It is common knowledge that a fridge is meant to be located in a kitchen. But, what happens if you don’t have the space for it? What if you just want to include another fridge in your home and the living room is the only available location? Can you put your fridge in the living room, or is it absolutely frowned upon? Here’s the truth.
Yes, you can put your fridge in the living room, but it isn’t advisable for a number of reasons. For instance, it may ruin the arrangement and decor of your living room. Having to walk between the living room and the kitchen every time you need something from the fridge is an inconvenience as well. Also, it can be a bit of an eyesore if the fridge is relatively dated or colored inappropriately for the living room.
As far as possible, I would advise you to avoid putting your fridge in the living room because it presents a host of problems that may be too much of an issue for you in the future.
But, in case you have no choice in the matter, I’ll also include some tips you can use to fit a fridge in your living room without the risk of any major problems occurring.
Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Place A Refrigerator In The Living Room
1. Heat and sunlight are bad for fridges
As a rule of thumb, refrigerators shouldn’t be in a location that is particularly hot or exposed to excessive sunlight.
In regards to sunlight, there’s a strong chance that over time, the paint will crack or discolor due to sun damage.
It’s expensive to have a fridge resprayed or, worse, replaced altogether for cosmetic reasons.
When it comes to heat, it is said that excessive exposure to outside heat can affect the energy efficiency of the fridge because it needs to work harder to cool down and operate at the designated temperature.
2. It needs proper ventilation
Another factor to consider is whether there is ample air supply and space where the fridge is located.
Placing a fridge in a living room that is cramped or has inadequate air flow is a bad idea because it forces the compressor to work longer.
You want to have between 200 and 400 cm² of space around the refrigerator for adequate air circulation.
3. Living room with carpets will get damaged
It is also a hindrance to have a fridge in the living room if it’s carpeted.
There’s no way at all that you will avoid some spillage of liquid or food from the fridge.
Cleaning stains and liquids from a carpeted floor is a nuisance.
You run the risk of permanently staining the carpet or having to pay extra money to a professional who may only be capable of properly cleaning and restoring your carpet.
4. It may ruin the decor
From an aesthetic perspective, it’s difficult to decorate a living room with a fridge.
It’s such a large and intrusive appliance that it will eat up a lot of space and drown out a lot of the decorations around the room.
Unless, ofcourse, you have a corner section in the living room that is slightly disconnected from the rest of the room, that would be ideal for a fridge.
Then there’s the possibility that it can be a disturbance to you while relaxing in the lounge. Some fridges are quite noisy, especially when the compressor is running quite hard.
Tips For Putting A Fridge In Your Living Room
In the event that you still want or need to fit a fridge in the living room, there are certain things that can be done to minimize most problems. Here’s a list of tips to consider:
- If you have no choice but to put your fridge in the living room, then do your best to place it in the correct location.
- Make sure it’s concealed from sunlight.
- It should be near an outlet for power but not close enough for any liquid to spill onto the plug.
- Place it away from furniture for proper circulation and so that it has enough space for doors to open wide.
Understandably, some people need more than one fridge which is probably why they are considering the living room as a location for the second one.
Have you considered a mini fridge instead of a regular-sized one?
These small fridges are perfect for storing drinks and snacks, which are ideal for living room activities.
They’re also pretty small and compact, which means that they can be non-intrusive and easily moved around when needed.
Because they are usually as tall as the average sofa in height, you could easily use the top of the mini fridge as a display table as well, if it isn’t a stylish mini fridge.
Another thing you could consider doing is investing some money in a stylized refrigerator.
These days, you can find a fridge in almost every color, with different styles, and screens that would allow it to seamlessly be integrated into another room besides the kitchen.
Final Thoughts
That brings us to the end of this article on whether you can put your fridge in the living room or not.
Technically, you can, but it isn’t ideal for a number of reasons, which were discussed above. If you have no choice, you can make it work by choosing the right spot with adequate space around it that isn’t carpeted or in direct sunlight.
Apart from that, if you need another location to place your fridge in, consider a spare room that isn’t being used for the time being. If your pantry has some space, you could fit a mini fridge in it as well, or consider the dining room instead.
With that being said, I hope you enjoyed this article and found it helpful. If so, check out some of our other home decor and cleaning articles below: