Product Advice:
Refrigerators Get Bigger and Better
Faucets Come Clean
with New Decorating Finishes
By Jeremy Powers
If
you can remember the old refrigerator in your grandmother's basement, the
one with the cooling unit looking like a basket of clothes on top, you can
easily appreciate the advantages of new refrigerators. But even if you can't
remember the previous generation of refrigerators, you should know that
we are the verge of another generation.
In today's most exclusive homes and best remodeled kitchens, refrigerators
from Sub-Zero and Viking are the replacements of choice. Both companies
sell units that are either built-in or look built-in. It signifies that
the owner of this house takes cooking seriously enough to require the
very best. Now companies that have made traditional-looking refrigerators,
like Whirlpool, KitchenAid and, of course, Frigidaire, are now all making
lines of high-end refrigerators that compete with the biggest status brands.
Refrigerators have become more important in our lives. Efforts to make
us eat healthier usually have resulted in people buying more produce.
We shop less frequently, relying on our own refrigerator and freezer to
keep food fresh longer. And whereas our parents usually had just milk
cold in the fridge, today people are keeping everything from sparkling
mineral water to homebrewed beer cold.
Refrigerators offer more features today, although they're not as noticeable
as the water and ice ports in the door. More attention is given to produce
and beverages. Most can store large beverage containers in the door. The
Viking built-in has two compartment-wide drawers for produce and another
compartment-wide drawer that can be used for produce or fresh meat.
In general, today's refrigerators are larger than those made just a few
years ago. Today, typical refrigerators have between 22 and 25 cubic feet
of room, compared with a range of 16 to 19 cubic feet a decade ago. And
specialty refrigerators to hold wine or produce have become popular, in
addition to large traditional refrigerators.
Best Built-In
The new Sub-Zero 600
Series built-in refrigerator
replaces the company's longtime 500 Series. It offers more design options,
including this design that overlays a wood cabinet look to the refrigerator
door.
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Bi-Polar
All built-in Sub-Zero refrigerators feature
dual
refrigeration systems.
This means one system keeps the freezer cold
and one system cools the refrigerator. Most refrigerators have one system
and it's sort of a juggling act to get both the freezer compartment and
the refrigerator the right temperatures.
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Bright Idea
Most of the top end refrigerators come in
stainless steel.
Unlike painted steel, like most refrigerators, stainless steel
will easily withstand 20 years of punishment while looking good the whole
time. It also gives the kitchen a professional look that many people enjoy.
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Elegant Everyday
The built-in look isn't for everybody. Some people want a more traditional
look in refrigerators, but also want high quality. This
Whirlpool
Gold
features traditional styling and price, but promises the best
performance and storage flexibility available.
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Built-In Look
Some people want the built-in look, but don't want to pay several thousand
dollars for the big brands. Frigidaire was one of the first to offer high-end
looking appliances as a part of its Gallery series.
This
24 cubic foot refrigerator
comes in stainless steel or can be fitted
with custom wooden panels to match the cabinets.
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Under Counter Extra
Under counter specialty refrigerators like
this
pair of 15" units from Marvel
are useful in the kitchen or bar. The
Wine Grotto on the left is designed for horizontal wine storage. And the
other one can hold 3 cubic feet of just about anything.
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Wine's Time
During the last decade, wine racks became popular in kitchens, except
that sunlight and heat are bad for wine. Typical refrigerators are not
good for champagne because the vibration caused by the motor flattens
the bubbly wine over time.
This Wine Cellar from
Viking
is designed to store up to 50 bottles of wine and stores them
without vibration.
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Big And Accurate
This
KitchenAid 25 cubic foot refrigerator
is among the biggest ones made. Despite it's cavernous interior, new electronic
controls keep it within 1 degree range of the setting. This unit is in
a new KitchenAid color, called Biscuit.
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Nice Ice
In campers and boats for years, stand-alone ice makers are becoming popular
either in the kitchen or the bar. This
heavy
duty ice maker from Viking
is designed to handle the busiest margarita
making by producing up to 51 pounds of ice in 24 hours. |
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