The original Big Chill has curvier, rounded like 1950s refrigerators. That's Orion Creamer on the right, his uncle and fellow cofounder Thom Vernon, on the left.
The nice folks at Big Chill reached out and asked if I wanted to be the first on the www to show photos of their new refrigerator design, and I said, heck yes. This is their new “Retropolitan” refrigerator, which is their first to feature a bottom freezer. I spoke by phone with Orion Creamer, who is co-founder of Big Chill and also product designer. He explained that (1) lots of customers have been asking for a bottom freezer and (2) lots of customers have been asking for a more mod style — “Jetsons, rather than Donna Reed”.
“We tried to make it as simple as possible,” said Orion. “We’re going for a modern crowd, who want yellow or blue, but don’t necessarily want it to look like 1955. A lot of our customers were telling us, ‘We’re getting your fridge becuase your the only ones who make orange.’”
So with the Retropolitan, Orion got rid of the curves that screamed 50s, but kept lots of chrome. He adds that, down the line, they may make some additional handles available.
Since I had Orion on the phone, I also asked about the guts of the fridge. Yes: The ‘box’ for the Big Chills come from a major manufacturer, such as Amana. Then, Big Chill completely “re-skins” the refrigeratorswith a heavy gauge steel. Paint is powder-coated on. There are eight stock colors, oryou can order from over 200 custom colors. They use what’s called the powder coating RAL color chart as a reference. Doors can open to either the right, or left.
This Retropolitan is slightly smaller in scale than the 1950s-styled Big Chill original. It’s 30″ deep (rather than 33″ for the original), 66″ high (vs. 68.5″). It is Energy Star-certified. Big Chill also offers a smaller Studio Series.
This newest product seems to underscore a belief that there is a market for kitchen appliances in more colors than stainless steel, white, bisque and black: “We’re trying to expand out of being a company of 1955 designs to being a design company based on color and design,” Orion says. Color! Yay!
Link (the new design should be up this week: Refrigerators and Stoves by Big Chill.
Augh!!!! Dang!! The Retropolitan is beautiful!!! And I just got finished paying off my new bottom-freezer from a Major Name Brand. Gosh, timing is everything, isn’t it… All the best to those who can snag this beauty.
I need the orange one!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have their original in the light blue and I swear I smile every single time I see it. I kind of covet the dishwashers but am patiently waiting for mine to break…
These are really, really beautiful, but $2600 is a tough price to swallow for a refrigerator.
I looked into these to match my 1964 turquoise stove and instead just painted my old fridge (and dishwasher.)
http://yfrog.com/h0kautsj
http://yfrog.com/h0vmluzj
You fridge and DW look great, Guy. What is their surface material? What did you use to paint them?
Thanks so much! The dishwasher and fridge were standard metal (the fridge handles were plastic).
I painted them with a coat of appliance paint (I used stainless steel) and then a standard color matched latex. The paint sticks much better to the appliance paint than it would to a regular fridge.
I have had it painted for about 5 months now and no scratches or peeling…
Again, the Big Chill ones look amazing, I just wanted to go a less expensive route.
You did a fantastic job! LOVE your kitchen!!!!
Thanks! It was one of the reasons I bought the house!
Guy, Your appliances are beautiful!! I have been tinkering with the idea of painting my second-hand refridgerator for some time, but after viewing your post I’m feeling pretty inspired! I think I’ll give it a whirl! Thanks for posting your pictures!
Yeah, I am happy with how they turned out. I hesitated for almost a year after buying the house and decided this was the way to go.
These were the appliances that came with the house. A new-ish fridge and an older dishwasher. If you have a second hand fridge I would totally try it!
Maybe when the fridge dies I will upgrade to a Big Chill!
They are so beautiful! Big Chill guys, please put up more pictures of the inside (freezer and fridge).
Gosh, I think I still prefer the slightly older style… but this new one looks good! And anything to encourage people to go beyond stainless steel.
Can some kind soul pity me, take me by the hand, and suggest which colours are more ’40s, which are more ’50s, and which are more ’60s? It doesn’t even have to be particularly the colours they offer since if I pinch my pennies and take the pin money out of my vintage clutch purse I might even spring for a custom colour to get it juuust right… but I’d like tips on shades.
I think I need green or yellow. But what shade, what shade.
Ooh, oh, what about customizing to Sherwin Williams’ Radiant Lilac? From the Suburban Modern line? …Sorry, should I show myself out?
Josie – take a little harder look at this website. Pam has picture of kitchens from the 40s, 50s & 60s to show you the colors.
Yeah I’m just having a hard time with figuring out what the timeline is. It looks like green is safe bet for ’40s-’50s but I wig myself out on getting the shade wrong if I’m dropping that much money. I don’t really want to wuss out and get white, though, I’m already thinking white cabinets and too much white isn’t fun.
Josie, the folks at Big Chill will send you metal color samples so you can see exactly what the colors are. We have yellow cabinets and were looking into buying the yellow fridge, but the sample didn’t really match very well with our yellow (though ironically enough, it was EXACTLY the same color as one of the other yellows from Sherwin Williams we were considering but chose not to use!). I can’t recall if they charged for them, but it wasn’t much and was worth it to be sure of the color.
I love our white one, but like I said, we have yellow cabinets (and a soon-to-be red floor). I say if you have white cabinets, splurge on some wonderful color! Good luck with choosing a good one!
Glad they are paying attention to our wants… Now if only they would give us a French door style (no ice maker or water tap in the door please) with a bottom freezer.
Since they seem to listen to their customers, perhaps we could all ask them to make their appliances more affordable. Not every retro-lovin’ household is made up of two incomes with no kids!
…And $4300 for a 30′ gas stove?!?!? Yeah it’s cool looking, but yikes!
Well I agree, and I do understand the cost of custom work and low volume. But it just seems it’s always something. I guess the ’49 Maytag stove for $75 offsets the cost of the fridge, when figured together.
They are awesome, But, I gave up on these a long time ago. I think they are way too expensive. People used stainless in the old days, too. I planned my new kitchen around that fact.
Really nice, but still too much money.
Re price: Be nice, everyone. It’s expensive to run a business — this is low volume, semicustom work. Low prices come with high volume production — and wages ala Mexico and China.
You make a great point, Pam. Personally, I prefer to have the real deal and was lucky to find a fantastic vintage range and fridge at very low prices. They can be had with some luck and patience.
For those who need a larger fridge for modern family life or want some modern features, I think these are a nice alternative and they are modifying them here in the U.S., even if the original machine may not have come from here. The work on these looks high quality and I think every person needs to choose according to budget and needs.
Great point, Pam. From everything I see these are far nicer than an appliance that you would get at your local big box.
I am sure one of these would be a showpiece in any kitchen!
Sorry Pam, didn’t mean for my comment re: price to seem snotty. They are very cool and I’m glad there is a company out there offering an alternative to the generic big box appliances. Would be nice to see a more entry level model is all. For us, its hard to justify that price for one appliance when we spent that much remodeling our bathroom.
Perhaps if they were less expensive they would sell more?
really nice, but — I think the rounded ones look much better, and I am not sure what is so great about the bottom freezer..kind of like a chest freezer where you have to dig from the top down for things you just know you bought. I think i will keep my white, water and ice in the door refrigerater with my feezer at eye level….I don’t need to have a bottom freezer just cuz it’s the new “in style” thing going on today! Kind of like all of those washing machines that you have to bend down to get the wet clothes out because the door is on the side and not on top….not sure who came up with that brilliant plan and i am thrilled to have stuck to my old ones!
Kathy, bottom freezers have been around for quite a while. I have a friend with an early 60s GE (I think) with a bottom freezer that’s opened with a foot pedal.
Many people like them because it puts the fresh food they use more often at eye level.
My ’47 Frigidaire has just the little “Super Freezer” box inside the main cabinet. It’s just right for ice cubes and very little else without turning the temp so cold it harms my vegetables, but that just gives me more excuses to go out for ice cream
Paul – I had a friend in the 70′s who “inherited” one from her grandma — that is how i know how inconveinent it is to have to move all your stuff to find the things you are looking for. Her’s opened with a foot pedal as well. It’s not eye level — you have to bend over and dig…trust me. My sister recently tried one…she hated it, traded it in after 6 months! So to each his own I guess!
Our “man cave” refrigertator sounds just like ours! and I certainly agree on the ice cream!
I’ve had side-by-side, bottom freezer, and top-freezer fridges. I find I don’t “forget” food in the fridge when the freezer is on the bottom. But, I also have a separate upright freezer in the garage for lots of storage. The smaller freezer in the kitchen is only used for frequently used things, so it’s never very full.
We had a chest freezer though and you are right about those – always moving stuff to get to what you want. I covet this fridge
I know what you mean Kathy but (I may be wrong) there is something about the bottom freezer models being a bit more energy efficient.
Actually, I think it’s the other way around, at least according to http://www.energystar.gov, which recommends “Consider buying a refrigerator with a top-mounted freezer. Models with top-mounted freezers use 10–25% less energy than bottom-mount or side-by-side models.”
I love that they’re doing colors, but otherwise I like the older style better. And also, just too expensive for ordinary people.
They are very expensive! But I am saving my pennies and nursing along the one we have until we can afford one. Just too yummy to resist and American made too!
Don’t know which is cuter, Thom and Orion or the fridge. I hope they continue to be successful; as a color block person caught in a greige world, it’s encouraging to see such good colors in appliances. Think how super-fantastic the mint green fridge would be with metal kitchen cabinets. I suppose it’s pricey, but not if you consider this is a fridge you’d keep for 25 years — or longer, since some people still have 40- or 50-year-old Fridigaires.
I will definitely be going with the light green fridge with my metal cabinets and ’49 Maytag stove! My wife likes the Apple VCT for the floor and we may reshoot the cabinets the original light yellow when they go in.
Did you find out if they plan to also make this style for the dishwashers?
We have held off on upgrading our appliances because they are running just fine and aren’t inefficient but if we do upgrade after these break, I’d consider this Retropolitan for our 1963 kitchen.
If anyone here lives in central New Jersey, I saw a black original-style Big Chill fridge for sale at the Marshall’s home goods store (of all places) in North Brunswick about two days ago. I believe the price was around $1900, more or less. I was shocked to see it there! I looked at it wistfully, but I already have a fairly new fridge. It is a thing of beauty, though–a really gorgeous appliance. Kudos to this company for their sublime sense of aesthetics!
We made the very radical move to trade in our big box fridge for the Big Chill under counter (6 cubic feet!!) model so we could have more counter and storage space. Because it was A) made in the U.S. (Michigan) and B) a low volume item (let’s face it, most people don’t that small a fridge unless it is a supplemental fridge) it was quite pricey, but for us it was worth it. These aren’t mass produced the way your typical fridge is and hence they’re not cheap.
BUT … every time we look at it, we smile; we saved money elsewhere (it was the only new appliance we bought); and every single person who walks into our still-unfinished kitchen, makes a beeline for that refrigerator. And ours is just the white one! (Very appropriate for a 1939 house.)
Bottom line: we love our Big Chill refrigerator.
Clarification necessary here: it’s the base UNDER COUNTER model, made by a company called Marvel, that is made in Michigan and finished by Big Chill. I do not know what the base models for the other designs are or where they are made! Apologies for any confusion I may have caused.
Hmmm – made in MI? That’s a bonus!
However, I cannot afford such a luxury item, as much as I’d love to have them. My current appliances are black – ugh. I’d love to repaint them – thanks for the advise on how to do that!
Nina, I don’t know if they are all made in Michigan. The base under counter model is made by a company named Marvel, whose factory is in Michigan and then they are finished (I believe) by Big Chill. As for the other models, I’m not sure if they are made overseas and then finished in the U.S. or made 100% in the U.S.
Can someone more financially savvy than I do the long term break even costs for this fridge versus a vintage one. The vintage ones are cheaper up front but cost a lot more to run then the energy efficient “Big Chill” ones. How many kilowatt hours or electricity do they save, and what is the average cost of a kilowatt hour. I bet if you looked at the costs through this lens it would be less expensive than you think.
JP, I have been told that vintage fridges with NO defrost cycle actually can be quite energy efficient by today’s standards. The defrost cycle apparently takes a lot of energy. Someone needs to put a meter on their vintage fridge and do a test.
I hesitate to share this info because I’m on the market for one, but this design is a rip off of the mid late 50s bottom freezer GE Spacemaker. Only difference being that a working spacemaker can be found in the $150-300 range, and is counter depth (with no coils on the back), at 26″ deep instead of 30.” Other dimensions are the same.
the spacemaker has a cooler semi-whale tale handle, and the higher end version has roll-out drawer freezer and swing-out hinged interior shelves (cheaper version has a door on the freezer). While I am all about supporting the small business, the mark-up on these fridges make them out of reach for most retro renovators. SMEG makes a retro fridge as well, but it’s in about the same price range.
Anyone with a lead on a GE Spacemaker in CA / AZ let me know. I recently missed out on a turquoise one only 40 min away for 150 — gah!
Just did a quick google and found out I missed a 60s spacemaker for $175 only 2 hours away, posted on CL a week ago — double gah! The good news is it seems they’re not too rare.
52PostnBeam, I sympathize with your search. I set up google alerts for the fridge we’re looking for, a coppertone brown GE Americana circa 1962ish. You might want to do something similar. I have to sift through lots of alerts about new GE’s, but I’m confident one day our fridge will come!
thank you Katie, Pam can tell you – I am the Queen of Search! I posted the fridge you’re looking for last year in the forum:
http://retrorenovation.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=5046
The GE Americana is also my “grail fridge” but they are soooo rare. In addition to the GE Spacemaker and the Kenmore Gavin mentions, Hotpoint also made a bottom-freezer fridge like the Retropolitan, and with swing-out shelving too. Seems it was the cool thing from the late 50s – 60s.
All that said, I still have a hard time committing to the old fridges. I passed on a cheap, mint condition GE wall fridge last year because it didn’t seem to keep a perfect steady temp, and I know repairs on these old fridges can easily run into the cost of a new Big Chill!
K – there’s another east coast, copper brown Americana for sale – on the ‘bay. I posted the link in the forum, same thread as above.
Very nice looking stuff, but waaaay outta my price range. I recently painted our standard fridge with Porter Adv 900 latex acrylic, watered down and put on with several very LIGHT coats. After scrubbing it down with scotch pads it stuck really well, and the dry time between coats was 30 minutes. So, we have a beautiful pink $100 fridge that gets lots of compliments!
I really like that Retropolitan! It would fit into the style of my kitchen better than the rounded style. I’m still using the brown 20 cu ft Kenmore that is the original to the house. I’ll keep using it until it dies. It looks to be the same size as the Retropolitan, as well (66 x about 28 deep).
I WOULD like to switch to a bottom freezer, though. New ones have baskets and such to make it easier to access items in the freezer and I would really like to have the refrigerated items at eye level. I’m taller, so I’m always bending and squatting to get stuff out.
Plus I LOVE that they are made in MICHIGAN!
Jeanne, I fear I may have misled re: made in Michigan. The base UNDER COUNTER model is made by a company called Marvel whose factory is in Michigan. I don’t know about the other models because I don’t know what the base models are. Sorry for any confusion!
Thanks for clarifying, Lauryn.
I really want a fridge with the freezer on bottom for the same reason. I have to bend over to hunt for things in the fridge way more often than I look for something in the freezer.
We have a small chest freezer which can be a pain to dig stuff out of, but we’ve learned to keep like items in labeled grocery bags (all the chicken breasts together, all the hamburger together, etc). So we just have to lift out a bag or two to pull out something for dinner.
I have a vintage ice box (sorry refrigerator, so used to living in the 50\’s I can\’t lose the jargon) and it uses much less electricity. It does not have a defrost and that means I have to do it, but honestly, for the savings in electricity, the styling and the durability of the thing. Every aspect of the interior is so well made and heavy duty and when that door hinge clicks you know it is sealed. My old modern was such a light seal, sometimes it would open if not closed carefully. Even the old metal ice trays with the pull lever are so much nicer than the modern plastic.
My friend just bought a fridge with ice maker, cold water dispenser it does everything, but was Far too expensive for me. I am happy with my $200 dollar find that was saved from a basement in a home where the seller thought I was \’coo coo\’ for wanting it as my full time fridge. It had been relegated to the \’beer fridge\’ before I saved her. I also like that they are over all smaller which means you buy less (save money) are easier to clean as you can\’t get lazy and let it fill up with too much food. These are lovely fridges, though, and certainly nice to support a U.S. made company and had I the money or the inclination for modern, they do seem a good get. Though, for my money, I prefer Donna Reed and 1955 to the Jetsons (though I wouldn\’t mind a robot maid!)
I have a vintage ice box (sorry refrigerator, so used to living in the 50′s I can’t lose the jargon) and it uses much less electricity. It does not have a defrost and that means I have to do it, but honestly, for the savings in electricity, the styling and the durability of the thing. Every aspect of the interior is so well made and heavy duty and when that door hinge clicks you know it is sealed. My old modern was such a light seal, sometimes it would open if not closed carefully. Even the old metal ice trays with the pull lever are so much nicer than the modern plastic.
My friend just bought a fridge with ice maker, cold water dispenser it does everything, but was Far too expensive for me. I am happy with my $200 dollar find that was saved from a basement in a home where the seller thought I was ‘coo coo’ for wanting it as my full time fridge. It had been relegated to the ‘beer fridge’ before I saved her. I also like that they are over all smaller which means you buy less (save money) are easier to clean as you can’t get lazy and let it fill up with too much food. These are lovely fridges, though, and certainly nice to support a U.S. made company and had I the money or the inclination for modern, they do seem a good get. Though, for my money, I prefer Donna Reed and 1955 to the Jetsons (though I wouldn’t mind a robot maid!)
I am so very thankful that Big Chill is out there and creating these updated retro pieces…in the long run this creates more options for all of us in the retro world – whether or not we can afford them. I love the new design…I am one with a retro kitchen but not ‘diner’ style, so these new models are more like it. Unfortunately, we HAVE to have a counter depth fridge or risk losing an elbow.
Lovely new design and thanks loads for launching here on RetroRenovation…a very important source for us!
This is a great looking refrigerator and I hope they do well with it. I’m glad that they are looking at other handle options–something a little more 60s futuristic would be nice.
I have a second hand Kenmore from 2000. Except fot the chrome, it looks VERY similar. I find that a bottom door, not drawer works better for me….and at that price, a foot pedal to open the door would be a thoughtful, beneficial and authentic touch.
Order me a red one! Brilliant.
I saw one of the original Big Chills in black at the Home Goods in Vestal, NY two days ago! The price was (I believe) $1,965. A good deal! I might have seriously considered it, but I bought a new fridge a year ago. It was great to see one in person!
Pam-We’ve been reading your blog for a while and I’m so happy you mentioned Big Chill. We recently purchased all the pieces, frig, dishwasher, stove and hood in beach blue. After saving and counting our pennies for over a year and picking Big Chill appliances instead of a wedding, we are very happy.
Love the look of the new line!
By the time we were looking at other fridges, we found out they were still pretty expensive. So, when we had our state energy star appliance rebate in 2010, we got the Big Chill in beach blue since it is energy star rated. We saved 15%–that was the state deal, so that was pretty good. It makes me smile every day. We thought about getting the panel for the DW, but we will probably keep the fridge as the focal point. Everyone who comes to the house loves it. People hug it!
Our previous fridge was only 18 cu. ft, so the little bit of extra space in the Big Chill made a difference.
http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n321/gsciencechick/kitchen%20remodel/Progess4_Dec2010.jpg
http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n321/gsciencechick/kitchen%20remodel/progress1_Dec2010.jpg
The refrigerator design and concept is great, but the drawbacks are that they don’t come in stainless steel, which is very popular and versatile. Also, the handle-side options are very limited.
I think the whole point of the Big Chill design is to get AWAY from the ubiquitous stainless steel refrigerator. They are, after all, “vintage inspired retro appliances”.