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

[VelvetStrider]

I'd like an alarm on the freezer so if the door is left slightly ajar then it goes off after a few minutes and you're not greeted by a layer of snow over everything a few hours later. Would save having to cook up large quantities of meat in case it had partially defrosted.

A deeper door would be good. We use whole and semi skimmed milk, orange juice, lemonade and sometimes other drinks requiring chilling! There's just not room for them all in the door, and they always seem to leak if placed on their side on a shelf.

[500internalerror]

A fast water/ice dispenser.

A drawer that can't be seen through, to put things I don't want the kids to touch (eg the packed lunch ingredients).

Adjustable shelves.

Really deep drawers.

No tricky nooks & crannies that are hard to clean.

I'd love to have a fridge that doesn't cover itself in ice at the back, yet actually stays cold.

[littlemonkeychops]

Our wish list would be:

1. A child lock
   
2. A sensor that beeps when you've not closed the door properly
   
3. A good energy rated so our energy bills aren't sky high
   
4. A thermometer
   
5. Better storage ideas, 2 salad draws is great for salad but what about the rest of the fruit/veg that doesn't fit? It ends up rolling around or squashed
   
6. As for colour, white is ok but silver/red is more fun

[EnglishGirlApproximately]

I want more shelf height options in both fridge, freezer and the door. I would like a deeper door too to increase the storage for milk etc. I would love a different temprature compartment to keep herbs and salad at optimum temperature and a cool, dark (but not cold) space for veg. Individually temperature controlled sections for cheese, meat etc. would be fantastic although likely to be very expensive. I like an ice dispenser too.

Don't need an egg compartment as it normally ends up in the back of a drawer. I'm not too bothered about colour - maybe a choice of black/white/chrome.

On top of this I want it to be quiet and energy efficient.

[Hopezibah]

For me it needs to be a fridge / freezer. The freezer should never need defrosting. And ideally not be too noisy - ours sounds like the runway at heathrow airport at times!!!

The key thing is useful space. Shelves in the fridge door need to be tall enough for things like cola bottles etc.

Ideally available in the right width too! Our builders left us with a slightly smaller than 'average' size gap and it left us with very little choices when it came to choosing our fridge.

[smokinaces]

I have to admit, my very very old Hotpoint fridge freezer suits me wonderfully. It is amazingly designed, just a shame its too big for the kitchen in my new house and in the dining room!!

I want multipurpose door pockets. Ones that move about. That I can take the egg divider out of. A high lidded one for chocolate.

Two or three fruit and veg compartments. Milk tray in the door. Adjustable shelves, so I can stand jars and milk up.

A big freezer. Four drawers. Deep and pull out.

and for 50-55cm fridge freezers to be taller. I've had to look at thinner ones for my kitchen and they are all shorter as well as thinner. Which is rubbish, as I lose so much space. Not sure how I will cope when I have to replace mine. Tall and thinner please. Lots of storage.

[ValentineWiggins]

I want a fridge that works like a pull out larder - so that you can actually organise the whole thing and reach things at the back really easily. With really flexible spacing between shelves. I guess you could do it so that you pull the unit out with sliding doors on either side so that you don't end up losing all the cold air.

Even just the ability to pull out one shelf all the way at a time would be a good start!

Oh and I don't want an ice maker that takes up so much space in the freezer that I can't fit anything in.

[Jojay]

Id like to be able to turn off the fridge or freezer independently of the other.

I'd like drawers that don't go brittle and crack after a while.

I'd like a light that doesn't get blocked by food in the fridge

I'd like an alarm when the door isn;'t shut properly.

[thismousebites]

Sliding glass doors, a bit like those in supermarkets where you can see everything inside. This stops children opening the door then just standing there vaguely perusing the contents whilst the door alarm beeps.
Also a drinks dispenser that actually has enough space underneath to fit a pint glass under instead of just a very small beaker.

[AtYourCervix]

Tardis like.

Compact and fits under the counter yet roomy and spacious on the inside.

Also I like a separate shrlf for separate stuff. Do.....

Dairy shelf

Meaty shelf

Salad area

Yogurt bit

Cooked stuff area

Raw stuff place

Leftovers space

Beer drawer

Wine storage

Cheese place

Etc.

Preferably all nice and separate. Colour coordinated would be good.

[SaltySeaBird]

I'd like a fridge / freezer that was ...

• Bigger, you can find wider ones but I don't have the space. I could go taller though.
  

• Freezer drawers that don't break. Really, just shelves would be fine, maybe a wire basket. Not plastic pull down and snap off flaps though.
  

• No need for egg thing
  

• Easy to see temperature gauge showing temp for each shelf
  

• Better solution for door storage. Big mayo jars done fit, ketchup falls out
  

• Neat containers for yogurts, cheese, meats etc
  

• No pattern options for exterior, they would date so fast. Nice gloss or matt finishes though in a range of colours

[AtYourCervix]

A whole section for condiments!

[sharond101]

Features required,

Easy to remove shelves to clean
Easy to reassemble to make shelves different height
More freezer space relative to fridge space
More room for milk
Drawers under shelves
water dispenser on front
pizza drawer in freezer
whiteboard inside freezer door to record what is in freezer

[Thevelveteenrabbit]

Flexible door storage - we waste a lot of door space because we have 1 pint milk bottles from milkman but fridge is designed to hold taller bottles.

Storage at bottom for raw meat - hate putting above salad drawer

More than one salad drawer - easier to separate new/old food

Under shelf storage that pulls out so using more area of the fridge but still ensuring good air flow so that temperatures are maintained

[ouryve]

We definitely need a big fridge. We have separate 5' tall fridge and freezer and they're often full after a big shop.

I need lots of space for fruit and veg and a knowledge that it's not going to freeze to the back of the fridge if one of the boys shoves it backwards whilst rummaging for something.

lots of flexible shelving and plenty of racks in the door for jars and small bits and pieces like garlic, ginger and chillis are essential. And those racks need to be sturdy and easy to clean.

My current fridge is a Beko and one thing that it has that is really worth the space is a bottle rack that sits under a shelf. It's the perfect size for 5x1l cartons and bottles of milk, juice etc.

[Flatasawitchestit]

Adjustable shelves so we can decide the height / depth for busier weeks like BBQ season & Xmas

Definitely a drinks dispenser, we've had one before and it is a brilliant idea for getting everyone, kids included to drink more as they think its a novelty. Ideally having the chamber removable so you could do squashes / punches in there too.


Good sizes for salad drawers, scrap the egg compartment

Freezer drawers - ready made ice dispenser? Ice chips not cubes (I loved these when pregnant) and sturdier drawers.


Colour - not fussed really. I'd not personally go for a bright colour as if I had a change of decor or my tastes changed my fridge may look out of place. I'd rather something neutral, but would be open to Pastel yellows, duck egg blues and dusty pink.

[MrsOgg]

OK I haven't read the thread so apologies if I'm repeating what other people have already said!

I would love a fridge that has:

-more options for colour, as white is so boring.

• in an ideal, futuristic, world, you would have a little barcode scanner on it somewhere, so when you were running out/about to run out of something you could scan it and it would automatically be added to your online food shop. I bet the Jetsons had a fridge that did that.
  

• definitely adjustable shelves, as occasionally I want to put a big huge trifle in there or something.
  

• the freezer would be silent. Ours is really really noisy
  

• both would come with built-in child locks
  

• something that dings when you leave the fridge door open for longer than a certain amount of time
  

• get rid of the egg compartment, it takes ages taking the eggs out of their box, and why does mine fit 8 eggs?
  

• drinks and ice dispensers are fab.
  

• no floppy down plastic flaps on the freezer as they are rubbish. Drawers all the way.
  

• easy to clean
  

• ok, maybe the barcode scanner thing would also tell you when food is about to pass its sell-by date? AND maybe it would offer you suggestions? In the manner of that annoying paperclip in Microsoft Word - 'Hi! It looks like your chicken breasts are about to pass their sell-by date! Why not make Chicken Cacciatore using them tonight, as you also have some slightly manky tomatoes in the drawer!' etc.
  

• ooh, a jug that fits perfectly into the fridge door, we have some lovely jugs but none of them fit in the fridge!
  

• what about a special place for lunchboxes?

[GetKnitted]

Looking through the other comments here... I suggest an easy mix and match design your own fridge because really I don't want

• a tap on the outside of the fridge
  
• endless drawers in my freezer
  
• a wine rack (ours carries any long vegetables or salad bags)
  
  but I do want
  
• an egg holder
  
• a temperature / door alarm
  
• no defrost feezer
  
• a door jug
  
• an airtight section for open cheeses and cold meats (own idea)
  
• freezer blocks with freezer door storage (absolutely brilliant, we use ours on picnic to keep our food cold, shopping to keep our freezer/cool bag cold even if we don't come straight home, bung in a sink full of cold water with whatever bottles of cold drinks we're serving at a party)
  
  for outer design, I'm not fussy, white and tall is fine, I don't have a kitchen big enough for an american style two door jobby.

[Ramblings]

I want a fridge/freezer that can be customisable from a layout point of view, where you can move shelves and drawers to create the best space for your family and needs.

• space for large cartons of milk
  
• space for wine
  
• cold water dispenser
  
• smaller drawer in the freezer just for icelollys
  
• condiment space that is actually big enough to hold the bottles
  
• easy clean - no grooves and crevices for crumbs to cling to
  
• freezer drawers that don't break
  
• a way to keep open meat fresh for longer - maybe a drawer like the veg drawer but smaller
  
• a way to write down what you have in the freezer and one on the front of the fridge to write down what you've used
  

I want it to look sleek, no big logos, maybe offer replaceable transfers to go on the front so that you can update the look when you redecorate or get bored.

[nextphase]

Toddler proof for opening, but easy adult opening.
We like drawers which slide out in the freezer - but please make sure they open far enough to get a loaf of bread in and out.
Can somone come up with a way to make icecubes that doesn't involve plumbing in the fridge, but also so that random icecubes don't drop out and end up all over the place.
Same with froozen peas - why do they always escape?
Doors that stay open when you open them, but always shut fast after use (ie no opps, freezer door left open last night moments)

[JacqueslePeacock]

Freezer shelves that don't crack.

Frost-free design that is also ICE free.

Better drainage down that little hole halfway down the back wall of the fridge - our last 2 fridges (different makes) have both ended up with blockages here causing water to pool in the fridge/on the floor.

Shelves that can be pulled in and out while loaded so I can see what's in there.

More space for jars, bottles etc in the door.

[IncaAztec]

My main desire is something that displays a thermometer so that you can read from the outside if all is okay. Sick of fridges that are 5 different temps throughout!

Would also like a seperate bit for big plastic milk containers in the door - its cheaper to buy the big ones but hard to store them.

Love the fridges with ice dispensers so definately one of those too.

[MrsHoarder]

A Freezer with a big drawer for joints and big bags of frozen food, along with shallower drawers for the usual fish/ice cream/hm cakes/ice for G&T.

An alarm for if the door is left open and which has a battery to sound when the power is cut for more than a minute or two (with an override button for actual power cuts). Losing food to accidental defrosting is frustrating.

The fridge needs plenty of space for bottles in the door, moveable shelves with plenty of height options and everything that comes out easily and is smooth to clean.

[Willemdefoeismine]

A rack for lager cans and a special defrosting drawer

[DoItTooJulia]

Easy to remove shelves for cleaning.

The option of buying extra shelves.

Salad drawers are useless, just give me more shelves/space.

Deeper doors to allow bottles to be stored upright.

Alarm to say its not shut or the temp is too high.