refrigerator

Eye-popping art fridges from Italy

If bright and cheery retro is your kitchen style, check out some of Italy's latest offerings. They don't get any cooler or happier than these refrigerators we spotted recently on the Appliancist Web site.

The front of several of these refrigerators, sold under the Ardo brand, which is owned by Antonio Merloni, one of Europe's largest appliance makers, (whose company's Web site is currently under construction) are gorgeous, featuring Van Gogh inspired sunflowers, the Italian flag, and a cluster of juicy tomatoes.

The Ardo custom line is available in Europe only, which is a shame as … Read more

Whirlpool to add iGo's gadget recharger to refrigerators

If you dream of turning the front of your refrigerator into something other than a place to stash alphabet magnets and smudged Christmas photos, so does Whirlpool.

Whirlpool again is sharing a vision of a fridge-as-high-tech launchpad, which is not a new idea, as veteran industry reporter Julie Jacobson notes here. (Whirlpool, among others, has been touting ambitious visions of a connected kitchen for busy housewives and househusbands since 2000.)

Whirlpool's Centralpark refrigerator, announced last fall, uses a power outlet on the top of the freezer door.

Vendors are starting to offer devices that work with the outlet and … Read more

Getting rid of the glare on those grapes

If you're tired of bad light on that broccoli or would prefer the banana pudding to slowly appear before your sleepy eyes instead of shocking you from your stupor, there's a trend toward offering swankier and, for some companies, more energy-efficient lighting in high-end refrigerators this year.

The new lighting aims to soften the focus and ease the glare on models like this Electrolux 22.5 cu. ft. Counter-Depth Side-by-Side model. Here, Electrolux trumpets an interior with "tri-level, ultrawhite, shadowless interior lighting and premium ramp-up lighting that gently increases from soft to full intensity."

Last month, … Read more

The cool factor of refrigerator drawers

Have you ever looked at your file cabinet and thought that space was just wasted? After all, it could be holding cold sodas and sushi, thanks to Marvel Industries' refrigerator drawers. Keep the fridge under wraps with overlay doors or go for the sleek stainless steel look or various color choices. An extra deep lower drawer lets you store 2-liter soda bottles and opened bottles of wine. It comes in several widths, so you can find something to fit any room in the house.

But why limit yourself? The Outdoor series lets you toss out cold beers to go alongside … Read more

At last, a place to store your chardonnay and your hot dogs

When planning a dinner party, the most important part is deciding what to do with the leftovers. While it would seem sensible to just throw them out or give them to the dog, Siemens wants you to enjoy them just as much as the first bite. Its latest line of avant-garde refrigerators and freezers will do just that. The refrigerator features the Quickcool and Quickfreeze technology that, with the push of a button, temporarily maximizes cooling to stabilize the temperature and keep those hot pans from spoiling anything that happens to be close by.

While it's great that it … Read more

Stay on the diet with a fridge photo frame

The preponderance of digital photo frames has been a standard rant in this space, and for good reason. Not only are they overproduced and overmarketed in every iteration, from keychains to cubes, but they can also be found in practically every size imaginable.

Yet here's one that may prove to be a good idea despite its original pedestrian concept: a tiny digital magnet for the refrigerator door. Rather than having a virtually useless display all of 2.4 inches and 320 x 240 resolution, we've got a far more practical application. If you're trying to lose weight, … Read more

A fridge that thinks it's a barista

Contrary to popular belief, we really are responsible types here at Crave (sometimes), so we don't want to leave the impression that we advocate refrigerators that feature only alcoholic beverage dispensers, whether they serve wine, beer or hard liquor. (We'd rather combine that function with the TV or pool table, for the sake of practicality.)

For the teetotaling Craver we suggest Whirlpool's new "Espresso" fridge, which has a built-in coffee maker and water filter so you can be your own barista without ever leaving the kitchen. Appliancist says the java fridge was "designed by … Read more

Beer on tap, straight from the fridge door

It's a good thing colleague Caroline McCarthy is swamped at DigitalLife, or she'd be accusing me of blatantly poaching on her beat with this item. (And she'd be right.) But some things just can't wait.

Behold the "HomePub" fridge freezer from Sweden's Asko, which brilliantly designed a special tap recess so it wouldn't take away any internal space--obviously anticipating potential spousal objections. Appliancist says there's also a shelf inside made especially to store "spare kegs," as if there are such things. And the whole appliance, which lists for about $… Read more

Ceiva playing at a fridge near you

Having conquered the living rooms of grandparents everywhere, Ceiva's digital photo frames have set their sights on a new target--the refrigerator door. As ridiculous as that might sound, it's really the next logical step in kitchen-media convergence: We've already seen a steady rise in fridge TVs from Samsung, LG and other manufacturers, after all.

Ceiva's partnership is with Whirlpool, a deal that makes sense because of the appliance maker's "Centralpark Connection" networked line of iceboxes; Ceiva provides slide shows received by online feeds, so it's a natural fit. The Whirpool frames will … Read more