When looking for a large refrigerator there are a number of things you should keep in mind as criteria when looking to decide between different models and brands. Of course I will not list all of the available options here but I will list what I consider to be the top ones for making large refrigerators purchase decisions. These criteria include but not limited to design, looks, freezer space and appliance location. 

Design

This applies to not just the overall look of your refrigerator in your kitchen but also the functional internal aspects of it as well. This would include the compartments and storage shelves and if they fit your needs. Keep in mind that a lot of refrigerators come with the ability of having separate utility cabinets and sub divisions. And even then you can choose from having a bottom freezer or top freezer compartment. Or maybe a stainless steel version.

Looks

For the very basic you can stick with a single door refrigerator. However, when you get beyond that you have the options of a double door and even large French doors that have built in capabilities like filtered water dispensers and LCd television screens. These tend to come in a wide variety of color schemes which includes metallic colors and pastels. With the large variety of colors available you can usually coordinate with the interior colors of the room you put it in.

Freezer

This selection is often taken for granted and later the owner wishes they had spent a little more time making a decision regarding the freezers. The real question here is to make sure to get the freezer space if you are really going to use it. Otherwise the smart choice is to choose a refrigerator with a good refrigerator to freezer ratio.

Space

Of course you should be making this decision based on the amount of space you have at hand. Also in the case of new construction you need to know when your appliances will be delivered. I have heard of more then one case when a refrigerator was ordered that would have fit except it came after the countertops and islands were finished and then there wasn't enough space to get it into the desired location. If this isn't your situation then make sure you stick to a size that is relevant to the space at hand.

At this juncture you should be building a matrix of sorts composed of different brands and if they had certain capabilities or not. In fact you can use this information to start comparing what you would ideally want to what is actually being offered in the market.

So with that in mind let's look at what you probably need to know about the current large and big refrigerator offerings:

Refrigerator Types

From a technical perspective you have two types of fridges. Frost Free and Direct Cool. Direct cool refrigerators are the single door ones and the Frost Free refrigerators come with multiple doors.

Double Door Refrigerator, Top Freezer

As you may have ascertained from the description these refrigerators have more then one door with the freezer compartment located on the top. They tend to be ideal for people that actually use a freezer to store frozen foods. Additional benefits are that they provide direct and easy access to food for short stature people and children.

Lifestyle Refrigerators

These tend o be the largest sized refrigerators (450 liters-800 liters) with multiple doors for access. They usually come with a variety of built in features, designer looks and prices! They tend to be ideal for a really large family who also has a fairly large budget as well. If you like to do a lot of entertaining and/or have a lot of refrigerated/frozen foods to store and chilled beverages then this might be the choice for you to store your wine coolers.

Available Features

After you have made a determination of a refrigerator based on your needs, space and family constraints then you will want to start looking at the appliances features you have to have, would be nice and are optional. We have included a non exhaustive list here:

Feature	Description
Auto Power Save	Detects your absence due to zero fridge operations till a certain time and switches itself to power save mode automatically.
Multi Media Features	Cool features like an LCD screen or a digital picture frame attached to your refrigerator door are soon becoming a commonplace in the lifestyle refrigerators.
Adjustable Shelves and Separators	There are door bins that can be removed to create room for taller bottles and jars. Separators on the other hand help you store food items separately from each other.
Open Door Alarm	Rings an alarm if the door is left open for a specified time.
Freezer Lamp	Lights up the freezer to allow operation in the dark.
Child Lock	Prevents your refrigerator from unwanted opening and closing.
Deodorizer and Freshenizer	Keeps food fresh by killing harmful bacteria in the fridge and removes bad odor.
Temperature Control Shelves	These shelves can have their temperatures set differently from the rest of the refrigerator.
Auto Defrost	Automatically defrosts refrigerator.
Quick Freeze	Creates  ice much faster than normal.
Ice and Water Dispenser	Provides a separate external ice/water dispenser  for convenience.

Buying a large refrigerator should be a decision that is quickly made. By utilizing the information that was presented here you will at least end up with something that is a functional match for your needs.