The Old-School Fridge Design That Made Reaching Things In The Back Effortless

Modern refrigerators offer some pretty cool technology. Aside from the ubiquitous built-in ice makers and water dispensers, they offer energy efficiency, smart features like touchscreens and grocery list help, and even voice control. But, on some levels, the refrigerators of yore were way ahead of their time, and had some features many would welcome back with open arms. One such design that some vintage fridges came with were lazy Susans, making it a cinch to reach everything in your icebox.

An unearthed advertisement from 1952 showcased an Australian Rotafrig, which came equipped with four large circular shelves, all of which fully rotated, allowing access to every stored ingredient with a gentle push. Each shelf also had a removable quarter section so that taller items could be stored. TikTok user @dustyoldstuff specializes in vintage refrigerator repair and restoration and shares a treasure trove of videos showcasing retro appliances and their unique features. He found a similar refrigerator from the 1950s, but instead of fully circular shelves, half-circle shelving rotated toward the doorfor easy access. Additionally, the fridge featured built-in wine bottle holders and a temperature controlled butter holder.

The videos have commenters wondering why manufacturers ever stopped producing such efficient and unique features, comparing them to substandard modern fridges. There is a renewed interest in retro refrigerators, but these newer versions mainly match their predecessors by outside appearance only, and lack some of the cooler elements from the mid-20th century. Of course, you could always place a lazy Susan in your fridge for easier access, calling to mind the old-school shelving of the Rotafrig.

While many modern refrigerators contain a lot of plastic, vintage fridges featured metal shelving and extremely strong tempered glass. TikTok user @dustyoldstuff placed over 100 pounds of heavy objects on glass lazy Susan shelving in an old fridge, which held up beautifully. Some models had porcelain covered steel, quaint little drawers for eggs, a bacon storage compartment, and self-closing doors. One model from 1956 had a clever produce compartment in the door that was fully removable so you could take it to the sink to rinse your fruit and veggies. Another came with a foot pedal at the bottom so you could easily open the door even if your hands were full.

We admit, some of the cutting edge technology that you can find on new refrigerators today has the potential to make life easier; like artificial intelligence that tells you what's inside, and the ability to mirror your smart phone. But we also don't want to think about what kind of repair costs go along with such innovation. Vintage fridges relied on mechanical parts, making repairs a bit more straightforward — as long as you can find those older pieces. Of course, very early fridges could've killed people, but by the 1950s, vast improvements had been made.

Still, many agree that vintage refrigerators just aren't practical in modern kitchens because of their smaller sizes and higher energy consumption. Fortunately, there are modern fridges that look retro, but be prepared to pay for them; some full-sized versions can sell for thousands of dollars.