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If you have plans to update and upgrade your kitchen in 2012 then a new refrigerator could be top of your list.  There are a number of different styles and designs currently proving popular in the home kitchen appliance market, so truly understanding what choice to make can be tricky due to the sheer amount of choice.

Part of your decision making process could be to browse refrigerator reviews online, but even after doing that the chances are that you still won’t be able to pick a new fridge freezer that best suits your needs.  What follows is a short guide about what you should consider when buying a new refrigerator which will help you to make sense of any refrigerator review that you read.

What Capacity and Size Refrigerator Should You Pick?

The standard sizes of refrigerator range from 18 to 29 cubic feet of internal space.  As a general rule of thumb, anything less than 20 cubic feet of capacity will not suit a family of four.  Home improvement websites and retailers recommend the following capacities when choosing your new fridge.

• Small Family of 3 – Less than 23 Cubic Feet
• Family of 4 – 23 Cubic Feet
• Family of 5 or more – 29 Cubic Feet

Having said that, the more refrigerator space you can get for your money the better, because this will mean you can lessen the amount of times you need to go shopping, and spend more time doing the things you like.

What Style of Refrigerator is Best for You?

There are typically five main design types of refrigerator.  These are:

• Counter depth (or cabinet depth) refrigerators
• French door refrigerators
• Side by Side refrigerators
• Bottom Freezer refrigerators
• Compact fridge freezers

The first one on that list is most important, because a counter depth refrigerator is designed to fit snugly into fitted kitchen cabinetry.   So for example, if you are having your whole kitchen re-designed then a counter depth model will be best for you.  They tend to be slightly smaller than standard refrigerators, however, they will not jut out from work surfaces or cabinets and will blend seamlessly into you newly designed kitchen.

Should you choose this style then pay careful attention to the dimensions including height, width, and depth when choosing from the many different refrigerator reviews you read.

A compact fridge freezer is just that: a small refrigerator than will sit under a kitchen work surface – however if you suffer from a bad back this won’t be an ideal situation due to constantly bending down to access foods.  If that’s a concern for you then choose a bottom freezer refrigerator that is tall-standing.  These styles have the refrigeration unit in the top half meaning everything is within easy reach.

Which Brand of Refrigerator is Best?

This comes down to your budget ultimately, but there are some manufacturers that tend to come highly rated in refrigerator reviews and consumer ratings.  These include LG, Electrolux, Frigidaire, Danby and Samsung.  Reading 2011 Samsung refrigerator reviews shows that this particular company is the best-performing currently, with average marks on Amazon of around 4.5 stars out of 5.