It's probably a dumb question to be asked of Americans. Americans tend to want the largest refrigerator they can afford and still fit in their kitchens. Newer American homes normally have a galley kitchen size to work with and a refrigerator that barely fits. Country homes have, of course, a country kitchen size and can fit much larger refrigerators in the kitchen area.

What about the rest of the world? I live in one country where the average resident doesn't have any refrigerator at all and I've been to other countries just like it in that regard.

Tiny Refrigerators

I'm sure you've seen them. Perhaps you've seen them and ignored them. Whatever the case may be, refrigerators come in all shapes, sizes, and styles. I've often wondered who, in their right mind, would buy a mini refrigerator that's barely large enough to hold a gallon of milk. I'm not kidding.

There are small-sized refrigerators that serve a distinct purpose: Refrigerating items outside of the kitchen. I've seen kitchenettes in motel rooms with that certain size, which makes sense since they're designed to temporarily hold items which need to be kept cold. There are also people who keep small refrigerators in their bedrooms.

I don't have a small refrigerator in my master bedroom, although it would be good idea since it doubles as my office space. I'm constantly running up and down the stairs every day, primarily to get something to drink or munch on. In my case, an automatic drip coffee maker would probably be a good idea too.

Refrigerator Styles

The picture at the top of this article is the exact model of the refrigerator I have downstairs. It doesn't fit in my kitchen and that's because of a design mistake and nothing more. It actually sits in the corner of the dining room area, which is fine with me since I and my family are more apt to go to the refrigerator from the dining area than the kitchen.

That model is called at top mount refrigerator because the freezer portion is on top. It stands to reason that a refrigerator with a freezer on the bottom would be then be called a bottom mount refrigerator. It is, but it's also called a bottom freezer model. A side-by-side refrigerator is one that has the doors open from the middle and the freezer compartment is either on one side or the other.

An interesting combination, and I think it's a new style, is the French door model. The upper refrigerator portion swings open like French doors while the lower freezer portion is just like the bottom mount refrigerators. I can see it as being useful in a kitchen design where the door width might make a difference. You may want to consider that when researching kitchen remodeling ideas.

Refrigerators Outside of the US

Refrigerator styles and sizes are important in cultures like those in the US or the UK, where the majority of food and drinks need to be kept cold or frozen. In other areas of the world, refrigerators aren't as important. Take the Philippines, for example. Dairy-fresh milk is very rare here. UHT milk is sold in liter-sized packaging and has a long shelf life, not requiring refrigeration until opened. Generally, an opened container of that size doesn't last long enough to worry about refrigeration.

I don't know how long eggs will normally last without refrigeration, but it isn't important here either. Fresh eggs in any amount (as little as one egg) can be obtained every single day of the week and usually from local "sari sari" stores. This is just one example of how refrigeration isn't necessary for everyone here. I'm an American and I'm spoiled and that's why I have a large refrigerator. It's rarely full. Actually, I think my wife wanted one more than I did when we had the house built. She was born and raised in the Philippines, but I think she was spoiled by American life during the 21 years she lived there.

I think people take refrigerators for granted as something they need, when that may not even be the case in reality. How many homes have you been in where the refrigerator was practically empty (except for ice)? I've seen my share of them, beer drinkers not withstanding.

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