Does anyone have any experience with that type of design...that is, where the freezer is more exposed as it doesn't have a separate exterior door? Also, the freezer part looks REALLY small. Is it too small to be useful?

They're on sale for about $200 off right now too.

Adorable but, alas, overpriced.

enmnm

A fridge with an internal freezer ('icebox') is fairly common over here in the UK. You're right, it doesn't hold much - maybe an icecube tray, a pizza and some frozen veggies - and they usually have a lower star rating than dedicated freezers, meaning you can't store things for so long. But OK if you don't need much freezer space.

@enmnm --

You must be really young...
...When I was a kid, nearly all refrigerators were like this - and we survived just fine.

Of course, that predated pre-packaged cardboard box "convenience foods" like frozen pizzas, frozen waffles and frozen desserts. Frozen vegetables, frozen juices & TV dinners were just gaining popularity, and nobody we knew had ever heard of a Microwave Oven...

Our mothers & grandmothers went to the market at least once a week and actually cooked meals on a stove. If you wanted Pizza, the family drove to the local Italian restaurant - If you wanted waffles, Mom would break out the waffle iron and mix up some batter - If you wanted lemonaide, you'd haul out a bag of lemons and a squeezer...
...and if you were at Grandma's House & wanted Ice Cream, she'd haul out the ice cream churn - the salt and the ice - and you'd sit on the porch turning the crank for an hour or so - and if you were lucky, you'd get to lick the beater.

I hate to say it, but these fridges strike me as form WAY over function. Enmnm, also I'm inclined to think that opening up the freezer and fridge every time you want to something from one will waste a lot of energy. If someone has $2,100 to drop on a space saving appliance, he or she might be better off with a Miele under the counter unit or one of those awesome customizable fridges made up of stacking components, which AT has covered before.

i have a vintage fridge which has this same setup of a small "icebox" inside the fridge and I love it! It holds an icecream pint, ice cubes, and baggies of frozen bananas. Mine (being old) must be defrosted, but it was be nice that the Smeg never does! A smaller fridge is a great way to save energy and looks so much better in my kitchen. I wish I could get one!

you can get a smeg with a separate freezer door. hopefully sears will have those soon too!

I am not *that* young, but thank you for the compliment.

My grandmother also went to the butcher and would pick out which chicken she wanted for dinner, and the butcher would pick up the chicken and slaughter it in the back. Grandma would pluck the feathers for pillows and roast the chicken for dinner. I do not want to live this way. Ergo, my question on the effectiveness and efficiency of the internal icebox.

AND, my mother had one of these types of refrigerators growing up; I remember it quite well from my above-mentioned grandmother's apartment. However, they also had a giant external freezer in the mudroom.

So perhaps I should have phrased my question: how useful is an icebox of that size if I don't have an external freezer?

Also, I still wonder about the energy efficiency. SMEG didn't have the best reviews, so I wondered how they fared on the energy side.

The name is unfortunate.

I think that this refrigerator is adorable! Even if it is overpriced I would buy one. However, the drawbacks are it's energy consumption is something I would have to learn more about since I doubt it is very efficient when it comes to that. Also, sometimes store lots of things in my freezer since I don't have the time (or patience) to go to the grocery every few days. I think if I might use a fridge like this in my future guest house or some setting like that, where it is not for primary use.

@bepsf - I don't stock commercially prepared frozen food, either, but I still couldn't deal without a separate freezer. We freeze meat, fresh berries, homemade pie dough, extra ice for cocktail parties, etc. I think Grandma would probably appreciate that! If I had something like that, I agree with @emnem: I would need an external freezer.

bepsf and enmnm: When I was wee (as opposed to the royal we), children walked 23 miles through ice and snow to reach kindergarten. Some never made it.

Come the spring, most of 'em thawed and were as good as new... albeit a year behind in school.

What justifies the price of these?

Yes, Sears has been selling these for at least a year. I bought one from them last year, for my mom's apartment. The freezer is tiny, so it's not the fridge for homes that consume a lot of frozen food. It is large enough for ice cube trays and a large bottle of vodka (basically all a mom needs.) The magnetic seal on the door was too tight at first, but a free service call resolved that issue. (PS: Milan Luxury Outlet in SoHo had them at half price not too long ago. I believe I saw an orange and a pink one there. Perhaps they still do?)

@rosenatti --

ROFL!!!
(I think I was one of those kids - 'cept it happened in the First Grade in Upper Michigan...)
;-)

"The name is unfortunate."

SMEG is an acronym for Smalterie Metallurgiche Emiliane Guastalla (metal enamelling factory) in the village of Guastalla, Reggio Emilia, Italy.

...wait, who had the paper route for 5 cents a week?

I love this refrigerator (the looks, anyway), and would seriously consider it, depending upon the energy ratings and whether or not I had a separate freezer. I have seen the ones with the freezer in a separate compartment with its own door on top, but not for sale in the U.S.

I think there is a larger market than what one might think for more European appliances...those that are counter-depth, smaller, etc.

i hate that they're made of plastic. they just feel cheap in person.

Before you rush off to buy one because you think it looks good, do yourself a favor and read some reviews first. I researched these earlier this year and found that they had absolutely horrible reviews. Easily broken plastic, poor customer service, etc.

Ansela, that's not true. Counter-depth is smaller than the typical American fridge, and many apartments in urban areas need shallower refrigerators.

@ ansela. Standard counter top depth is usually 25.5 inches which means that most fridges do protrude 4-6 inches. Counter top depth fridges are becoming more common but are far from standard.

I'm in the UK, where this brand is more common, and almost bought from this line recently. (They did make another that has a bigger freezer, but I think it's been discontinued.)

If you're considering it, be sure to read reviews online. They are almost universally AWFUL, and at best most people feel like they overspent on it. Reports of glass shelves breaking, the icebox being hard to defrost were common, and I saw more than one person who was on their third or fourth fridge door after it had snapped right off!

The other thing to consider is that the doors on them are quite thick, which means you need a bit more room to swing the door open all the way than you would on a conventional fridge.

In all, I'd avoid it for those reasons. As an american in the UK, I've gotten really used to having a tiny fridge, though, and it's really manageable if you are in the habit of eating fresh food and shopping more than once every few weeks. I've been living with an under-the-counter fridge for three years now and it's really not so bad.

Made in Italy from Italian components or assembled there from third-world components? Pricing reflects European norms including chronic absenteeism problems with their work force. These are certainly unaffordable to the families in my area that are out of work because of the closing of appliance factories that have moved their operation to Mexico.

phoxx -- that's quite a broad brush-stroke you just painted over Europe. How do you account for German quality and productivity? (They are the second largest exporter of manufactured goods after China -- and it's only 1/4 the size of the US, which ranks #3 in exports.) And what of other fine european products, and their longer life spans?

Please, don't blame Europe for our loss of jobs because American corporations don't give a damn about Americans.

Yikes, what's their slogan, "Twice the price for half the fridge"? Also do yourself a favor if you are looking to buy one, call around and try to find someone who will work on it if it breaks down...

@ AMLitt
What is the name of
"...those awesome customizable fridges made up of stacking components, which AT has covered before."

We are thinking of ordering the pastel blue Smeg for our small kitchen, but I'm curious about this other option you mention. Big Chill is to deep for our space, but I definetly want a fridge that is a knockout to look at!

Well said, Mid-C Frank. I did misspeak in characterizing European absenteeism. The thought I had was referring to an article in last week NYTimes on Italian auto maker FIAT's problems with workers in a factory that they were trying to avoid closing.

Assuming that many of the comments herein regarding pricing on these smeg fridges are from Americans. I will stand by the pricing reflecting European norms. Americans want to pay third and developing world product pricing. It is our homespun way of continuing our economic slide into the ditch.

German quality is certainly legendary. In my city here in America our newest large employer is VW . The French are also represented as new ALSTOM factory is coming into production.

These smeg fridges are probably not a good example of European craftsmanship nor an import/service orginization like VW, Daimler, or such. Isn't it ironic that the m stands for metallurgical and is on a plastic fridge?

"SMEG is an acronym for Smalterie Metallurgiche Emiliane Guastalla"

Yeah. It's also something else.

These are cute as buttons but you'd still be cleaning your smeg.

I just want a fridge that won't break the bank that fits in the designated space it was given in my 1940's kitchen without protruding in front of my window. That's all... a simple, basic fridge that is counter depth. My fridge does not need to be a fashion statement. The space is there so they used to make them, I just want them to be made again.

Actually 1960's kitchen... sorry.

We have one of these and it's great.
We were sick of stainless steel appliances that were in vogue during the early 2000s.
You're definitely paying for the design... I don't see why someone couldn't manufacture something like this for under $1000. But hey most of the stuff we purchase is due to the way it's designed. I think Apple built an entire company around that idea...

Other nicely designed fridges were even more expensive. $3-$6K

Big Chill,
Victorian Trading Co.
http://www.victoriantradingco.com/store/catalogimages/13m/i12509.html
etc...

Hammer & Hand has the full Smeg appliance line available in Portland, Oregon - Everything is REALLY beautiful in person!

http://hammerandhand.com/_blog/Field_Notes/post/Hammer_Hand_becomes_Oregon_dealer_of_Smeg_appliances/