Before I started at AOL, I was obsessed with the following: dresses, The X-Factor, pugs and fake tanning. Now things have changed.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m still the most orange girl in the office, but now, my hot topics of conversation include Samsung Eco Bubble technology, how cheap it is now to buy a pyrolytic lined oven and how my cooker hood grease filters aren’t changed nearly as often as they should be. That’s the thing with writing about, talking about and being surrounded by appliances all day. They suck you in, get you interested – sometimes even amaze you.
It is because of this new obsession that my latest blog post was born. Since my new-found fascination has developed, when I’m watching TV, I bristle with excitement if an appliance appears on screen. I pause and re-wind programmes until the brand name or distinguishing feature comes into view and I can identify with satisfaction the name and model number of the appliance on screen. I nearly fell off the sofa with excitement the other night when I realised that the bakers on The Great British Bake Off were using Neff SlideAway door ovens (I suspect the model was the B45E54N0GB).
And let’s not forget Sky 1’s new comedy drama, Mount Pleasant, starring Sally Lindsay, Daniel Ryan and a Hotpoint Quadrio. For me, this is exciting stuff.
So, in honour of my ‘appliance spotting’ hobby, let’s talk about the most famous appliances on the planet – the celebs of the appliance world.
Smeg is the Brad Pitt of appliances. Eternally good looking, and featured in a wide range of films from romantic comedies to thrillers, Brad is in demand in Hollywood. And so is Smeg.
Take Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s character is the lucky owner of a Smeg stainless steel Fab28 fridge, and she’s not the only one. Ryan Reynolds, in switch-a-roo comedy The Change Up (released on the 16th of September), has a Red FAB28YR fridge in his bachelor pad, and in romantic comedy Something Borrowed Ginnifer Goodwin’s character chooses to chill her goods in, you guessed it, a Smeg FAB.
However, the ultimate owners of a FAB Smeg fridge have to be the cheese-loving icons that are Wallace and Gromit. Although the logo on their fridge reads ‘SMUG’, the unmistakable curves, creamy colour and silver handle all scream Smeg. Check out the FAB28QP for a similar version.
It’s not just the FAB range that’s taking over the large screen. In Mr.& Mrs Smith, Brad and Angelina’s kitchen is kitted out in Smeg appliances from what looks to be Smeg’s classic range. Their extra wide oven definitely resembles the Smeg SE995XT-7 (but our model even has an integrated Panini toaster!). Rumour has it that Brangelia were so impressed with Smeg that they furnished their £35 million south of France home with the brand.
Closer to home, Neff is a popular cooking choice. As well as starring in The Great British Bake Off, everyone’s favourite Italian chef Gino D’acampo uses Neff appliances on new daytime cooking show Let’s Do Lunch with Gino and Mel. The This Morning kitchen also boasts a Neff Series 5 C67M70N0GB compact microwave oven, as well as a cream Rangemaster American fridge freezer, and a matching range cooker (for something similar, check out the Stoves Richmond1100DFT range cooker in champagne).
So, the next time you’re watching a film and the hero fetches himself a cool beer, or enjoying a cooking programme and Nigella takes a delicious cake out of the oven, take a look at the brand of the appliance. It’s probably one that we sell here at Appliances Online. And spare some sympathy for those who are watching TV with me. They’re probably waiting patiently whilst I try to pause the screen in my attempt to fathom the colour, model number and features.