raw milk for people from the farm, etc, it can go out there, so while I like the idea of a sexy big ol thing, it isn't necessary.
Water/Ice- I didn't care about this. But the kids really wanted one, dh didn't care, and it's fully filtered. I currently buy filtered water in a stand cooler/crock thing. So that can be out of the kitchen (more room! less stuff!) and I won't have to run out to refill water. Also, filters will cost but it's a lot less than putting in a filtration system on the sink or something.
Shelves- really nice. I wasn't drawn at ALL to the side by side, but this one is really nicely laid out, and has a lot of little space saving details, like lot's of shelves, a bottle rack (for wine, etc).
It's stainless, which I know some wouldn't want, but I like it. We are going to be putting in a new sink and want stainless for that as well, so it'll be all cohesive. (Yay craigslist! )

Really quite excited now! I'll post pics when it gets here today. :-)

[ollyoxenfree]

Sounds great! Enjoy!