Best Small Space Refrigerators of 2024
Refrigerators come in numerous configurations to accommodate the small space needs of apartments and condos while providing you with plenty of cold storage options. Read on to see what the best small space refrigerators have to offer.
If you have a tiny apartment kitchen, it can be challenging to find a small space refrigerator that has all the essentials to satisfy your storage needs. Luckily, even small fridges from the most popular brands come with a wide variety of customizable storage features, energy-efficient designs, and configuration types to suit any lifestyle. Even if you’re just looking for a new addition to your home bar or recreation room, small fridges provide unparalleled convenience in a compact footprint.
As your appliance authority, AjMadison not only wants to offer you the best refrigerators for small spaces in your home, but also empower you to shop our wide selection of refrigerators like an appliance pro! Let’s go through all there is to know about the currently available small space refrigerators before checking out what our top picks have to offer.
What is Considered a Small Refrigerator?
A standard small refrigerator is typically 24-inches or less, allowing it to fit narrow cutouts, galley kitchens, and other small spaces. If you’re worried you may not be able to fit all your groceries in one, don’t fret! There are plenty of configuration types and numerous combinations of small fridge appliances that can accommodate your ideal cold storage capacity without buying a large, standalone refrigerator.
Full-Size Refrigerators – 24-inch top freezer and bottom freezer provide the essentials you would find in larger fridges. Dedicated fresh food and freezer compartments let you store a wide variety of food types at different temperatures, providing adequate storage for bachelors, couples, or small families.
Column Refrigerators – If you have a chest freezer or simply don’t store many frozen foods, column fridges can provide the same fresh food storage capacities as their larger counterparts since they only have one cooling zone from top to bottom.
Undercounter Refrigerators – Undercounter fridges can be freestanding or built-in under your kitchen counters for seamless integration. Many only have refrigerator compartments, but select units have a small, dedicated freezer zone so you don’t need to rely on full-size units for frozen food storage.
Refrigerator and Freezer Drawers – Undercounter refrigerator drawers provide a more flexible and accessible alternative to standard undercounter fridges. Drawers roll out on telescopic racks so you can reach inside from a standing position, and you can save some of your cabinet space if you only need one. One clever option you have is to install a 24-inch all refrigerator as your main fridge and add a freezer drawer so you can split the capacity you’d find in larger units between different spots in your kitchen.
Beverage Refrigerator – These small space refrigerators are designed to maximize the number of bottles and cans they can fit so you can always have your favorite drinks on hand. Use them to save space in your main fridge or keep one in your recreation room so you don’t have to go back and forth from the kitchen for a refreshing drink.
How Do I Choose a Small Fridge?
Sufficient capacities aren’t all you have to consider when choosing refrigerators for small spaces. You should also have an idea where and how you intend to use them. Let’s go through some popular elements of modern fridge design you may want to keep in mind before deciding on one that is right for you.
Ice Makers – If you enjoy cold drinks, there are quite a few small space refrigerators with ice makers. Daily ice production from small fridges may not exceed more than a few pounds but should be sufficient for the dinnertime needs of your family.
ENERGY STAR Certification – Small space refrigerators tend to have extremely energy efficient designs because of their small capacities. Less space means less time and electricity needed to return the cooling cavity to a suitably low temperature.
Wi-Fi Connectivity – Many small space refrigerators are equipped with smart technology that allows you to connect them to your smartphone, so you can remotely control them or diagnose issues. Select others are compatible with smart home managers like Amazon Alexa and Google Home, letting you use your voice to operate them.
Outdoor-Rated – Did you know a compact fridge can also be added to your outdoor kitchen? Some small fridges are designed with superior insulation and high-grade stainless steel that can resist the outdoor elements, allowing you to add convenient cold storage solutions to your backyard suite.
ADA-Compliant Designs – Smart technology, drawer styles, and other features make many small space refrigerators easily usable by people with physical disabilities, granting them more independence at home.
Defrosting Methods – Maintenance-free designs are coveted in home appliances, especially for tedious chores like manually defrosting a fridge. Luckily, many small space refrigerators have automatic defrosting and frost-free designs to take care of this headache so you don’t have to.
Stainless Steel Interiors – Stainless steel is incredibly durable, maintains uniform temperatures, insulates noise, and is bacteria resistant.
