Have you looked into recessing a full depth fridge into the wall to fit into your space better? Cuz seeing all the food wouldn't do it for me, but having the fridge flush with the cabinets, especially in a smaller kitchen, is why I'd spend more on a counter depth fridge.

My mother has a counter-depth and I have a full-depth; hers is a wide single door, mine a french door.

I agree on your wanting an FD; I liked the idea but now that I have one I'd never go back.

I have to say that in my mother's fridge it's still possible, even likely, that stuff gets shoved in so that you can't see what's in back - especially at Xmas, when the rest of the family is there and I'm getting ready to cook for Xmas. The full-depth FD is just so wide-open that I have never lost anything in the back.

So given a set number of kids and husbands, eating a set number of times a week, the amount of food remains constant.
I guess the ideal would be a very wide and flat fridge but that's likely to not exist - so your choice is between a possibly crammed counter-depth or a more open FD.

I have just water in the door, it doesn't take up any noticeable space on the inside. I'd never have a door ice maker again, they take up so much space and mine have always jammed.

That's the math I'd use to figure out what I need...

Fori - there's no space to recess a fridge, and the issue isn't really outside space so much (I mean even the counter-depth ones stick out past the counter a bit don't they? It doesn't seem they're all that different from the outside but maybe I'm mistaken). Actually, in a way there is space - sort of. There's a chimney that sticks out into the middle of the 12' 1/2 x 14' room which we won't be taking out anytime soon. I could put the fridge just to the left of that chimney which at least on the fridge's right side would give the appearance of being recessed, you know? :) On the fridge's left side however there would be nothing for a foot or so before hitting a small set of servant's stairs (I guess) which go to a narrow door leading to the main stairs. Eventually we may take out that door and the steps and fill the corner in w/ counter/cabinets but for now, not. The stove is presently to the left of that chimney and I'm thinking I"ll switch places cause it will help make the kitchen feel bigger.

Mondgragon - yes I keep thinking about what you suggested (having no ice in the door). Well I just need to see how big the counter-depth fridge's get, and decide if they'll be enough of an improvement. If so, I might be able to have the best of both worlds. I think it's weird that they don't have the option of a wider, shallower fridge for those who have empty or gutted kitchens and don't have to squeeze it in i.e. are starting from scratch. I think they'd sell well but maybe it's just me.

Thank you both!

Every CD FD fridge on AJ's site has more capacity than your current fridge. GE seems to make the biggest, around 23 cft becuase they have some wiz-bang insulation. Lot's of choices. We are looking at a CD FD also but it is just the two of us. Our biggest concern is the size of the freezer compartment which is really cut into by the compressor in the bottom.

Here is a link that might be useful: AJ CD FD s

texaskitchentoo - interesting. So you think GE's is the biggest then. I'm assuming any FD freezer will be bigger than what we have now but not sure (they all seem so huge to me). We also have a stand alone freezer in the basement so I'm not too concerned there.

I'm also wondering how many cubic feet there are in that 23 cu. ft. counter-depth one in each of the inner compartments, e.g. in the old GE we have now there are 13.09 in the fresh area and 5.14 in the frozen area. I also know that the shelf has 24.5 sq. ft (not cubic).

Thanks!

Also look at shelf space. The Electrolux CD FD has deeper shelves than others. The cu ft measurement may not be indicative of usable space. You can check Consumer Reports which provides both measurements.

This may not be a workable solution for you, but years ago I had a similar situation with replacing an ancient Kenmore and trying to keep food stocked for 3 boys.

I found a 36" floor model all refrigerator SubZero and my husband did the cabinet refitting in order to build it in. I've always had an extra full size freezer just around the wall from my double ovens in the laundry room. It has never been a problem for us walking in to the laundry/mud room to get ice or ice cream.

It was worth it for being able to fit as much food in there as I need.... I've never run out of room even when we had the 4th son and they were all starving teenagers at once!!

I went from a standard depth side by side to the SZ integrated units (27") and I have to say that YES, it does make a difference!! even though the units have "only" 15 cubic ft each, I rarely have an issue (only times it's been overly crammed was for a party i.e., the big cake and serving bowls of food, and even then it worked). I think it's the usable space that matters most. and I don't loose the leftovers or buy multiple containers of sour cream thinking it's gone!

I can't answer on the difference between a new full depth and a new CD, but I went from a small old-style top freezer model, probably 18 CuFt, to a CD FD Jenn Air, and it was an amazing upgrade. The way the interior is configured make for vastly improved efficiency for me, even if it is 25% bigger, it is also vastly more usable space because everything is so adjustable. There are six door shelf pods that can be arranged, and 4 adjustable sliding shelf modules. The bottom full-width deli drawer is terrifically useful. I'm fully sold on the bottom-freezer as well, in part because I don't do frozen foods, I guess, and really appreciate having my fresh food up where I can see it. I should add, I'm a household of one (plus one cat) so a full-depth was absolutely going to be too big even if I had the room for it.
Casey

From mondragon ...So given a set number of kids and husbands...

The plural "kids" isn't unusual, but the plural "husbands" interest me. Are you really enjoying cooking that much?

;-)

Hey All -

Old thread eh?! Well I got the Samsung french door counter depth fridge which is the FRG238 (identical to the more easily found 237 w/ only difference being that there's ice below in the freezer as well as in the door).

It's only been a couple of days but so far - knock on wood - I'm CRAZY psycho in love. Granted I'd been using a 1990 18.2 cu. ft. freezer-on-top standard fridge w/ no space in the door for a gallon of milk and old-fashioned ice trays in the freezer!

Also, the contractor doesn't start work on the kitchen (partial remodel) till Monday or Tuesday so until he arrives, I don't have the water and ice function yet...they need to hook the fridge up to the water from the basement I think.

Anyway, I feel like a queen. Maybe most of you are used to such luxuries but I'm sure as heck not. I love how the freezer door handle bends up a bit when you pull on it - it makes opening it a lot easier. I love the two shelves and dividers in the freezer and the little skinny-things pop down tray by the door entry as well. I love all the adjustable shelves and how much SPACE there is compared to what I had before...and this is counter-depth! Only 4.5 or so more cubic feet but the layout makes it like it's 6 or 7 more cubic feet. I love that I could have 3 gallons of milk (or more?) in the door if I wanted. I love that the ice/water in door doesn't take up much room. I love the deli tray w/ its adjustable temp. settings. I love the digital display and the blue lights and cool chiming sounds. Love the child lock and door alarm and that I could turn off the ice makers if I don't need them (I think individually if I only want ice from in the door for example) and I love knowing that if we have more people over than usual we'll have extra ice since there are 2 ice-makers. I love how I rarely how to bend down anymore (I use the fridge space more than freezer). I didn't think I would, but I already love the wine holder and the pop holder. I love how quiet it is (haven't yet heard ice drop which I expect to be sort of loud - at least if the tray's open). And lastly, the look. It's so, so pretty.

Ok. Now we wait. We wait and see how the water/ice will be. And then we wait some more and see how long it lasts before having problems. The reviews are great. Even consumer reports has updated their fridge ratings and gives Samsung high marks now. They don't mention this model for some reason but I think that's a fluke since the other ones they mention are identical except just not counter-deep - and also cause this particular model gets better reviews than any of their other models, everywhere else.

Oh so btw I paid somewhere around $2300 at Lowe's when they just had a sale combined w/ my using a 10% off coupon. After that I paid another $200 or so for a 5 year warrantee. Lowe's is the only store, as far as I know, that offers the RFG238 (dual ice) as opposed to RFG237 which can be found at most other stores.

Thanks - sorry this was so long.

I have a brand new Thermador 30" all refrigerator column. My LG full depth FD is in the shed now with my full freezer. So far I haven't forgotten about the sour cream or the whipped cream in the back. And the freshness factor in the vegetable drawer is noticeably better as is the meat drawer. I have freezer drawers for ice, ice cream and small pizzas. But I probably could have got away with one of those portable ice makers in Frontgate and just went to the shed for the frozen stuff. The drawers were way pricey. But they are snazzy.
So for me the counter depth is working so far. But it's only been 3 weeks.

We'll have to both stay tuned then and check in in a while to see how each other are doing! ;) Sounds like a nice setup...

"we often waste money on food we forget is there cause we can't see it all shoved back out of the way! How sad! "

Indeed,

so you now want a fridge that is BIGGER so you can loose more food and money?

hummmm!

I switched to a built-in and I don't know if I could go back. Yes, we may still have things we don't use up in time, but it's rarely because it got lost and forgotten. A CD fridge may be somewhere in between a built-in and standard in depth. When we were looking, we looked at a Kitchenaid CD that was the largest at the time -- I remember it being about 25 cu ft and they promoted the fact that a standard frozen pizza box would fit in the freezer. That was the fridge we were planning on until we got offered a discount on a returned built-in and then bought a different one. ;-)

I'm not sure which one is most like what we saw then, but here's the CD Kithcenaid fridges in the 23-24 cu ft range. The only larger ones were Samsung at 25. BTW, we switched to a bottom freezer for our utility room, and I really do like the fridge on top too. That might help with not losing as much fresh food if it is closer to eye level.

Also keep in mind that you need clearance for those doors. And it sounds like you have the width for either a built in or a narrow broom closet -- make good use of that extra foot, one way or another!

antss: trying to understand your post/tone. Did you see that I already bought the fridge? It's the best of both worlds.

Problems before: not enough space...food crammed in there; wasting food cause we can't see what's in the back.

Solution now: new fridge has more cubic feet (4.5 + cu. ft. more), so food not cramming in anymore (and new fridge has far more efficient layout so it feels even bigger than that); new fridge is counter depth AND french door so we can now see everything in the far back.

Am I missing something?

lascatx: you're not talking about a french door CD though right? What I was insistent on having was a french door fridge because of the layout and I use the fridge way more often than freezer so I like it being up high where I can see everything. I assume (though am not sure) that when you talk about a CD fridge being 25 cu. ft. that you're referring to a side by side?

Yes I have the width for whatever. The kitchen is so old that the stove stands alone and the fridge stands alone. The only thing that eventually got built in was the sink (built into a counter. I'm sure once upon a time it was just a stand-alone sink). The french doors are nice in being shallow enough that they don't reach out too far into the room, if that makes sense.

Although this is an old thread, I'm a new poster and this just popped to the top.

theresse: I also just bought a brand new Samsung fridge, but we went for 29.0 cu ft (still not big enough!!) and absolutely love it as well.

I also love getting crushed ice! What a luxury that is! I can't figure out what setting to put the lettuce on as it gets brown very fast in the two veg trays.