The CDA Florence Barley is a tall, freestanding 60/40 fridge freezer with a retro twist and a neutral cream finish CDA call Barley. At 199cm high and 60cm wide, it offers serious storage in the footprint of a standard freestanding fridge freezer.
This is very much a mid to upper mid‑range option, with a modern inverter motor, full No Frost freezer and fast chill and fast freeze functions that you don’t always see at this price. The look is clearly aimed at buyers who like the aesthetic of classic Smeg‑style appliances without going full designer price.
With an excellent 4.9 out of 5 average from 92 owner reviews, it’s fair to say users are very happy with it, especially around the styling and everyday practicality.
The Florence Barley is ideal for small to medium households that want plenty of fridge space and a decent‑sized freezer without moving to a bulky American‑style model. The 60/40 split and 234‑litre fridge capacity suit fresh‑food heavy shoppers who buy a lot of fruit, veg and chilled ingredients.
It’s a strong fit if you’re upgrading a tired standard fridge freezer and want something that looks like a centrepiece rather than an afterthought. The tall, slim design will slide into a typical 60cm gap, but the 199cm height gives you more vertical storage than many basic models.
If you entertain at weekends or enjoy a glass of wine, the dedicated bottle shelf and generous door storage make it easier to keep drinks, mixers and taller bottles tidy and secure.
It’s less suited to those on a very tight budget or anyone who absolutely needs a reversible door, as the hinge is fixed on the right and can’t be swapped over.
Generous storage for its footprint: the 234‑litre fridge and 96‑litre freezer will comfortably handle the weekly shop for a couple or small family, roughly 13 bags of groceries in total.
No‑fuss maintenance thanks to full No Frost technology in the freezer and auto‑defrost in the fridge, so you shouldn’t ever need to chip away ice or schedule manual defrosts.
Quick Cool and Quick Freeze modes are genuinely useful when you’ve done a big shop, rapidly pulling the fridge down to 2°C and the freezer to –24°C to lock in freshness and help protect frozen food quality.
The retro styling and Barley cream finish give it a premium, design‑led look without being shouty, making it easy to pair with both modern and traditional kitchens.
Practical touches like adjustable glass shelves, LED interior lighting, a salad crisper, egg tray, wine rack, and wheels for easy movement make everyday use straightforward.
A 2‑year manufacturer warranty (with registration) and an inverter motor add reassurance around reliability and running smoothness.
The door is not reversible, which could be a deal‑breaker if your kitchen layout needs a left‑hand hinge.
Energy rating is a modern D, which is decent but not outstanding; running costs should be reasonable, but efficiency‑obsessed buyers may find more frugal (and pricier) options.
There’s no water dispenser or ice maker, features that some similarly sized rivals now offer, so drinks fans may miss that extra convenience.
Noise is quoted at 41 dB with a C noise rating, which is fine for most homes but not among the very quietest if your kitchen is open‑plan to the living area.
Day to day, the Florence Barley is designed to be straightforward to live with. The front‑mounted button controls and internal LED display make it easy to tweak temperatures without diving through complicated menus. Adjustable glass shelves and a full‑width salad crisper help you organise the space around your own shopping habits.
The LED lighting is bright and efficient, so you can see into every corner of the 199cm‑tall cavity without shadows. Multi‑airflow cooling in the fridge helps keep temperatures more even from top to bottom, which means fewer hot spots and less worry about where you store delicate items.
Because the freezer is completely frost free and the fridge auto‑defrosts, there’s very little maintenance beyond the occasional wipe‑down of shelves and drawers. The inverter motor should run with a smooth, consistent hum at around 41 dB, noticeable but unobtrusive in a typical kitchen.
Wheels for easy movement and adjustable feet are particularly handy during installation or if you like to pull the appliance out now and then for a proper clean behind it.
At its core, this CDA is about capable, stable cooling. The 60/40 split with a 234‑litre fridge and 96‑litre freezer means the majority of space is devoted to fresh food. For many modern households this is ideal, especially if you cook from scratch and rely more on chilled than frozen items.
Temperature performance is supported by twin cooling style features (DuoCooling and twin cooling) and multi‑airflow in the fridge. These systems help keep humidity and temperature better balanced, which is good news for fruit and veg life in the salad crisper and for odour control between compartments.
Quick Cool and Quick Freeze modes are stand‑out features at this level. When you come back from a big shop, engaging these modes rapidly drags the fridge down to around 2°C for up to 12 hours and the freezer to –24°C for 24 hours. That not only protects frozen foods from partial thawing as you load new items, but also helps fresh food reach safe storage temperatures faster.
The full No Frost freezer, 4‑star rating and four separate drawers make frozen storage both flexible and low‑maintenance. With 11 hours of safe storage in a power cut, you also get a decent buffer if there’s a brief outage. The fridge side offers four shelves, a vegetable drawer, egg tray, wine rack and bottle shelf, all lit by efficient LED lighting.
Although there’s no Wi‑Fi or smart connectivity, the inclusion of an inverter motor, LED display and a good spread of convenience features puts this model well above truly basic fridge freezers in terms of specification.
Sitting at a mid to upper mid‑range price point for a freestanding 60cm fridge freezer, the Florence Barley isn’t the cheapest option you’ll find, but it backs up its price with a strong mix of style and substance.
You’re paying partly for the tall capacity and retro‑inspired Barley finish, but also for genuinely useful tech: frost‑free freezer, multi‑airflow cooling, Quick Cool and Quick Freeze, an inverter motor and a well‑thought‑out interior. Many cheaper models will compromise on at least some of these.
The excellent 4.9/5 rating from 92 reviews suggests owners feel they’ve had good value for what they paid, with very few complaints cropping up. Factor in the 2‑year warranty (with registration) and this looks like a sensible long‑term buy if you like the look and don’t need built‑in water or ice.
If your priority is the absolute lowest price, a simpler B or C‑rated model with fewer features will undercut it. But for buyers who want a stylish, high‑capacity fridge freezer that should be easy to live with for years, the asking price is justified.
The CDA Florence Barley fridge freezer combines a tall, slim design with a retro‑inspired cream finish and a modern feature set. It offers generous fresh‑food capacity, genuinely helpful fast chill and freeze modes, and fuss‑free maintenance thanks to full No Frost and auto‑defrost.
Its main compromises are the fixed right‑hand hinge, lack of water or ice dispenser and an energy rating that, while respectable, doesn’t set new efficiency records. For most households, though, these will be minor quibbles compared with the strong everyday usability and handsome looks.
If you’re after a stylish, reliable 60cm fridge freezer with more storage than average and you don’t need smart features or built‑in dispensers, this CDA is a very easy model to recommend.
