Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and comments. I think side by sides are one of those things that you either love them or you hate them. My past two fridges have been bottom mount freezers and I definitely like them. But at this stage, with 4 kids, I was looking to have something that the kids could access themselves. Right now, my older two, who are the only two that can help themselves, have to climb up into the fridge just to get out the milk or a yogurt cup or something. But, I should also add that our current fridge, while a hideous monstrosity, still functions just fine and will take up a new home in the garage right next to the chest freezer. So, we do still have plenty of storage for large items. I mean, really, there's no need to have 3 gallons of milk in the house at one time, is there? ;) Two could easily be kept in the garage. Thanks, again. I didn't know about the JD rating of the Samsung, and with your comments, I think I'm definitely leaning that way.

1) Fridge All refrigerator lines have lemons. Having said that a few years ago E'lux had a quality problem with their refrigerators in general and FD in particular. French door with ice in-door being the worst. Recently it seems to have climbed to average. The best right now of the mainstream brands is Samsung. The best overall is Liebherr. Expensive German luxury brand. Three years ago when they first came out with a French Door model they had a problem with the seal between the french doors and the ice-maker. Resolved quickly and some people who bought the very first of the line got brand new fridges. 2)Elux Wall Oven Best bang for the buck out there in ovens. Made in the USA now. Some old stock is made in Candada. 3)Convection/MW wall oven. No worse than anybody else. Matches standard wall oven. Good to go here. 4) Gas Cooktop BlueStar RBCT304BSS is far superior and made in the USA. It is a few hundred dollars more. Someone posted they were selling one on here a few days ago. Maybe you can get a deal? 5) Miele DW If you have a whole house water softner or get soft water directly from your water company(4 grains per gallon or less) then you should consider the entry level Miele dishwasher,the Classic. If you have hard water you should look at the Crystal or higher. You can check water hardness with a test strip or sometimes on the water company's website. Bonus) Farmhouse Sinks. Many threads on this in Kitchens Forum All have pros and cons. Fireclay. Very traditional looking. Can crack if garbage disposal is not installed correctly. Can crack if you pour boiling water on it on cold morning. And it can chip. Some people are extremely happy with theirs. These people are ok with trading some practicality for beauty. Cast Iron. It can chip or scratch and leave those marks you are talking about. But they will remain functional forever. Well almost :) Mitrani Quartz Farmhouse sink. On paper ideal. Not quartz as in the countertop/mineral way but in some sort of high tech plastic sort of way. Looks great in pictures. In person it looks "plasticky" to me. Some people are ok with the looks,love the functionality and the price. Stainless Steel farmhose sinks. More modern look. They can scratch,show water spots,they can ding, and cheap ones sound funny with even a slight bump from dishes. Functionally they pretty much last forever too. Copper farmhouse sinks. Unique look. Usually rustic. Sinks with hammered interiors can be a PITA to maintain. They collect water in the divets and some manufactures recommend waxing from time to time. Cheap imported ones can have toxic metals because they are made from third world recycled copper. The nicer domestic/European copper sinks can be pretty much maintenance free with no divets and good contruction. If you get a natural finish any scratch will patina over in a few weeks.Acidic foods that sit on copper sinks for a while can remove natural finish but again patinas over.Does not show water spots.A good one is ding resistant but if you do get dings they are hard to spot.

Our refrigerator only has water in the door...no ice (but, there is an icemaker in the freezer). Our old refrigerator had an ice dispenser in the door and constantly froze up until, in frustration, we turned it off. With cold water in the door, we find we don't use the ice as much b/c the water is always cold. Yes, for other drinks we use ice, but since we drink mostly water the dispenser works for us. Another reason I didn't want an ice dispenser in the door is that it takes up quite a bit of room in the refrigerated portion....where we already lost the most space by switching to a CD refrigerator. Our freezer drawer is one drawer, but it has two pullout baskets inside it...so there are 3 areas of storage. Things rarely get lost in it and, like someone else said, nothing falls out on you! +++++++++++++++++++++ The carcass/box of a counter-depth refrigerator is approximately 24" deep (it varies by a couple of inches depending on the specific model). In all cases, though, the doors & handles stick out beyond that...in some cases up to 6" more (door depth + handles). The carcass/box of a standard depth refrigerator is anywhere from 30" or more deep (depending on size). Like cabinet-depth, the door(s) + handles stick out another 6" or so. The entire refrigerator (carcass + door(s)) of a built-in refrigerator are approximately 24" deep. These refrigerators are also usually very tall since the mechanics are above rather than behind the refrigerator. Cost-wise: Standard depth are the least expensive; next are the counter-depth; with built-ins the most expensive (often by a lot). Note that counter-depth can be made to look built-in by surrounding it with 3/4" finished end panels & a putting in a full-depth cabinet above it. Standard depth refrigerators can be made to look cabinet-depth if you recess it into the wall and room behind it. If you do that, then you can also make it look built-in as described above. [Note that in most cases you cannot recess into an outside/exterior wall.]

Expensive, yes, power, probably, but I've never heard that they're unreliable. Perhaps that's a function of price, however. I love my drawers, but I"m not using them primarily for beverages. I do have some ale in the bottom drawer, and sometimes opened wine, but cold water, milk, juice, etc., are in the main fridge and we don't waste fridge space on soda pop. Does your wife want custom panels to match your cabinets? That cuts out some of the lower end models. Also consider noise. Perlick has the best reputation for being quiet, and SubZero is close. Those are also the two most expensive. I have Marvel, but they've changed their whole refrigeration line since I bought mine so they don't compare. It's loud compared to Perlick, but had better drawer configuration back then. It isn't a problem because the kitchen is in its own room and isn't a hang out place, but does have a lot of cooking noise. If you have an open plan, and especially are trying to watch a movie or have a romantic conversation in the same room, the noise can be a big issue. Another thing to be aware of, whether drawers or doors, is heat venting. With cabinetry all around it, the heat given off may warm up the drawers. Fine for utensils, not so great for food. Before you decide, try to get to a showroom that has a few models to compare, and bring some bottles and cans or things that are similar sizes, so you can see how they'd fit and function. Your wife might end up thinking a fridge with a door and pull out trays works better.