Red refrigerators — 10 places to buy one

Yes: We’ve identified 11 places to find a red refrigerator! It was only after I wrote about where to find pink refrigerators that I did some research and found that there is even greater demand for red refrigerators. I’m guessing this is because… there are lots of folks creating a retro kitchen that’s black, white and red — a classic “diner kitchen’ color palette. White and red kitchens are also popular, and I suspect there are more than a few men looking for a red fridge for the man cave or garage. No matter what the reason, red refrigerators are smokin’ hot — evidenced by the fact that I found even more of them available than pastel pink. Read on for nine 10 places to find a full-sized red refrigerator, plus a mini-make-that-11. Above: One of the several designs of retro refrigerators from Big Chill. 

Following along with my photo spread, above, starting at the top and moving left to right:

• #1 — Big Chill’s classic retro refrigerator comes in two sizes, a 20.9 cu.ft. unit and a 14.4 cu.ft. unit. They also have an undercounter fridge that you can get in their complete color palette, including red. Link: Big Chill refrigerators.
• #2 — Big Chill’s Retropolitan refrigerator has more of a Jetson’s look and the freezer on the bottom. It is 18.5 cu.ft in size– and it is 2″ less deep so sticks out less. Link: Big Chill refrigerators.
• #3 — The Northstar refrigerator by Elmira Stove Works comes in three sizes and variations: The 19 cu.ft. model has the freezer on the bottom, while the freezer is on the top in 18.2 cu.ft. and 11 cu.ft. models. You can also get the 11 cu.ft. model with a built-in kegger. Link: Northstar refrigerators.
• #4 — The Smeg ’tis a baby doll, coming in at just 9.2 cu.ft., but she is oh so cute. Link: Smeg refrigerators.
• #5 — Take your plain-Jane refrigerator to an auto body shop or industrial painting place — Professional painting joints can consult online paint color guides to match or help get you the color you want. The advantages of professional painting include (1) they have access to very durable automotive and professional paints suitable for various substrates, (2) they use dust-free booths to avoid itsy bitsies ruining your smooth glossy finish, and (3) someone else does it. However, you will have to get your fridge there and back, and this will cost you, of course.
• #6 — Spray paint your existing fridge yourself. Rustoleum’s Apple Red gloss spray paint should help you do the trick. Rustoleum has an epoxy spray paint specifically for appliances — but it does not come in red . So, I asked Rustoleum if they could advise on how to use this less fancy red spray paint to do a fridge, either metal or vinyl/plastic. Here is what they said: “Painter’s Touch would work fine on the fridge.  We also have a spray paint called Painter’s Touch Ultra Cover 2X that also comes in Candy Pink. The real advantage of using Ultra Cover 2X is that it offers twice the coverage of general purpose spray paints.  It also has distribution at The Home Depot and many hardware and paint stores, so it’s easy to buy anywhere in the US. According to our brand management team, before painting the vinyl/plastic parts of the fridge, prime them with Specialty Plastic Primer.  For metal, you can prime with a Stops Rust Clean Metal primer for added durability. You could use Painters Touch Ultra Cover 2X Clear over the Apple Red, but priming would be the most important step. If you topcoat with the Clear, apply it within 1 hour after painting or after 48 hours.”
• #7 –– Viking Range — Looks to me like you can get Viking Range built-in refrigerators in a two shades of red — Racing Red and Candy Red. There are also stoves and other complementary appliances to match.
• #8 — To complement its line of 1800s-style stoves, Elmira Stove Works also has designed a refrigerator, and you can get it in a shade of red.
• #9 — Check online, there are a variety of mini fridges now available in a variety of colors. 

And update #10 — See the comments for Summit’s refrigerator painting program.

• Update March 2019: See my complete guide to buying a retro refrigerator here. I did a lot of research and put all the options on to one page.