California Meryl recommended this refrigerator for those of you with tight spaces. The Fisher Paykel ‘curved door’ also gets a little extra zing from the … curved door, and it’s available in stainless steel or white. The fridge is just under 32″ wide, and just under 67″ tall. It appears to be counter depth – 28″ deep including the door handle.
Please note, retro renovators – I really recommend trying to create a “built-in” look for your refrigerators if possible so that they don’t dominate your kitchen. This is most easily done be setting them next to at least one pantry cabinet. Also, have the soffit follow the perimeter of the fridge. And finally, choose counter depth. Back in the 50s, refrigerators were smaller . These these tricks can help you create a seamless integration of your modern fridge.
Thank you, Meryl! How’s that kitchen coming? Did you try those paint colors yet?
And click here to see my other refrigerators identified as good possibilities for a Retro Renovation kitchen.
Greg says
My mother bought a Fisher & Paykel bottom freezer model 3 years ago for her 1961 high rise condominium to replace a 1960 GE model. It was the only one that fit. When we bought our 1957 mid century ranch in Dallas, we bought one that has the slide out bottom freezer and flat front. It mimics the GE bottom freezer in the 1961 ranch we had in Cincinnati. Totally reliable for both. And neither my mother’s unit nor our unit has the ice maker or water dispenser, so that might add to the reliability.
mrsx says
Researching now for eventual replacement of my circa 1980’s unit and this fridge is at the top of my list – can anyone speak to their experiences with it over time? Many thanks!
Chris says
Hi-
Does anyone have the model number for this fridge? It is just what I need to replace a mid 60’s Hotpoint.
Thanks
pam kueber says
here’s the page, chris: http://www.fisherpaykel.com/product/refrigeration/refrigerators/
Natschultz says
Summit Appliaces also makes quite a few smaller refrigerators that have a VERY RETRO look! They are either 24″ wide and deep or 26″ wide and deep. They come in either white or stainless. They have only 9-12 cubic ft. of storage though, but the doors are reversible so you can put 2 side by side. Truly counter-depth! The 12.6 commercial one is only 24″ wide but it has totally retro curved handles and a bowed front! It costs $1,200 at Compact Appliance. Note that it is very tall though – 79.5″ – so it probably will not fit under any standard (vintage or modern) above fridge cabs unless you lift them up or remove them.
If you think about it, the average modern fridge at Sears costs $2,000 (for the popular ones) and holds approx 22-24 cu.ft. So two of these is a great deal (especially since many of those French Door ones stick out almost 3 feet!).
Tracy says
We are building a new home off the grid and need energy efficient appliances. I really love the look of this fisher-paykel–it would look great with our 1930s chambers stove. How can I find out more about this specific model? Thanks.
Pam Kueber says
Hi Tracy, Fisher Paykel has a website. I am sure you can find lots more info there.
Elvis says
Yes, yes and yes! We also had real constraints in space for a fridge, so when we replaced the original behemoth white double-door fridge we inherited from our previous owners, we went with the Fisher Paykel counter-depth stainless model (to match our stainless countertop edge.
It has been just great: I never realized how much better the counter-depth fridge was for not losing leftovers at the back. And with the freezer on the bottom, the fridge area is even more accessible.
Last-but-not-least, it was not extremely expensive. Certainly you can pay WAAAY more for a good retro-ish fridge!
Fran says
We have this fridge too, in stainless. We did not want to alter the cabinets, and it’s just the two of us so it woks well.
Teresa says
I have this fridge! We had to replace the fridge that came with our house (a 194o’s Cape) and this was the ONLY refrigerator we found at the time that would fit in the same space as the old one. It took us a while to find it and we were starting to worry that we were going to have to remodel the entire kitchen (something we couldn’t afford) just so that we could have a new fridge!
I have no idea how old our original fridge was, but the people who moved the new fridge in and took out the old said it was probably from the 60’s.