Forget Fridges: These Luxury Walk-In Coolers Redefine Refrigeration
Walk-in refrigeration systems are no longer just for the restaurant industry. The brainchild of co-founders Don Lake and Paul DeLorenzo, a Massachusetts-based company is revolutionizing kitchen storage by bringing walk-in refrigerators to custom luxury homes.
Known as RootCellar Concepts, the kitchen storage and refrigeration solution provider offers a fully customizable walk-in cooler and freezer that can take the place of a traditional pantry and appliance. It's a next-level luxury kitchen appliance and amenity that offers a design-oriented and ultra-functional addition to the kitchen, all while appearing like a typical kitchen pantry.
“Our units are completely customizable. When somebody comes to us, we’re occupying very valuable space in the home,” says Lake. “The kitchen is prime real estate in the home. It’s the focal point of peoples’ homes. It's where people gather. So I think the industry really appreciates the fact that we don’t have a set size, we don’t have a set shape, we don’t have a set height. They come to us with the space they want to put this in and we design around it.”
RootCellar says its walk-in approach is a minimum of 400 cubic feet, offering 10 times more storage than a traditional refrigerator. It's a goodbye to the second fridge in the garage or basement.
The units are tailored to the exact dimensions and style of each home and can be added at the time of construction or during a remodel, as long as the redesign meets the space requirements.
According to Lake, RootCellar Concepts works with both homeowners and contractors and is typically installed within 10 days after the space is created. RootCellar Concepts offers a footprint as small as 7 feet by 8 feet for compact installations, though the more common configuration starts at 8 feet by 10 feet. However, there are no limits to maximum size, giving flexibility to accommodate any kitchen layout.
On the outside, RootCellar’s design maintains the aesthetics of the kitchen it’s in. The doors to the walk-in are also fully customizable and can be designed in a number of materials to suit the finishes found within the kitchens they are added to.
THE ROOTCELLAR WALK-IN REFRIGERATOR IS FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE TO THE KITCHEN IT IS PLACED IN. | PHOTO: CHRIS FREEMAN, THE FREEMAN COMPANY
“It’s totally designed to make our unit be like a chameleon in the kitchen,” Lake explains. “It just looks like another door until you open it.”
RootCellar is located across the U.S. and in Canada, and a majority of the demand is focused in the luxury housing market, according to Lake.
“We are in homes that are at the very high end of the market. And these are homes that have pretty much every amenity that you could have in a home. Still, many of our clients will tell us this is their favorite [feature], and that is something to really feel proud of,” Lake says.