Refrigerators are a pretty universal appliance. Unless you are rich enough to order three square meals a day from Door Dash (and disciplined enough to leave no leftovers), then you are going to need a refrigerator in which to keep all your food fresh and healthy.
These days, refrigerators are taken for granted. Most rental apartments will include a refrigerator simply because they are too big to move easily and because it is accepted that they are an essential part of any living arrangements.
Plus, for the most part, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of magic behind refrigerators. Built-in refrigerators often cost a little bit more. In some deluxe models, the freezer may be larger or smaller, and some include extra perks like crushed ice dispensers and windows, but at the end of the day, fridges are just big cold metal boxes.
Naturally, exceptions to this rule are hiding around – they are simply not kept at your local appliance store. There are some truly luxurious fridges out there, but are they worth the extra cash?
Just check out these 6 super-expensive refrigerators and decide for yourself!
Flatshare Fridge
Around $7000
An ideal choice for the customization junkie, the Flatshare Fridge is a modular fridge that lets you pile up between 4 and 8 fully independent mini-fridges.
The Flatshare Fridge was created by Stefan Buchberger, an industrial design student from Austria. He presented this fridge to the local Electrolux Design Lab in 2008, where he ended up as one of the 10 finalists.
Under Buchberger’s original vision, the Flatshare Fridge was meant to become a mainstay of college dormitories and shared apartments. The goal was to stop the constant bickering for space among different residents or the possibility of having someone accidentally move your meat in the shared freezer.
The fridge consists of a series of square, stackable boxes, plus a controlling compressor at the bottom. Each module comes in one of 5 bright colors and has independent temperature controls and adjustable shelves. This system still depends on all residents trusting each other enough to respect everyone else’s property – but if your living arrangements don’t inspire such good faith and are willing to sacrifice the esthetics, you can always put a small padlock on your fridge door handles.
However, the shared compressor helps preserve energy: if you stack at least 4 modules, you will be using up to 30% less electricity than if you were keeping 4 different mini-fridges in each bedroom. Although quite pricier than a standard fridge, if you decide to split the cost among all the residents in the house, the Flatshare Fridge will be a surprisingly sensible choice.
Liebherr ECBN 6256 Premium Plus Refrigerator
$8953
Premium indeed! This refrigerator steers clear from anything “standard” or cheap-looking by heading straight for luxury finishes and top-of-the-line technology. Even at first glance, the stainless steel casing immediately sets it apart from what you would usually find at a home store. In addition, this marvel of German design includes several technological improvements meant to bring your home kitchen to professional level.
First is the NoFrost freezer technology. It recirculates very cold air around the freezer, which will keep all items inside below freezing point without allowing ice to form. Any meat you place here will remain fresh and protected from bacteria but won’t form any indivisible blocks of meat if you forget to separate it properly. It will also keep your meat from losing flavor or nutrients due to frostbite.
On the other extreme, its BioFresh vegetable cooler will keep your vegetables fresh and dry. It achieves this by expelling any moisture that would accidentally damage tomato skins or broccoli florets. Finally, the DuoCooling system prevents any exchange of air between the main section and the freezer. This will simultaneously save energy by making temperature control more efficient and will ensure no scents or aromas are mixed between your foods.
Northland Master Series GS72RFI
$12,600
Northland is not a very well-known brand in the world of household appliances. This is because its main area of specialty is professional food storage, especially in the restaurant and winery business. Naturally, this means that when they wanted to dip their toes in the home market, the company headed straight for a target audience that spoke the same languages and held the same priorities.
The Master Series GS72RFI fridge is not just meant to hold your normal groceries – if anything, it just has a standard fridge and meat locker on the side. This behemoth is 72 inches high and includes its own small independently-controlled wine vault.
In order to keep everything organized, this fridge combines an adjustable set of standard tempered glass shelves with aluminum ones, which will add a discreet layer of chill right underneath the products that need it. The entire interior box is also lined with stainless steel. The inclusion of metal materials on the inside will provide an interesting industrial-chic esthetic appeal. Besides, aluminum and stainless steel are also much easier to clean than standard glass and will not trap any smells.
You would be hard-pressed to realize everything this fridge hides from the outside, though. The one-piece constructions can hide your grape-based fortune inside a sleek mom-magnetic stainless steel case.
Northland 60SSG-SGX
$14,000
The Northland 60SSG-SGX is a slightly newer, better-looking iteration of the GS72RFI. It has a slightly larger capacity than the previous model (30 cubic feet of storage space, as opposed to the 24) but the same independent cooling capacity. It preserves the chilled wine cave and the flexible metal interiors. However, it replaces the stainless steel door with a French-door-inspired glass and an aluminum one. In this way, the left side (right in front of the wine holder) can easily become an elegant display case for your wine collection.
Despite offering the same degree of insulation and energy efficiency, this fridge will allow you to display your personal wine collection from two sides.
Sub-Zero Pro 48
$16,950
https://www.subzero-wolf.com/sub-zero/full-size-refrigeration/refrigeration/pro4850g
In the world of premium refrigeration, symmetrical wardrobe-like doors seem to be all the rage. At this price range, a beautiful design, superb capacity, and quality materials are also expected.
The Sub Zero Pro 48 is made from polished stainless steel and completely metal interiors. Inside, it offers enough room for up to 30 cubic feet worth of frozen and fresh foods, a spacious freezer, and a double-sided vegetable chilled box.
The technology packed by this model is also worthy of its price tag (even if it technically costs as much as a car). This refrigerator has a dual engine with three evaporators and two compressors, all able to operate independently. These can keep different temperatures on different sides of the main compartment. In addition, the ventilation system is made to keep odors separate between the door, the vegetable chiller, and the shelves.
The shelves and storage bins are also made from stainless steel. They were designed to slide easily without jamming, even if you adjust the height.
You can choose between a dual stainless steel door or replace one of the doors with a triple-pane glass door. The Sub Zero Pro also has an ice maker and a water dispenser with a washable filter. Finally, its modern look is rounded off by an exterior temperature display, complete with a small button pad that will let you adjust it without interfering with the fridge’s interior.
Meneghini La Cambusa
Between $26,000 and $41,500
The most expensive home refrigerator in the world is not just a refrigerator: this integrated model is actually a complete set of kitchen appliances in one, all cleverly hidden beneath a stylish mid-century-inspired kitchen cabinet.
The Meneghini La Cambusa refrigerator looks like a very large three-door vintage cabinet. It is over 6 feet tall and nine feet wide. This can provide you with a total of 75 gallons of storage capacity. However, this refrigerator truly shines when you don’t take advantage of its complete capacity. As an integrated model, you have the option to add extra appliances inside the refrigerator – but never had such a highly customizable model been made available to the public before.
Some of the possible options include a flat-screen TV (which replaces one of the doors), a coffee maker, an ice dispenser, and even a microwave. Alternatively, you can opt to add an extra freezer “cabinet” for a total of 18 gallons of space in which to store meats and ice cream – or better yet, to keep them completely separate.
Instead of hiding all these possibilities inside a built-in fridge that could be hidden by the adjacent pantry doors, Meneghini took a bold step here. They designed the kind of statement cabinet that you would never want to hide. Its distinctive rounded edges and unapologetically Italian may require you to re-decorate your entire kitchen around your new La Cambusa – but if you can pay over $30,000 for a fridge, then you’re probably not worried about decoration budgets.
Is That All?
For now, these are the most expensive and luxurious refrigerators available on the market. They all combine bold design choices with strong cooling power and exacting technological standards. Whether you are planning to buy one of these models or are just trying to get a quick look at how the other side preserves its food, this list includes only the best and priciest of home appliances.
