NOW CLOSED Tell Servis how you would design your own fridge and you could win a £100 voucher

[KatieBMumsnet]

We've been asked by the team at Servis to gather your ideas for what would make your perfect family fridge - share your top needs/ desires below and you'll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £100 JL voucher.

So, what's the perfect design? What colour should it be? How many shelves? What special storage does it need? What else should it do? Is bigger always better? What about environmental factors?

Servis say: "We would love you to tell us how you would design your fridge, from a great piece or art to the outright crazy, let us hear how creative you can be! We look forward to reading your best ideas"

Servis are soon to be running a special competition on Facebook to win the fridge of your choice "giving you the opportunity to win a fridge exactly the way you like it. Fancy having your child's favourite drawing, your best photo or just a unique design...well you can. And don't worry, if you like our fridge freezers just the way they are then that's fine too" keep an eye out for more info.

Please note comments from this thread may well be used on the Servis pages on MN.

Thanks
MNHQ

[Thereonthestair]

Oh and those who say they want an alarm, can I have that too please but preferably that doesn't go off after only a minute. it takes longer than that the unpack the shpping in the fidge and/or find the things at the back. an alarm should not go off when you need to door open for normal use. I think 3 minutes please

[BoffinMum]

Why aren't fridges on wheels, to make them easier to clean behind and move around?

[mother999]

At the top of the fridge would be a a shelving system which you could adjust(different lengths and widths), therefore you could put bottles on it without them rolling off. Full plastic shelves as you already have. A water filter and chiller at the base of the fridge. Maybe a section that is shaped like a wine holder but for bottles, sauces etc. The door could have a 2x6 egg holder. Compartments for butter and bottles as well as the usual suspects.A section for items which have been opened and need to be used in 3 days...I always find these items 2 days too late at the back!...Self cleaning would be lovely or just a crumb catcher!

[WhereAreMyShoes]

I would love a camouflage fridge. To stop me keep going to it!
Flexible door shelf options. East to clean shelves, without crannies for grime to collect in. And easy read temperature controls.

And a little lip round the back and sides on the top. To stop all the clutter I leave up there falling down, never to be seen again. nail clippers

[FreelanceMama]

My ideal fridge:
has castors so I can move it around easily.
has some kind of child lock.
doesn't freeze things if they touch the back.
has shelves that are adjustable and extra shelves for people who want lots of shallow shelves
doesn't have glass shelves (they break)
has an alarm that goes off if the door is left open for more than 30 seconds.
has something on the side to prevent my child reaching round and burning themselves on the element

[fazkin]

Something easy to clean and with more airtight compartments so food can be separated to avoid it getting smelly! The drinks/bottle part should be adjustable to allow bigger jugs for summer days. All shelves must be adjustable to suit the day/event.

[Belo]

My wish list...
Bigger salad drawers (and ones which will go in the dishwasher when in need of a clean)
An alarm that lets me unpack my shopping before going off
No glass shelves. I'm always so scared I'm going to break them when cleaning them.
One that is metal all over for attaching fridge magnets to (my stainless steel Siemens is not!) Only the fridge lets us put magnets on it. Not the higher up freezer which would be far more practical.
Love the idea above about wheels. That would be so sensible.
Also, no nooks and crannies for gunk to get into.
Self defrosting freezer.
One with spare parts available. We seem to be a clumsy family.

[PeteCampbellsRecedingHairline]

I would like a fridge that:
Is Energy efficient
Has an alarm that tells me when the children have left the door open.
Has shelves and drawers that don't crack so easily.
Have wheels-such a good idea!!!
Have a way of stopping gunk getting in that hole at the back of the fridge which then ends up flooding the fridge with water. That drives me insane.
Self cleaning would be pretty fantastic! Even easy clean.
Having some different colours apart from the standard white,black and silver. I know there is a brand that does different coloured fridges but it would be nice to have the option on a budget.
A fridge that uses the empty space on top. I just put lots of rubbish on top of mine but it would be nice to have some sort of storage option.

[PeteCampbellsRecedingHairline]

I don't want much do I!

[ParsingFancy]

Wheels! Yes!

Electronic gadgetry is a bit risky, as its lifespan can be rather less than that of the fridge. We deliberately avoided fridges with electronic controls, rather than a simple mechanical thermostat, because of reviews complaining they'd gone wrong and the whole fridge had to be thrown away.

I assume in those cases the customer was entitled to a refund or replacement, since it's unlikely a judge would find a £600 fridge lasting 4 years to have been "fit for purpose" under consumer law.

[ProbablyJustGas]

Definitely roomier crisper drawers - we actually eat a lot of veggies and can't fit whole cucumbers or the larger bags of lettuce in with the other veg and fruit. These can end up getting frozen and ruined if they are stuck towards the back of a shelf.

A meat drawer to keep meats and leaking meat juices separate from other foods. A defroster drawer - a place where defrosting meat doesn't potentially leak all over your other food. This and the meat drawer should be located at the bottom of the fridge, easy to extract and easy to clean either with soap and water or in the dishwasher.

While we're on the subject of different drawers for different items, it would be nice to adjust and set the individual temperature somehow for each one.

A door shelf that holds a 4-pint bottle of milk without threatening to crack.

Seconding shelves that are easier to adjust. Our issue is the door has to opened all the way before we can access the shelves (awkward in our small kitchen), and then we have to turn them slightly and slide them out just so. And they are glass. They should be easier to get out than this.

Freezer drawer/shelf that can actually hold a large pizza (at least a 12" pie). A shelf would be better suited for this, actually.

Magnetic panels built into integrated fridge doors, so you can co-ordinate with the kitchen and yet continue to hang up artwork/calendars/grocery lists. Our fridge is integrated and the best we can do is use sellotape, which is hard to clean off after awhile.

[chrismse]

I would like my fridge to have a child friendly door, for example be large enough so that one door is child height and easy to open. I hate to see children struggling with a large fridge door when they are trying to be independent and get themselves a drink. Mums could put drinks etc in this part of the fridge and it would be good for them when they have friends over. There own part of the fridge. My fridge would also need to be energy efficent and look good.

[JS06]

My ideal fridge would have total flexibility with shelf spacing in the main body and the door. I agree with other contributors that family needs change during the year depending on the number of visitors and the type of meals you are making.

I would like to see an internal thermometer so I know exactly what the temperature is.

I'd also like a gizmo to tell me what level of contamination there is - like that lady Professor on Embarrassing Bodies - she has a machine that does a reading of numbers of dangerous bacteria.

I'd like the manufacturer to prompt me with emails about when filters should be changed for water\ice cubes etc.

I'd like the outside of the fridge to have a screen so that I can connect directly from a smart phone when I'm out and tell the kids to put the chicken in the oven or put myself a big message to remember to put the bins out when I get home.

I'd like to have a quick and breezy lesson from someone who doesn't make me feel stupid when they deliver the fridge so that I know how to pull it out safely, when to get it serviced (do we service fridges????), how to clean it properly and what to do if I've got any worries.

Fridge heaven would be to have a device which knows when you've moved your staples - somewhat like a fancy hotel mini-bar with a sensor to react to movement but more sophisticated - so when my favourite Anchor butter is running out I\d like a prompt or when the last carton of milk is just about finished a connection to my phone shopping list would be fab.

[Elainey1609]

I'd love to design my fridge
Firstly it needs to be bigger mine is normal standard size and no way big enough.
I would also like to change the colour of my fridge like the old 50's style
one I hate white always looks dirty.
Flexible storage
Changeable shelf level and alarm for the fridge and freezer door
Changeable shelfs on the snide door
A proper temperature gauge or thermometer
Magnetic with a note holder section on door.

Get rid of the stupid egg section

[LucyLRichards]

Oh wonderful fridge, you'd need to be
So many things to be part of our growing family.
We like to run, jump and play you see.
So smooth corners are important for safety.
With your easy to open doors for our little fingers.
And wipe clean services so no germ lingers.
Lots of space for things so yummy.
Fresh fruit and goodies to fill our tummy.
Energy efficient both night and day.
So Dad doesn't worry and has more time to play.
And if you could be colorful and reliable too.
Then Mum will be happy - this family needs you.

[star1000]

I would love a modern funky design on the front of my fridge in black and silver to keep in fitting with the kitchen. A big flowery retro design would look fab in black and silver. I love a fridge with slightly curved corners to give it that slight retro feel but modern too. I prefer not to see sticky out handles but just doors that you can pull open at the side to make the design more streamline.

I would love a wide shelf or space where you can stand a box of wine and just pour from the fridge. We always have one in our fridge but have to lay it on it's side then get it out to pour into the glass.

Cheese box - so many don't have these now, but a slide out cheese box under a shelf is so useful to keep all the cheeses in - it's pointless putting them on a shelf as you can't stack them up and they take up space but are flat.

Love to have a slide out tray for salads etc. with a retracting front cover (fresh box/tray)

Ice cube trays in the freezer door are a must - had these in my old fridge freezer and so miss them now, always struggle to balance trays full of water on top of items in my full freezer drawers.

Lots of freezer space is a must - can never have too much. Large roomy drawers and at least 4.

Drawers at bottom of fridge must be split - a large drawer just gets too messy and you can never find anything. I like to keep my fruit and veg separate.

Lots of door space - never have enough room for bottles, salad dressings etc.

Could you make the doors open with a touch system rather than pulling a handle - like you touch it at the side and it pops open like the metal bins that you touch to open.

Energy efficient is always a bonus but design, storage needs comes first for me as that has the biggest effect on my day to day life and I want ease of use, good storage solutions, easy to keep things organised and fit things in and something that looks good.

[peronel]

A large steel lever handle on the outside (like some large old-fashioned fridges had) to make it much easier to open.

[HannahLI]

I would love a fridge that has optimum storage space in it, sometimes I feel like space is wasted because of the layout. I would love enough space in the door to fit at 6 pints of milk in in a big container. Maybe a clever pull out drawer for smaller items like marmalade, that optimises storage but you can still get to it all easily. Salad drawers that actually have enough space in them and are easy to get in and out. Maybe with a rubber handle on them to make it easy to pull out and stop the plastic cracking.

The outside needs to look good, I don't mind silver or a colour would be fun (or maybe a bit of both) but it needs to wipe down easily without leaving funny marks and be resistent to little finger prints! I would also love an ice and water machine on the outside like an american fridge has.

It needs to be environmentally friendly and as energy efficient as possible as this is what we are now looking for as we replace all of our appliances. We won't buy a pretty fridge over one thats going to save us money!

Maybe a built in bleep if it gets left open, my children are forever opening it and not shutting it properly!

[JoyRoxburgh]

My fridge to be very energy efficient ,with an alarm that would after a few minuets if the door wasn't set properly,Ideally send a message to my phone .The salad drawers not to be at the bottom but above the raw,meat.It should be easy to clean,frost free freezer.adjustable shelving.large enough door space to stand large bottles of milk,quick freeze shelf ,an ice cube maker, a easy clean drinks dispenser .The colour is not important but I would like silver ,a message bourd on the door,seams it would be an ideal place to leave a message in our house .

[columbine75]

I love my current (hotpoint) fridge freezer, it's enormous - the one thing that bugs me is there is an alarm if the fridge is left open, but not the freezer! Like most others here - smooth surfaces (I love that my fridge has glass shelves rather than wire racks and it has to have a frost free freezer

[LentilAsAnything]

A beautiful, funky design would be nice. I've had a glorious pastel Smeg for years and it always gets comments. So something either with colour options, and/or replaceable skins/transfers, to jazz things up a bit.
Or, a transparent front, so I can see what's inside without having to open it.

Optimum energy efficiency. It's on all day and all night, after all.

Inside, oh, I'd love some colour. Why are they always white?

Get rid of the egg thing, I always remove this pointless tray!

Maximum space inside. Adjustable racks (to vary height).

Self-cleaning :)

Strong and high containers in the door, so I can stand bottles upright.

[nward]

I'd love the front of the fridge to have digital display panels so that you could upload pictures, shopping lists, children's art to the front of the fridge or leave it blank- a sort of digital version of posting things on the front of the fridge with magnets.

Inside, I'd like to be able to move the shelf heights easily, adjust temperatures in different zones of the fridge for optimum veg/ fruit storage and ensure that there isn't any moisture building up in it.

For me, water and ice dispenser is also a must!

[StainlessSteelCat]

outside : choice of colours, not just a white box, handles could be more interesting. temperature read out so can see without opening door.

inside : no little nooks/crannies for sticky gunk. shelves you can use either way up, one side with one without. lots flexibility so can have shelves at varying heights. door shelving flexible too (once had fridge with boxes you could position at different places, very useful) and no egg tray.

all parts replaceable at not exorbitant cost. especially those brittle salad drawers!

so I want an immensely practical fridge on the inside that looks funky on the outside. and is very energy efficient.

[VileWoman]

I have yet to see a fridge that has a big enough veg section, so lots of drawers for veg and no egg containers, I keep those at RT.

[Snowyelephantshavewrinkles]

*It doesn't need an egg compartment.
*A door that shuts itself after x mins so if you forget all about it you don't ruin your food.
*It needs to have a drinks dispenser.
*More/different storage options.
*An option not to have salad draw at the bottom.
*Has shelves that can be removed for cleaning easily.
*A self cleaning fridge?