Refrigerator Heaven:
Appliances Get Massive

In today's fashionable homes -- if appliance makers have their way -- everything from refrigerators to faucets will be supersized.

At the annual Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in Chicago last week, manufacturers displayed a variety of new appliances that make traditional products look Lilliputian. Viking Range Corp.'s biggest oven now has 4.1 cubic feet of capacity, big enough to evenly cook 144 cookies at one time, the company says. Capital Cooking Equipment Inc. is selling a new 60-inch-wide range -- compared with a previous model of 48 inches -- that includes a rotisserie oven underneath and a 30,000 British Thermal Unit "power-flo" burner for big pots and woks. Sub-Zero Freezer Co. is offering its most spacious all-refrigerator unit, with 21 cubic feet of storage space, up from 15.3 cubic feet. Northland, a subsidiary of the United Kingdom-based Aga Foodservice Group, just unveiled a 60-inch, 40-cubic-foot refrigerator/freezer that can fit 24 soda cans lined side by side. General Electric Co. last week rolled out a six-foot-wide, 41-cubic-foot, double-door refrigerator/freezer that starts at $13,999.

"The trend is this big, huge, bold, massive look," says Don Strobel, a remodeler in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The bigger-is-better trend is being driven in part by high-end manufacturers that are looking for a new way to distinguish themselves, especially since the commercial look -- such as stainless-steel finishes and double-door refrigerators -- has already trickled down into less-expensive brands. Gigantic refrigerators are riding the "Costco effect," or people's desire for more space to store the items they buy in bulk. Big appliances also tend to have "wow" factor that can help new-home sales, which is especially critical amid fears of a market slowdown.

"People are just bowled over when they walk in and see these big commercial fridges and cooktops," says Anne Grasser, a builder in Flagstaff, Ariz., who was admiring GE's 72-inch refrigerator at last week's show. "I'm getting the feeling there's no such thing as too big."

But some consumers are finding that there are downsides to buying a stove -- or refrigerator -- on steroids. When Richelle Cochran, an oncology nurse in Sacramento, Calif. was redoing her kitchen last year, she opted for a 48-inch-wide refrigerator to replace her two smaller ones. "When you look at fridges, all of them are big, and you kind of lose perspective," says Ms. Cochran, who was taken aback at the size when it was delivered several weeks later. "I thought, 'What have I done?' " Still, she and her husband have found it useful for entertaining and believe it is a good investment. "We didn't build the kitchen just for us. As some point we are going to sell, and if you've got a fully equipped kitchen that can serve any size family, you're better off," says her husband, Roger.

Indeed, even as homeowners begin to avoid undertaking big renovation and addition projects, manufacturers are hoping that people will continue putting money into rooms where they spend the most time and can get the biggest return on their investment -- such as kitchens and bathrooms.

Research shows that people are spending more on goods like refrigerators, ovens and washing machines. Americans spent $26.2 billion on major appliances in 2005, up 21.6% from the previous year, with dollar sales of ranges rising 21% and refrigerators jumping 33%, according to NPD Group, a market research firm in Port Washington, N.Y.

It's not just kitchen appliances that are growing. Washers and dryers also are boasting increased capacity: LG Electronics Inc. lays claim to the largest front-loader on the market, at four cubic feet. A spokeswoman says it can wash 16 pairs of jeans at once. Kohler Co. last week introduced a new version of its $10,000 "Sok" bathtub that is 2.5 feet longer than the original and designed to accommodate two people. Consumers even want a bigger view: Responding to increasingly elevated ceilings, Marvin Windows and Doors offers a supersized double-hung window that is 5.5 feet wide and more than 10 feet tall and uses a spring system to facilitate opening and closing. Traditionally, double-hung window size was limited because opening and closing was too hard.

While high-end brands are most aggressively promoting what could be considered the SUV-equivalent of home products, less expensive brands are beginning to catch up. For example, Sears last week unveiled its Kenmore PRO line, complete with a 33.7-cubic-foot refrigerator/freezer for $4,300 and commercial-looking ranges and ovens for under $4,000. Previously, the biggest refrigerator sold at Sears was 29.8 cubic feet, a spokesman said.

Smaller items are also bulking up. Franke Consumer Products Inc., of Hatfield, Pa., now has a new line of commercial-looking faucets that are 29 inches tall. (The largest the company offered last year was around 18 inches.) Jay Beaumont, vice president of marketing, said consumers wanted the larger size to fill commercial pots and match industrial-sized appliances. Delta Faucet Co., a subsidiary of Masco Corp., recently introduced a motion activated kitchen faucet under its high-end Brizo brand. In addition to the sensor technology, the faucet is thick and 15 inches high. Says Charlie McTargett, Delta's senior director of research and development, "All of these big appliances had caused existing faucets to look a little diminutive."

Bigger appliances can come with hidden costs -- and headaches. While some extra-large products, like refrigerators, come in several pieces and can be assembled once inside, contractors say some models can't fit through the front door and must be brought on to people's decks and through sliding doors. Just figuring out how to get an especially large or heavy appliance into a tight space can take extra time.

Jacqueline Terry, a Manhattan real-estate agent who is renovating her Harlem brownstone, recently received her 36-inch refrigerator but is still waiting for her new, 27-inch range. Her architect, Robert Arthur King, has for several months been speaking with the manufacturer and devising a plan to safely and carefully get the nearly 600-pound item through 30-inch doorways and over a countertop. "It's going to be tough maneuvering it," he says.

And getting a mega-refrigerator or a commercial-type range into the house is only the beginning. With bigger refrigerators, the energy bill can go up. And many large ranges demand more gas than normal lines can handle, requiring a replacement of the home's main gas line -- which contractors say can cost as much as several thousand dollars. In addition, a big range will need a costly hood, and venting to the outside may require another new pipe, costing an additional $2,000 for installation. Says Don Sever, a remodeler in Oakton, Va., "This is something people need to think about beforehand."

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