Slate style from this affordable GE refrigerator (pictures)

The GE GTE18GMHES is a simple top-freezer refrigerator with a slick-looking slate finish. Click through to get to know this budget-friendly fridge a little better.

The fridge boasts a fingerprint-resistant slate finish, which looks like stainless steel without the shine.

Open the doors and you'll find 17.5 cubic feet of storage space, 13.5 of which are dedicated to the fridge. Unlike less-expensive top freezers from GE, the slate model comes with spill-proof glass shelving.

Another subtle upgrade from the cheaper models: humidity controls for the crisper bins.

That shelving worked well at containing messes when we tested it out. It's also fairly easy to rearrange them.

For temperature management, you get a single dial that controls both the fridge and the freezer in tandem, with three presets for "cold," "colder" and "coldest."

Here's a heat map showing the average temperatures in different sections of the refrigerator over a three-day test at the "colder" setting, which is where GE recommends you set it. The fridge temps are very consistent, and the doors didn't get too warm. The freezer's probably two or three degrees warmer than you'd like, though.

At the "coldest" setting, the freezer performed much better, but the fridge dropped below freezing in a few areas.

The fridge had plenty of storage space for our standardized grocery load.

There was even room to spare for multiple stress test items. Without rearranging anything, we were able to squeeze in a party platter, a casserole dish and a tall pitcher.

The fridge was barely wide enough to fit this extra-large pizza....

Unfortunately, it wasn't quite deep enough for us to get the door closed.

The GE GTE18GMHES retails for a budget-friendly $800. Does the combo of steady performance and a slate finish add up to value? Check out our full review for the verdict.