French Door Fridge

Plus-sized fridges in American kitchens have long been regarded as a domesticated expression of the banal idea that bigger is better. And the rest of the world caught up. Today everybody seems to want a big fridge. Many a kitchen is dwarfed by its size. In the last few years a new cooling-unit-trend with a quintessential European twist is pushing the limits of large: The French Door Fridge, a refrigerator with two doors opening much like a double window.

French doors can be traced back to the early 17th century when the embrace of Renaissance ideas and ideals, which focussed on proportion and symmetry, was at its height. The French aristocracy incorporated these principles into the designs of their chateaux. Just think of French gardens with their symmetrical lawns, hedges and fountains. Similar ideas on symmetry influenced the interior of the home including its doors. Rather then a single door this preference for symmetry involved the integration of the double door. The double or French door was soon tied to social protocols. As an assorti of aristocrats wandered around the state rooms in Versailles they would pass through these double doorways. These doors had footmen assigned to open and close them according to strict rules of precedence. Only one door would be opened for someone of lower rank (it served as a clue to those already in the room that someone of lesser rank was entering). However, if both doors opened it had to be someone really important.

The appropriation and translation of the French Door tradition by the white goods industry allows contemporary consumers to buy into a simulation of belonging to the privileged.