If given a choice between practical and beautiful, I will almost always choose the latter.  Always.  It’s a sickness of mine that has led to a countless number of impractical decisions, including the purchase of our 9.2 cu. ft. SMEG.

It’s been one year since the little beauty arrived and while I absolutely adore it and want to use it forever, my better-half disagrees.  It took us a long time to actually do it, so in the event someone else is thinking about getting one, here’s what I think:

• It’s small.  Really small.  Nine-point-two-cubic-feet-small. Keep in mind that the average American refrigerator is roughly between 19 and 22 cubic feet, so this little guy is less than half of this—it’s tiny!  And while we hardly have any processed food in our house (we’re nut jobs, I know), it’s still small even for the three of us.
• The freezer is even smaller.  This part of it I actually really like, especially since our old freezer was usually just stocked with random things we were “saving” for later and would always end up throwing out in the end.  It forces you to really think about what you’re putting in there, in a good way.
• The seal is temperamental.  We had done quite a bit of research and lots of people commented on the seals being too loose.  We actually find the opposite to be true—the seal is stronger than the refrigerator is heavy, so when you pull the handle, rather than opening the little guy, you end up dragging him a few inches instead.
• There is a built-in wine rack that I think is both nicely placed (tucked snugly under a shelf) and nice to use.
• There is quite a bit of storage on the door, and if you are condiment-hoarders like us, you’ll be plenty happy with the amount of space provided.
• It’s adorable.  Seriously adorable!
• We have a second refrigerator in our basement which holds all guest beverages—soda, beer, apple juice, sparkling water (I’m addicted to that stuff), etc., etc..  If you entertain a lot and keep loads of that stuff on hand, I’d think twice about this being your only refrigerator.  Without the extra one, we’d be hurting for space in a major way, especially when entertaining.

Having said all that, I have absolutely no regrets about buying it, but I know Nathan does—he feels it’s just a little too impractical for a family. I’m still blinded by it’s beauty so I feel great about the decision, even a year later, but I wanted to share my thoughts just in case someone else was considering one.

Note: We purchased this through sears.com and while our experience may have been a fluke, it was a complete nightmare.  It took months for it to arrive!  We were told they were in stock and ready for immediate delivery but that was not the case and customer service was completely unreliable.