Sunday 31 August 2008

a true case of design over substance...........

Our last house purchase necessitated the acquisition of a new fridge. I'd always longed for a pastel blue retro style Smeg fridge freezer and much to my delight Ian agreed and we managed to find a "graded" one with a big discount. Not the best purchase we've ever made, yes it looks lovely but it has to be the most impractical fridge for all but the most minimalist of householders. The bottle rack is a great idea, but does ours hold bottles of Champagne, or even cheap plonk?.................oh no, we have three bottles of ketchup and three of BBQ sauce (we can never remember if we have either when shopping for an impromptu barbeque) The shelves are so squashed together that it's difficult to get at anything, and all the wire thingies have fallen off the door shelves so even a slightly aggressive door opening could end with a broken toe.


In an effort to organise my fridge I bought some lovely polka dot glass dishes from Andrea. I cannot bear to throw away leftover food immediately, I'd far rather put it in the fridge for three days and then chuck it out, makes me feel better somehow! This dish is holding on to last nights leftover mash.....................


I find myself staring longingly into the clean, ordered fridges of friends. Those American style ones with two door and, joy of joys, an iced water dispenser. I'm wishing an untimely death on our poor unsuspecting Smeg and wondering if anyone has come up with a pale blue, double doored, ice dispensing, self cleaning fridge yet!

See you all soon......................................

27 comments:

MelMel said...

How lovely!!! Smeg fridges are wonderful!

Lucky you!!!!!
So its not so practical...? oh well its looks great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Leftover mash........add salmon or tuna bind together with flour and hey presto fishcakes!!!! yummy!!!!
Thats what i'm making tomorrow with ours!!!!

xxx

Lesley (Notesfrommydays) said...

Oh Julia I know what you mean!! we have the cream smeg ( its on my "kitchen bland" post )
although i wanted the blue but hubby decided he wanted some input for once :-S we lost that bottle holder though and when we moved we had a built in tall fridge freezer so now the smeg is a drinks fridge!! i do stroke the american fridges in costco still when i go though LOL - thanks for your comments on my blog - i know what you mean about Pearse Morgan!
Lesley x

Lesley (Notesfrommydays) said...

BROSNAN i mean of course!!!!

Anonymous said...

I have the cream Smeg fridge/freezer and my door racks all broke quite quickly, i never had the bottle rack, but it is the most useless fridge I've ever come across but I Love the look of it!! Love your spotty pots, way nice. X

Knitty, Vintage and Rosy said...

What we must sacrifice for the art of design.

It is terribly pretty, though ;)

Love the dotty dish lid.

Lisa
Knitty, Vintage and Rosy

My Eco Self said...

Hi,
Where did you get those spotty dishes - I'd love to get one.
It's hard to make the right kitchen decisions - I've just had a new kitchen and I'm so thankful with the mottled worktop I picked instead of the white Corian I was considering - I've managed to get a stain on it already and there's no way the Corian would have stayed unscathed for long.
Lynne

Tinyholder said...

It looks fab though and that's just the colour I'd pick! I've always been put off because you are paying double for the way it looks and I could never justify it - I'm kind of glad now if it's impractical! :-)

Hen said...

I agree! We have a cream Smeg in our holiday cottage and whilst it looks lovely, it is not a good fridge at all, I am forever fiddling with the temperature dial and can't get it right! We have a stainless steel double monster at home, not pretty but brilliant and everything in it lasts a spookily long time!
Enjoying your blog.
Hen x

prettyshabby said...

oh how weird, our fridge freezer packed in and we've just had to buy a seperate fridge second hand..we thought we would look at getting a s/h smeg that we've hankered after for years but having read the reviews(which were appalling) we quickly changed our minds! They say exactly the same as you..overpriced,the wine rack,the door thingy braking and too-close together shelves. They look gorgeous but at the cost of practicality. We got a Lec retro in the end..having read good reviews about it,it seems great so far and for a fifth of the price of a new one..loads of room and the bottle-rack actually holds bottles...our fridge inside looked the same as yours before..Do not fret Julia.. it's called a normal family fridge !!
My mum and dad have an American fridge freezer and they are saying how impractical it is as the iced water dispenser takes up freezer space..we are never happy are we! I love those spotty lidded dishes..does Andrea sell them too?

Kathy said...

Hi Julia, We have a retro cream larder fridge and our shelves on the door broke really soon too. It isn't a Smeg though as we had a HUGE problem with their "A1 Opera" cooker which after replacing Three Times!! as it was sooooooo bad we eventually got a full refund and bought an Aga instead! Funnily enough we looked at the huge american things yesterday to replace our Cream fridge when it eventually gives up! Kathy

Locket Pocket said...

Oh but it is soooooooooo beautiful!!!

claire said...

I agree - very beautiful :) Smeg fridges in baby blue are known to make me hyperventilate with excitement lol!!!
Love the storage bowls for leftovers (lol I put in fridge for 4 days before binning too as it makes me feel less wasteful...I am trying to improve!!!)

Simone said...

I have the cream Smeg fridge freezer. I agree it is totally impractical. The doors do not seal properly. The bottle rack is useless. I still love it though and it makes me smile just seeing it standing there gleaming!

Attic24 said...

oh no!!!!! For many years I have dreamed of owning just such a fridge, in just such a colour, and now my dreams have been cruelly shattered. Back to the drawing board then
xx
ps lovely to have you back, and LOVE LOVE the polka dot lidded bowls :: any way we can purchase suhc lovliness from Andrea?? She should have a website!!

Lesley (Notesfrommydays) said...

hello again - just to let you know there is an award over on my blog for you to collect :-)
Lesley x

Garden Girl said...

Ha! I sat here nodding in agreement-blimmin things! Yes, they look fab, we have a red one- our wine rack is currently holding a wedges in tupperware box of homemade coleslaw, a bottle of chilli sauce and a carton of butter. Ditto your thoughts on champagne and plonk! We are also on our third one after the blessed thing kept breaking. I now gaze longingly at cheap normal fridge freezers in Currys, and think that one day our lovely looking smeg will be relegates to the shed at the allotment and used to store old flowerpots instead!
The bowls are fabulous- Andrea may have a best seller on her hands!x

Claire said...

It is so beautiful though! We were considering getting one but after our tiny fridge I need something roomy and something that can be fabulously organised!

Sigh

Petticoat Lane said...

HOW gorgous is your fidge?..I'm SO jealous!
You know which a fridge that looks that good who cares if its not practical?! My house is crammed with impractical but lovely things I just couldn't resist!
I'd love one but we inherited boring integrated ones in the house we bought and changing the kitchen is last on the list of things to do..Maybe one day..I'll keep dreaming!
Jane. x

Erica said...

Have you ever considered buying the American fridge and spray painting it? It may sound crazy but over here(in America) people do that all the time in order to make the fridge suit their style. Maybe the fridge was purchased second hand, is in good shape, but is an eyesore. I've seen them with the bottom part of the fridge spray painted with chalk board paint.The possibilities are not endless but plenty. Hope this gives you an idea!
Take Care, Erica
teacupsandteddybears.blogspot.com

Betty said...

Oh! Don't be envious! I have a two door with an ice maker and water dispenser and it looks just like yours inside. It never stays organizes. Leftovers don't get eaten. It never has enough room...etc, etc. At least it could look cute like yours!

Curlew Country said...

Crikey Julia, your fridge is so much tidier than mine. I am in awe and a bit of shame! I'd love Smeg - gorgeous - but instead I'm settling for a big, free fridge inherited from my sister. I've pined after an ice dispenser too (especially back in the long forgotten heatwaves when I was pregnant) but not to be. Instead I keep water chilled in a vintage-style, glass milk bottle with one of those metal flip top lids. Keeps it very cool.
love Stephx

Anonymous said...

Hi Thanks for the comments. I loved your fridge article and your honesty! I couldnt even begin to blog a picture of my house at the moment as it needs renovating from the summer holidays. Just to completely put you off SMEG anything. Smeg is a medical term for any yukkiness on a foreskin - yes I did say foreskin! I am not lying! The cookers dont cook well either. I dont have any although I wish people like Bosch did a version as I think they can make the look of a kitchen. Lots of love Emma xxx

Funkymonkey said...

I've always lusted after one of those fridges - your post makes me feel much better about not having one. They do look gorgeous though!

Kristy said...

My hubby feels the same way as you about our Smeg but I love it!
We don't have any broken bits and the bottle rack is stocked with champagne and wine!
I love how it makes me really think about the things I need to buy and have much less fridge waste than I used to.
I even enjoy cleaning it.Which is a first!!

Suzie Sews At DOTTY RED said...

I adore these fridges, sadly my fridge is one hiding masked as cupboard...a friend has one and when I last visited it had gone in its place a modern design...she was pretty much fed up with the contents situation your talking about...still I offered to take the old one off her hands!!! She said NO Boo Hoo

Anonymous said...

Sell your beauty on e-bay for a huge profit..and but a big one at costco!! Nothing is better then a clean fridge...well almost nothing.

Cowboys and Custard Mercantile said...

Now this is spooky...
I recently lamented the demise of my cream Smeg fridge due to my beloved's handiwork with a screwdriver that punctured the seal of the freezer and killed the fridge .. lock stock and barrel.
I was initially upset to lose my lovely retro look fridge but then when the new capacious AEG model arrived in it's place.. It highlighted all that was wrong with the Smeg.. NOT ENOUGH SPACE!!!!
I am a convert now.. looks aren't everything but I did love my Smeg...
Michele x