Kitchen Appliance Design Guide: Refrigeration
Kitchen Design> Appliances> Refrigeration
Refrigeration was the biggest technological breakthrough in kitchens in the twentieth century. Prior to reliable home refrigeration the cook shopped everyday and had to use all their perishable ingredients each day. Now we can freeze food in quantities, store condiments and keep fresh vegetables, seafood and meats available for impromptu cooking. The refrigerator is both a tool and a storage place. As a tool it allows you to cool or freeze food as part of a recipe, make cold drinks and have instant access to ice. As a storage place it fits in with your cabinetry design and should be chosen for the way you buy food.
Refrigerators use a lot of energy although we are seeing major breakthroughs in energy efficiency because of design incentives offered by utility providers. Practically speaking, your choice of refrigerator should be based on the size of your family, availability of fresh food, your shopping habits and how you cook. Big families need large refrigerators. If you’re a single or a couple with the kids grown and out of the house there is little need for an enormous unit. All too often we find large commercial refrigerators with very little in them, chosen for their appearance more than any practical need.
If you buy in large quantities to save money, feed a large family or be prepared for unexpected needs, you may need a large freezer. However, in most cases an inexpensive freezer can be used in the garage or basement rather than in the kitchen for items that you’ve purchased or prepared in quantity.
Refrigerators used to come in one color: White. Then we saw the introduction of colors like almond and green. Now many refrigerators are built to accept outside panels that can be made to match cabinetry or of laminates. Not only do they allow you to disguise these large appliances, they also make it possible to easily change color and appearance.
The other design breakthrough in refrigeration is the availability of different sizes and shapes. Refrigerators used to be a universal depth that often made it hard to build them flush with a row of shallower cabinetry. Now there are different depths available and units made to fit flush with various size cabinetry. Refrigeration is also available in drawer units, under and over counter units and other unusual configurations. Their overall usefulness is determined to a much greater degree by the designer than in the past when choices were limited.
