Steel Yourself

Stainless steel fridges fall firmly into two categories - the real thing and those that very cleverly look like the real thing but are in fact metallic-finished laminates. The difference is price.

Zanussi's Rondo fridge, pictured here, is has a stainless steel unit fridge with 10 cubic feet of fridge, 3 of freezer, priced costs £799. Siemens' produce a similar-sized fridge but in actual stainless steel and this costs £1,600, both from Brown Thomas, Dublin. At a more affordable price, Indesit have gone for a laminate stainless steel look for their 9 cubic metre fridge at £329 from Knowles. ESB showrooms currently stock a well-priced range of stainless steel by Candy which start at £499.