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Some bears are smarter than others.
Remember, the ratio of fridge vs freezer access is at least 10:1.
Just one minor problem: no one makes a 36-inch wide, counter-depth, bottom freezer that costs less than $5K.
My recommendation would be: LG LFCC22426S
36 Inch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
Sorry Dave, I have to disagree with you on this one. I had that refrigerator in my last house as I had a kitchen island issue that meant counter-depth only for a fridge. It was by far the worst appliance I have ever owned. The water always tasted moldy no matter how many filters I put it in, and after about 6 months, the compressor formed a very annoying humming sound that resonated across the hardwood floors. Had LG come and look at it, total waste of time, guy was completely useless. End of the day it was determined to just be a faulty design, too much "stuff" jammed into it. I never could figure out why the water tasted that bad. It started about 3 months after we bought it.
Not knocking LG though as a brand. I have other items from them that are great, like our clothes washer which is the second of it's kind (had to leave the last one in the old house via the sales contract). We bought the same one again for the current home, it's simply fantastic!
In our current house, we had to replace all the appliances when we bought it. Had a bit more room this time and went with a regular sized Samsung (French on the top, middle drink drawer, freezer on bottom). It's been over 3 years now, and it's been perfect. Other family members have Samsung as well, all the same in terms of quality, zero complaints.
If you go on Home Depot's website and drill down to Samsung, you can also set to width, and there you will find several counter depth refrigerators at 36' wide and counter-depth install ranging from $2,200 on up. I'm sure there are other brands too, but I only looked at Samsung here.
Living with a counter-depth was fine for us, a family of 4, since we also had a backup fridge in the garage. Same in the current house as well even with a regular sized. Hindsight, I kind've wish we had gone the counter depth route again in this current house for that much more room. We probably will go that route when the time comes to replace this one, and you can bet it'll be Samsung again...
I know I am probably the only one who thinks like this..... but I think stylish refrigerators or those with other-than-normal dimensions are a rip-off, aimed at getting any extra money that HGTV addicts might have or be able to borrow. Personally I decided on a cheap Kenmore freezer-on-top model four years ago, for $800 delivered and installed. It does have an ice maker inside the freezer but otherwise is as low tech as you can get. It is on sale for $629 right now, with free delivery.
When I read on forums about all the repairs that people have to get on their refrigerators, and how refrigerators just don't last like they used to, I just grin. My cheap-o refrigerator has needed zero repairs and just keeps on working. It does what it's supposed to do, keep food cold, and doesn't do anything else. OK, it's a little noisy and I suppose it sticks out into the kitchen a little but so what; I am used to it and don't even notice it. I'm not in a home decorating contest; I am in my own private HOME where I live and enjoy a wonderful life, so what matters to me is that it works.
EDIT to add: on reviewing the thread, it looks like turf3 agrees with me:
We looked at a wide variety of refrigerators, and I would agree with you mostly. We have a top freezer old school model in the basement that handles the beer, frozen meats, extra milk, etc. and it does perfectly. The current side by side is just annoyingly thin and sometimes is a hassle with larger trays. We did our search and could not find even a nice larger side by side that would fit the height restriction we had with a cabinet overhead at 69". It was whirlpool, black, and was $1,200. So for that kind of money we started looking elsewhere at more modern styles. What I like about the french door is the fact that all of our daily reach items are where they should be, no bending over or reaching in for stuff. Also the freezer drawer would suit needs better than the tiny baskets in the side-by-side where we end up forgetting we have stuff piled down in the back. We could more easily bookshelf our items in the pull out drawer.
Water/ice on the door is not necessary, and even when looking at scratch and dent stores like Sears Outlet or Hallock's I was dismayed they still wanted a lot of $$$ for units that looked terrible. I figured I would see units with a dent on the side for half price. Instead I saw a $2k unit that needed new doors marked down from $2,500, skip. so with all that information I said lets get something we want for the money without breaking the bank. The only downfall is we have to remove and modify the cabinet overhead, not a big job I am handy just need to decide if we want to keep it open or have shorter doors made.
Trust me my head has exploded trying to figure this out, I even looked at a 20cu ft. unit that was $100 more but was measured at 26 1/4" instead of the counter 24" but it would just stick out to much.
We also are partial to Samsung (suit on) but after several years of no issues with our washer/dryer and dishwasher we have been pleased.
that would fit the height restriction we had with a cabinet overhead at 69".
The Samsung's I'm seeing are 70' from the top of the door hinge, which usually sticks up about an inch on it's own anyway. I think it could fit as you're not installing it totally flush with the face of the cabinets, it does stick out a couple of inches. Just take a tape measure to HD and measure the heights of the 70' inch tall displays they have on the floor.
Not fainting, if I was redoing the kitchen I'd consider something like a SZ or Viking. But this fridge honestly is meant to give us 5-7 years before it possibly takes over the basement fridge duties when we redo the kitchen.
I used to have a garage fridge but it died so now I have a garage freezer instead. But when I bought this, I got the side by side because I needed to maximize freezer space which is 7.2 cu ft and find a french door freezer awkward.
Quote:
Trust me my head has exploded trying to figure this out, I even looked at a 20cu ft. unit that was $100 more but was measured at 26 1/4" instead of the counter 24" but it would just stick out to much.
As far as that, you need to be sure you are comparing apples to apples. Counterdepth depth can vary depending whether it's measured with or without the doors, and with and without the handles, I've seen it done all 3 ways. The doors on mine stick out a few inches, but I think it still looks fine - definitely better than non-counterdepth which would stick out that far for just the fridge and then several more inches for the doors. And they need to open beyond the counter, or you wouldn't be able to open them all the way.
I bought a used Kenmore 26'' deep 23 years ago and works perfect.I hope it lasts till I die.You can't buy that quality anymore.I paid 75$ for it.Look for an old used one and pay the extra 2 bucks a month elec instead of repairs and replacement every 10 years.
We just got a new fridge. French doors, TWO icemakers, 25 cubic feet for two people. Yeah, it sticks way out in the kitchen, but I've had side by side and top freezer models for decades and never thought any of them were well designed. In my last one, there wasn't freezer space for a Thanksgiving turkey, and we had a chest freezer.
It's a $2500 appliance, but we got it in the scratch and dent section for $900. A colorful poster hides the $1600 dent in the door.
Well, I looked up "French door" refrigerators. That's really weird.
Actually it looks like you might want it to stick out some to have room for the upper doors to swing out.
The best refrigerator ever, hasn't been made in probably 50 years. That was the GE model with swing-out shelves. We had one of these when I was a kid, and you could always see what was on every shelf.
Space is not an issue for us, that wall just has the double oven and a small countertop and a fridge sticking out 10-12" from the edge of the cabinets looks terrible and disrupts flow. I actually looked at a pic of the home when we were house hunting years ago and the fridge we have now is there sitting way far out for no reason because it's counter depth.
Side note, checkout eBay for coupons at some stores. I got a 10% for Lowes to use this afternoon for the purchase.
I have the same configuration....a wall oven/microwave, small bit of counter, and then the refrigerator. I agree that a standard-depth would not look right. I bought this one 2 years ago and I have been happy with it. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/kitchen...E&gclsrc=aw.ds. I didn't want ice in the door. This fridge would not have enough room for a large family, but it works for me. I was able to buy it with several discounts (did not get it at Best Buy, actually got it at Sears, but they don't seem to carry it anymore) using Ebates, opening a new credit card, on sale, and vendor coupon. It is very difficult to buy a refrigerator, because it seems as if every model has at least a few horror stories. At some point, you roll the dice and hope for the best.
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My cheap-o refrigerator has needed zero repairs and just keeps on working. It does what it's supposed to do, keep food cold, and doesn't do anything else. OK, it's a little noisy and I suppose it sticks out into the kitchen a little but so what; I am used to it and don't even notice it. I'm not in a home decorating contest; I am in my own private HOME where I live and enjoy a wonderful life, so what matters to me is that it works.
