Ancillary spaces are getting the luxury reboot—and we’re not complaining. From coffee, shake, and snack refrigerators in home gyms, main bedrooms, garages, and more, to special doggy pantries replete with homemade and fresh, pre-bought food that needs to be kept cool, bathroom beauty storage, and so much more—refrigeration is no longer relegated to the kitchen. In fact, NKBA’s recent 2024 Kitchen Trends Report states that 93% of K&B clients are looking for flexible refrigeration that meets their needs and seamlessly blends into the overall design of the home.
To delve a bit more into the subject, we hosted an enlightening panel discussion in collaboration with Cambriaalong with interior designers Vanessa Deleon and Toni Sabatino and Esthetician Alessandra Reist. It turns out homeowners (and beauty experts) are using refrigeration in the most unexpected yet truly beneficial ways. For example, New York-based designer, Toni Sabatino, expanded on a project she was working on that features a coffee bar in the bedroom and a music room with a wine cabinet. While delightfully enticing, the true luxury of being able to have refrigeration within close reach lies with those living with illnesses that need quick access to medication. “There is someone in the home who is diabetic and so we have refrigerator drawers in the bathroom to refrigerate insulin,” explains Sabatino.
Interior design: Erika Friesen Design; Photography: ABC Creative.
“At True, we don’t put refrigeration in a box, forcing it to stay in the kitchen,” says Chelsea Bothe, Brand Manager at True Residential. “All of our undercounter appliances are also outdoor rated. It is all about these spaces outside of the main kitchen and providing accessible products where clients actually need them.” Reist agrees with the sentiment. “When you think about skincare from an esthetician standpoint, we have so many active ingredients like Vitamin C. Some products need to be kept at a low temperature to have them stay stable and prevent degradation of those products. But the sense of being home and putting on a nice cool sheet mask you can just take out of your fridge adds a luxurious sense of self care.”
Designer and TV Personality Vanessa Deleon is in agreement with all. In fact, she says, one of the most sought-after spaces in interiors right now is the “Glam Room”—an area where undercounter refrigeration units shine. From refrigerator drawers to beverage centers to wine cabinets—glam rooms offer the perfect place to store and refrigerate insulin, Vitamin C, cold creams, at-home laser devices, wine (to have at-the-ready while preparing for a decadent bubble bath), nighttime-related beverages, and more. But before we digress, one of our favorite ingenious uses of spaces is by Deleon. “I designed a dog prep room with refrigeration—people aren’t just giving their dogs kibble anymore, they’re investing in organic and freshly made foods that need to be properly stored,” says the designer. It’s inspiring us to create one for our furry friends, fridge included.
Interior design: Christine Jahan Designs; Photography: Cris Nolasco.
But that’s not all. For those in need of a man cave—remodeling garages into lounge spaces is all the rage these days. And with any lounge space, a full-sized unit fully dedicated to beverages is in order. Our Beverage Column is perfect for that. With True, customers can even match their Ferrari color to their fridge (or vice versa). Regardless of where a fridge appears in a home, it’s become glaringly evident that refrigeration has a home outside of the kitchen—indoors and out.
