Apartment Refrigerator

Apartment Refrigerator

Picking an apartment refrigerator can seem like a daunting task depending on your needs.  Apartment size refrigerators are considered larger than those compact and smaller refrigerators you think about when you think of dorm type refrigerators. 

They are more in the middle and are sometimes also called mid-size refrigerators.  How you approach the buying process depends on the space you have and what you are planning to use the refrigerator for.

Apartment refrigerators come in a range of sizes with the most important size information being cubic feet.  This is the amount of space that you can use to store food inside the refrigerator.  The dimensions are also as important when considering apartment sized refrigerators because typically you have a smaller kitchen and therefore a much smaller space to put the refrigerator in.  The layout of your kitchen is also import because appliances in some older apartments are not spaced out in such a way that the fridge has to be jammed into the counter area with all the other home appliances.  I have seen many apartments where the apartment refrigerator space is on an opposite wall of the stove, dishwasher and sink area.  This typically offers more options since a mid sized refrigerator could be on the larger side and still work.  The typical storage size of an apartment size refrigerator runs between 6 and about 17 cubic feet.  Before you make any purchase decisions make sure you know where you are going to be putting the refrigerator.  Measure the height, depth and width of the space you plan to use.  Also consider the types of doors you will have on the fridge and what the swing space is of the doors.  If you have one big door and it is jammed into a tiny kitchen with a wall opposite the refrigerator make sure you have enough space to open the refrigerator door or doors.

Other things to consider when buying an apartment size fridge are your preference for freezers.  Apartment sized refrigerators do come with both top freezer and bottom freezer options though the bottom freezer models are not as common.  Bottom freezers tend to make it easier to access your frozen foods and typically are frost free.  A frost free apartment refrigerator is a must for those who need smaller apartment refrigerators with a freezer.  The size of the freezer is small as it is so adding layers of ice can easily decrease your usable freezer space significantly over time.  Let's face it they are more user friendly too.  Who wants to "defrost" a fridge nowadays.  Please keep in mind though that the top freezer apartment-size refrigerator is the most common.

If you have room for a bigger apartment sized refrigerator you may be able to find models that offer an ice maker.  This of course is heading toward a higher end model with the functionality of a full fridge.  This is good for those who entertain a lot.  Beyond just the luxuries you may be able to get in certain apartment refrigerators you may find that you can also get some stylish options as well.  You may be able to find an apartment size refrigerator with two doors.  Two door refrigerators which also are called refrigerators with french doors are available in a bigger sized apartment refrigerator.  Keep in mind though that two door for apartment fridges usually means a separate door for the freezer and the main refrigeration area.  Other possible options are some more stylish colors like black and stainless steel.  Though stainless steel refrigerators are definitely more popular nowadays we have also seen a rise in the popularity of black apartment refrigerators.  They are usually easier to clean than stainless apartment size refrigerators and are also more affordable.

How do you plan to use your refrigerator?  If you are just planning to store milk and frozen dinners in your refrigerator you may be able to get something even smaller than and apartment refrigerator.  You may be able to get a smaller compact refrigerator.  Keep in mind though in this example you would need some freezer space for your frozen dinners.  Typically though if you are looking for an apartment sized refrigerator you will probably be using it to store ingredients for cooking and possibly some fresh foods like fruits and vegetables in which case you would need a bigger sized model.  Also if you live in the city you may find that you do not live close enough to a fresh food type of market so you may need to stock up for the week.

There are many brands when it comes to apartment refrigerators.  You would be sure to find the typical maytag, frigidaire, danby, summit and kenmore offerings but we have found that Avanti offers some popular models including some frost free apartment refrigerator options.  Good news is that there are also energy star rated models in this mid size category.