Refrigerators
The Smeg FAB32: the Smeg fridge to pick if it has to work as hard as it looks
The Smeg FAB32 is the rounded FAB28 shape, made tall, with a real freezer below and no-frost cooling. But one owner's FAB32 arrived damaged, and the fridge scores low on Amazon from only eight ratings.
Most people who want a Smeg fridge picture the FAB28, the single-door shape in every photograph. But the FAB28 keeps its freezer as a small box inside the fridge, so it suits a second kitchen better than a main kitchen. And the Smeg FAB32 keeps the same curves and stretches them to 77.5 inches tall, with a separate freezer below that never needs defrosting by hand.
The Smeg FAB32 is the one to choose when the fridge has to be the only fridge in the house. It's still a Smeg to look at, in pastel green or white, and it's made in Italy.
You want the Smeg retro look in the only fridge in the house, with a real freezer, and your kitchen has room for a fridge 77.5 inches tall.
You need a big family fridge, or the fridge door has to open from the left. The Smeg FAB32 holds 11.7 cubic feet, and its door hinges on the right.
Two full years from Smeg USA, parts, labor and in-home service, then parts only for the sealed cooling system from the third through the fifth year.
Amazon, in pastel green or white.
What the Smeg FAB32 does
The Smeg FAB32 holds 11.7 cubic feet in all, with 7.2 cubic feet of fridge on top and a separate freezer below. And the whole fridge is no-frost, so ice doesn't build up in the freezer and you never defrost it by hand.
The FAB32 fridge runs on an inverter compressor, which Smeg says cuts noise and vibration, and Smeg rates it at 37 decibels. Then a fan spreads the cold air evenly through the fridge, and a digital display on the control panel shows the temperature.
Inside the Smeg FAB32 there are three adjustable glass shelves, a crisper drawer for fruit and vegetables, and LED light strips down both sides, while the door has two adjustable shelves, a bottle shelf and an egg tray. And there's also a LifePlus drawer that Smeg keeps between 28 and 37 °F, for fish, cheese and meat. Even the edges of the shelves and the door bins are trimmed in chrome, to match the chrome handles on the outside.
The Smeg FAB32's control panel also has a fast-freeze button, a holiday setting and an ECO setting. And the fridge has a temperature alarm, and it beeps and shows a light if the door is left open.
What the Smeg FAB32 doesn't do
The Smeg FAB32 is tall, but it's only 24 inches wide, so it holds less than a family fridge. That's 11.7 cubic feet, more than the FAB28's 9.5 cubic feet. But a big household doing one large shop a week may want Smeg's two-door FAB50, which holds 18.5 cubic feet and has an ice maker. The Smeg FAB50 article covers it.
The Smeg FAB32's height is the next thing to check. The fridge stands 77.5 inches tall and 28.7 inches deep without the handle, and Smeg wants 3 inches of space under a wall cabinet and 1 1/4 inches at each side. So measure under any cabinet above the spot before you order.
The Smeg FAB32's door hinges on the right, and the hinge can't be switched to the left after delivery. So check which way the fridge door needs to open in your kitchen before you buy. And Smeg also wants 14 1/2 inches clear on the hinge side, so the door opens far enough to pull the drawers out.
The Smeg FAB32 also needs a room that stays between 50 and 109 °F, because that's the range Smeg rates it for. So a garage that gets colder than 50 °F in winter isn't the place for it.
What owners say about the Smeg FAB32
On Amazon, the white Smeg FAB32 scores 3.1 out of 5 from 8 ratings (September 2026), and the pastel green listing has no ratings yet. That's a small number of ratings, so each low rating moves the average a lot. And the one review from a verified buyer is about the delivery, not about the fridge itself.
"I just received my fridge and it was delivered damaged."
Amazon customer, verified purchase, February 2022, in white
"People buy these fridges specifically because they are beautiful so to be sold one with a large dent is extremely frustrating."
The same owner, February 2022
The other complaint about Smeg fridges is about repairs, and our Scorecard records it too. Owners who need a repair are sent to the dealer first, then to one outside repair firm. And one reviewer phoned ten local repair companies, and every one refused, because they won't work on a European closed-system fridge.
The Smeg FAB32's colors, and where to buy each color
We link the Smeg FAB32 in pastel green and white, and both colors are sold on Amazon. So the seller on each Amazon listing handles the delivery and the returns, and the warranty is Smeg USA's whichever color you choose.
Smeg makes the FAB32 in more colors than pastel green and white, and the other colors are sold on Smeg's own US store rather than through us.
Who makes the Smeg FAB32
Smeg is an Italian appliance maker based in Guastalla, near Reggio Emilia, and Vittorio Bertazzoni founded it in 1948. And Smeg created its FAB range of retro fridges in 1997, and the FAB32 is Smeg's own fridge, made in Italy.
Smeg USA's warranty on the FAB32 is two full years, parts, labor and in-home service. Then from the third through the fifth year, it covers parts only for the sealed cooling system, so the labor on that repair is yours.
There's no recall on record for the Smeg FAB32 at the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (checked September 2026). And Smeg's only recall on record there, in August 2024, was on a different line, the FAB38U built-in fridge, whose doors could come off.
What goes with the Smeg FAB32
Smeg makes its kettle and its two-slice toaster in pastel green too, so the fridge, the kettle and the toaster can share one color. That's the Smeg kitchen most people picture.
Smeg isn't the only maker of a retro fridge, though. The retro fridge guide sets out every retro fridge we list by color, with who makes each fridge.
Before you buy the Smeg FAB32
- Height: measure under any cabinet above the fridge, because the FAB32 is 77.5 inches tall and Smeg wants 3 inches above it.
- Hinge: the Smeg FAB32's door hinges on the right and can't be switched, so check which way the door has to open.
- Delivery: look the fridge over for dents before the delivery crew leaves, because the one verified review on Amazon is about a dent on arrival.
- Repairs: check that a repair firm near you will work on a Smeg fridge.
- Size: for a bigger household, look at Smeg's two-door FAB50 instead.
See every color of the Smeg FAB32
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