The composition and layout of the kitchen plays a fundamental role in making it functional. Today we take a closer look at the fridge and oven column, analysing all the dimensions and compositional possibilities. There are also new market trends that are worth getting to know in order to keep up with the times and the latest fashions in the fridge and oven column theme. For example, the maxi built-in fridge that instead of being housed in a normal column is housed in a wider column, or recessed doors that are an excellent solution for hiding appliances and why not, even clutter.
Refrigerator column: everything you need to know
Let’s start with the indispensable element in every kitchen: the refrigerator.
There are basically two types of refrigerators: freestanding or free-standing and built in. The difference lies in the fact that free-standing refrigerators can be placed anywhere, whereas built-in refrigerators must be housed in a kitchen column.
Built-in has the advantage of offering aesthetic uniformity with the rest of the composition, because the refrigerator blends in perfectly with the kitchen and looks like a normal larder unit. In contrast, free-standing refrigerators are usually more capacious, but cannot be customised and made uniform with the rest of the composition.
Refrigerators are then divided into four subcategories:
- Single door: the appliance has only one door and may or may not have a freezer compartment;
- Double door: lower refrigerator and upper freezer that have two separate doors;
- Combined: bottom freezer and top refrigerator;
- Under-top: compact refrigerators which, as the name implies, sit below the kitchen worktop. They may or may not have a freezer compartment.
Let us now look at the standard dimensions of refrigerator columns.
Fridge column dimensions
Fridge columns have different dimensions depending on the refrigerator to be placed. Leaving aside under-top refrigerators, which are housed in the kitchen base units, we move on to more compact versions suitable for single-door refrigerators. These are from a minimum height of 96 cm to a maximum of 132 cm. Sometimes a single-door refrigerator can also be housed in a tall H. 144 cm, but has a small larder compartment at the top. The same is also true for taller tall units, e.g. 204 cm or 228 cm, a single-door refrigerator can always be accommodated, with the upper part being used as a convenient pantry.
Double-door or combined refrigerators are always housed in 204 or 228 cm tall columns. Above the refrigerator there is always a small larder compartment, which varies depending on the size of the refrigerator and the brand chosen. Generally speaking, barring new trends as we will see in a moment, refrigerators are housed in 60 cm wide columns. As far as depth is concerned, tall units are usually the same depth as base units, i.e. around 60 cm.
Refrigerator measurements
Built-in refrigerator measurements are difficult to give unambiguously, because depending on the manufacturer, they sometimes vary widely.
As a rule, companies propose a more compact built-in refrigerator model, with a height of around 177 cm, and a taller proposal, with a height of around 185 cm. As far as width is concerned, apart from the new trends that we will see in a moment, it is normally 54 cm, so the refrigerator can be built-in in a 60 cm column. The same applies to the depth, which is always around 55 cm, to fit into 60 cm deep kitchen columns.
Below is a table with the standard refrigerator measurements of the main brands:
- Hotpoint Ariston: from 177.9X54X55 cm to 185.4x54x54.8 cm;
- Rex Electrolux: from 157.5X54X54 cm to 184.2X 54X54 cm;
- Indesit: from 177,9X54X55 cm to 186,3X54X55 cm;
- Whirpool: from 177X54X54,5 cm to 193,5X54X55 cm;
- Ignis: 177X54X54,5 cm;
- Bosch: 177,2X55,8X54,5 cm;
- Smeg: 177,5X54X54 cm to 186,3X54X55 cm.
So far we have looked at built-in refrigerators, i.e. those that are to be placed inside a kitchen column cabinet in the same style as the rest of the composition. Sometimes, however, it is necessary to choose a free-standing refrigerator for style or design reasons. These refrigerators have larger dimensions than built-in ones.
In fact, standard freestanding refrigerators usually have a width of 90 cm, up to 150/170 cm for two-door combinations, while the height is usually around 200 cm. The depth is often 60-70 cm. These are therefore very capacious refrigerators.
If you have space problems, you can choose a shallow free-standing refrigerator, for example with a depth of 50 cm. Its capacity will be equal to a built-in refrigerator.
Refrigerator L75 cm : new trends
The convenience and storage capacity of free-standing fridges has led major kitchen and appliance manufacturers to offer larger fridges, in particular 75 cm wide. 15 cm difference seems small but in reality makes the refrigerator comparable to a free-standing one. If you choose this route, it is a good idea to check that the kitchen manufacturer has included the 75 cm wide refrigerator column provision, otherwise it can always be made to measure, obviously with a small price increase.
Oven column
In our analysis of the refrigerator and oven column we now turn to the oven.
In traditional kitchens, the oven has always been positioned below the hob, or in homes where it was present, the oven was integrated into the stove.
Now the oven has become an integral part of every kitchen and is increasingly used in the preparation of food. Also thanks to increasingly advanced technology, baking bread at home or pizza has become really easy. Consequently, increased use of the appliance also requires a more comfortable position, and raising it off the floor is undoubtedly the best solution.
Hence, oven columns were born, which allow the oven to be recessed at worktop height, making the positioning of trays and dishes in the oven more comfortable.
Undoubtedly, this is also a solution that limits accidents and accidental burns for the little ones. New ovens, however, have technologies, such as triple glazing, that ensure that they do not overheat during operation.
Often the oven pillar is also used to fit the microwave, thus having the two appliances on top of each other. There are storage spaces below the oven and above the microwave. There is usually a drawer below the oven and a hinged or lift-up door above. However, the combinations are countless and can be adapted to one’s own needs.
The dimensions of oven tall units are normally 60 cm wide and 204 or 228 cm high. There are also special cases where ovens have non-standard dimensions, such as some models that have a width of 70 cm or 90 cm. In these cases, the tall units must be modified to fit these appliances. As far as depth is concerned, the tall units have the same depth as the base units in order to be placed next to them, i.e. about 60 cm.
Oven half-pedestals
The downside of opting for an oven column is that you steal space from the worktop. In fact, 60 cm that could be used as a countertop are replaced by the oven column. A compromise solution, especially for kitchens of compact dimensions, is to choose half or low columns. These are columns of varying heights, starting from a minimum of 96 cm up to 144 cm, which allow the oven to be placed higher than under the hob, but at the same time allow the top to be used to hold utensils or small appliances. This is undoubtedly a compromise solution, but certainly functional.
Is it possible to combine a refrigerator column and oven?
This is a question we are asked many times. The fear of juxtaposing the refrigerator that has to cool with the oven that instead heats stems from the false belief that the oven may interfere with the operation of the refrigerator. In reality, ovens are properly insulated and have a cooling fan that ensures proper ventilation. The answer to this question is therefore absolutely yes, there is no contraindication to placing the refrigerator next to the oven.
Columns with recessed doors: a new trend
Finally, let’s look at one last trend that is increasingly present in contemporary kitchen collections. This is the recessed doors. Basically, on the surface you see two normal tall units side by side, but once the doors are opened there is a special mechanism that allows them to slide in next to the sides of the tall units.
The space inside is usually equipped with steel pull-out shelves that increase the overall kitchen storage space, thus overcoming the disadvantage of the oven tall units seen earlier. These columns offer the unique advantage of allowing you to work without the clutter of two doors, but above all, they allow you to close the doors and if you have not tidied up before guests arrive, everything remains hidden.
