Should you get a flat door fridge?

There are a few good reasons you might want your next fridge to be a flat door design.

1. Saves space

One of the biggest advantages of recessed handles is their easy access space-saving design. It may only shave a few centimetres off, but in a small space, it’s noticeable. If you have a narrow kitchen where you need to manoeuvre carefully between the fridge and kitchen counter, or you need a counter-depth fridge to align with your cabinetry, every millimetre counts.

3. Safer

Another advantage of recessed handles is that you eliminate the risk of annoying bumps or scrapes when walking past sharp door handles. Whoever spends most time in your kitchen will appreciate this, but it’s also particularly helpful if you have kids running around the place. With little heads at the same height as sharp corners, waving goodbye to a couple of handles might save some tears and a few dollars in Band-Aids.

Recessed handles have been around for decades, particularly on traditional design top-mount fridges. However, they were less common on bottom-mount, French door, and side-by-side fridges, which typically had bar handles to provide better leverage and enable a sturdier grip to open the heavier doors and drawers.

Advances in door and drawer mechanisms have made recessed handles more viable across all fridge types. Improved hinges, counterbalanced doors, and smooth-glide runners reduce the force needed to open larger doors and freezer drawers. Better gasket designs and inverter compressors also help by maintaining even cooling without creating suction resistance. These innovations mean that even large fridges can now use recessed handles.

If you prefer to grab onto a protruding handle, don’t worry, there are still plenty of those models being made. If you’ve got limited space or want a more streamlined look in your kitchen, however, recessed could be the way to go.

Appliances Online can get your new fridge to you sooner. Whether you want a single door, top or bottom freezer, side by side or a French door refrigerator, we deliver our huge range to 95% of Australians with Appliances Online's legendary FREE delivery - and we can usually get it to you by the next day (Mon-Fri). We even offer paid Same Day Delivery in NSW, QLD, and VIC metro areas if you order before 12pm on weekdays.

Plus, we’ll take your old fridge away for you for free, diverting it from landfill for safe recycling. Check out our full range of fridges here, and if you need some tips on energy efficiency ratings, water dispensers, ice makers or any other features, call our friendly team 24/7 on 1300 000 500, or message us via the chat icon at the bottom of your screen.