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Most people spend far more time looking into their refrigerator, hoping they somehow missed a plate of tasty snacks, than looking at their refrigerator. Even when the door is properly closed, we’re more likely to be reading the notes stuck there than admiring the design of the appliance itself.

But that’s just because most of us don’t have as eye-catching of a fridge as this tasteful Japanese beauty.

Whereas Panasonic and Mitsubishi seem to always be rolling out some new, hi-spec appliance, Sharp is generally more of a budget player in the field. There’s nothing cheap-looking about its new MiYABi, though, a refrigerator so stylish that is apparently made the marketing team completely forget about pronunciation conventions.

▼ Like “conscientious shanking,” “stylish refrigerator” is one of those phrases we never expected to say, but here we are.

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While you could definitely say the MiYABi has a bold, modern look, it’s also very much in touch with classical Japanese aesthetics. The checkered pattern, called ichimatsu moyou in Japanese, shows up in many traditional designs, including kimono.

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This isn’t Sharp’s first flair-filled foray into kitchen appliances, either. As seen to the left of the MiYABi in the very top photo, the company also offers black and vermillion rice cookers, ovens, juicers, and tea presses under its health-conscious Helsio line.

The MiYABi doesn’t just look nice, though. In addition to its 501 liters of storage capacity and bacteria-killing plasma cluster, Sharp is touting the refrigerator’s easy to clean latches and reinforced glass paneling, the latter of which is also resistant to scratches and scrapes.

▼ Hey, you on the bottom left! It’s open door first, then insert leftovers! Have you been drinking again?

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It might seem like overkill to go to so much trouble on the aesthetics of a refrigerator, since most people spend maybe a few seconds a day looking at theirs. That, though, is precisely the point to Sharp. Rather than plunking down an unattractive box that takes up so much space (especially in Japan’s smaller homes and apartments), why not treat your refrigerator like an art installation? After all, just because it’s keeping your Ebisu beer cold and your bag of edamame soy beans frozen doesn’t mean it can’t look nice while doing it.

Source: Japaaan
Top image: Sharp
Insert images: Sharp, Exblog