I'm assuming from your question that you want a built in look for your refrigerator without buying an actual built-in (those suckers are expensive)? From what I've seen there are a few ways to get a similar look (though nothing will be quite as perfect looking as a true built in) -- buy a cabinet depth fridge (I didn't opt for this because of space loss), recess your standard fridge (I know some folks on here have done that so perhaps one will chime in) or have your refrigerator cabinet built to fully enclose the fridge. The 3rd option is what I did - since the fridge is in a separate location from the main cabinets, it was an easy fix - the only adjoining cabinet is a pantry cabinet that I am having bumped forward 3 inches to make it flush with the 27" fridge cabinet (that size will enclose the sides but not the hinges or door of my standard fridge).
As to a non fingerprint-y stainless steel - - can't help you there (although I can't imagine anything dirtier than the fingerprints on the white fridge I have now).

Yes, all fridges need to vent, to move hot air from away from the unit. Most 'standard' units have their coils on the back or bottom, while most built-in units have them on the top, which helps to disguise the vents.

The good news is that you don't need a lot of room to vent-generally one inch on all sides is sufficient.

Can't help with the stainless finish question.

Spend some time on the kitchens forum as well as this one. A lot of people, including myself, are putting in a wall to enclose a counter depth fridge for a faux built in look. It depends on how fussy you are -- a few weeks ago there was a thread about the one inch or so that the CD fridge protrudes beyond a standard cabinet, and honestly I hadn't even noticed until I read that thread. (I'd still do it in a minute -- spending $1800 and looking at a 1 inch protrusion is higher on my priority list than spending $5000 or so for a true built in!)
I believe LG or GE makes something called a Titanium finish -- imitation SS that holds magnets and resists fingerprints -- although since I bought my LG I gathered that it's not got a stellar customer service reputation.

The fake stainless models are generally targeted to the budget consumer and have limited features. Most of your counter depth fridges are only offered in stainless or panel ready models. Really, real stainless isn't such a PITA to clean as you hear---IF you use the right products. Stay away from the oil based stainless cleaners and go with a siicone or wax based one. Lemon Pledge works just great, actually.

Live Wire....I found out about using Pledge too for the stainless. A couple of years and hasn't been a problem, plus it seems to repel fingerprints. Actually, I've used it in my car interior too for years without any issues.

I have been VERY happy with the "home" model Electrolux Icon: doesn't show fingerprints or smudges like the range and dw. They, IMHO, look just fine together.

I have a full depth Whirlpool that we enclosed to look as close as possible to built in without spending the extra bucks. (It was done 5-6 years ago & the selection of counter depths was more limited.) My counters are 24" deep & the frig cab is 28"; an inch or so of the sides show but they are black & so are my cabinets so it isn't noticable. I've read on this forum that you can buy panels for the sides for a better match.

About an inch on all sides is all that is required for venting. One problem that we had concerned the relatively short length of the electric cord; we had to move the outlet so were able to plug the frig in while it was out of the cabinet.

Afr66,cpovey, bluekitobsessed, live wire oak, emagineer, palmalou, antiquesilver: Thanks for the help.
Re (1), my effort to get a standard-depth refrigerator to look built in: It's clear that when I first asked the question, I didn't go into enough detail. So: I don't have the problem of getting the refrigerator to be flush with cabinets, because I am not going to have any cabinets on that wall. But I do need the refrigerator to very much look built in to the fake wall we plan to build, because this is hopefully going to be a very modern minimalist kitchen, i.e very stripped down. (I find it very odd that the most minimalist kitchens, Minotti and Bulthaup, are so expensive: It seems to me that so far as money is concerned, less ought to be less.) And meanwhile, afr66, yes those built-in suckers are way too expensive. I am going with your third alternative, having the refrigerator cabinet -- in my case, wall -- built to fully enclose the fridge, but you said that it will not be as perfect as a true built-in. Is that only because the cabinet doesn't extend beyond the case of the refrigerator, or are there other differences too?
Cpovey, you wrote "The good news is that you don't need a lot of room to vent-generally one inch on all sides is sufficient," and, antiquesilver, you pretty much said the same thing: Did you both mean I have to leave a one-inch
gap between the fake wall and the refrigerator on both sides and the top of the refrigerator? I am having trouble visualizing, but what I come up with doesn't look so attractive. Would it work to position the refrigerator out an inch or two from the real wall, to provide venting space, and build the fake wall edges to be flush with the top and sides of the case of the refrigerator?
Bluekitobsessed: It looks as if the solution you wrote about is the same one I am working towards, but I couldn't find the relevant threads in the kitchen forum. Can you perhaps remember any parts of the subject lines so I can search?
Re (2), the finger print problem: Live wire oak, I had no idea that those models were made out of fake stainless; thanks for the info.
And live wire oak and emagineer: How often do you wipe down your refrigerators? I ask because I am a lazy slob and might be less willing to work at keeping the refrigerator presentable than you are.
Palomalou: So Electrolux Icon may be the only SS fridge with a smudge-proof finish.
Antiquesilver: Thanks for preparing me with regard to the length of the cord. And I'm curious: Are you doing a silver kitchen or do you collect silver?

Sorry to be such a pest,
Observer1
.

Not a pest at all! To answer your question - in my experience (which, of course, is limited) nothing but a true built in will give you the perfectly sleek appearance of a fridge that basically disappears into the run of cabinets. With CD, recessed standards or when you have cabinets or walls built to enclose, the hinges and door of the fridge will still stick out a bit or the refrigerator would not open. That isn't an issue with a true built in. Also, they have those specialized front vents which keeps them from having to leave a bit of space for venting. That being said, I'm sure you'll be able to find a good solution - I understand this is probably very important given the kind of look you are going for. I think that the design of whichever fridge you select will go a long way towards moving you in the right direction. There definitely seem to be models that have more of a sleek, minimalist appearance.
Good luck - I look forward to hearing about your solution!

Observer, I've never had a built in refrig so I don't know how they're done, but in my situation, an inch on either side was as much space as we could squeeze out of the plan & it was still a tight manuever to get the frig in the cabinet (my floors aren't perfectly level which added to the problem). The cabinet/wall has to be above the hinges which will give you the needed top airspace with minimum clearance. You need wiggle room to remove it for future repairs or replacement as well as installing.

You didn't say what color you wall will be, but I would consider making the surround trimless & painting the inside edges of this 'cabinet' to match. I'd also consider panels in the same color or stainless made for the sides/top of the refrigerator, depending on the effect you are trying to achieve. Looking forward to pictures!

BTW - I collect antique sterling flatware.

Thanks again, afr66 and antiquesilver.

You have both led me to realize I am not going to get a really built-in look. I went back to looking on the internet at pictures of the minimalist kinds of kitchens I like, and none of them have refrigerators at all! So much for "form follows function." Or maybe these people don't actually cook, so that function is not relevant.

Now I am thinking I could put a refrigerator inside the fake wall I am planning to have, maybe having that area inside the wall become sort of a small pantry. Poor in terms of function: I will have to open a door and walk a bit to get to the refrigerator. You can see I have no idea what I'm doing.

If I persist with the fake built-in plan, the refrigerator will either be stainless or panelled very dark gray oak, and will be a bottom freezer, single-door-on-top, standard depth model. The wall will be white. It seems to me, from what you said, that the contrast will be so great that the gaps will be very noticeable.

Re my coming up with pictures: I have not even completed a plan, and then we have to tear down the kitchen wing of the house and build a new wing before we can even begin putting together a new kitchen, so it is going to be a while.

Re silver: I actually collect antique silver flatware too, but I collect American coin silver and am ignorant re sterling. So I have an OT question for you: Do you have a feeling for what the price ought to be for a set of Tiffany English Kings, 161 pieces, about 8 of them serving pieces?

Nothing is going to look quite as sleek as a true built in, but I don't think the gap/contrast is going to be as much of a problem as putting the frig in a pantry. A skillful application of shaded color can go a long way to camouflage & blend 2 surfaces. There was a thread a few months back where a black frig had been recessed into an existing closet or pantry. The walls were white & it looked great, but the thread seems to have fallen off.

Sorry, Observer, but I don't keep up with Tiffany prices since I usually can't afford to buy it but a set that size should bring a nice sum. Service for 12? I'd check ebay for going rates. I collect Art Nouveau & late Victorian floral patterns.

I may have a solution to your situation...in my previous home, i had a built-in Sub Zero. Decent fridge.

In my new home, we just did a kitchen remodel, and i got a Viking fridge that looks all the world like a built-in, but isn't.

Viking rebadges the fridge (?jennair or kitchenaid??), and sells a stainless panel side and top kit that turns it into a very functional, very built-in looking fridge, at WAY less than buying and installing a sub-zero. The actual fridge is fairly sophisticated, and we think it's a significant improvement over the subzero design from 10 years ago (last time i bought one).

http://www.vikingrange.com/consumer/products/category_microcategory.jsp?id=cat4070029

take a look..

Here is a link that might be useful: viking bottom mount refrigerator with optional top grille and side trim accessories to create

Heartsurgeon and antiquesilver, thanks for the info and the views.
And I now think I may be heading towards a solution of the fake-a-built-in problem. First off, yesterday I went to the extreme of looking at some actual non-virtual refrigerators. What I observed is that many of the Samsungs hide their hinge caps, by having their doors rise far enough above the refrigerator case to do so. Am I right in supposing, then, that one of these refrigerators would look built in simply by having the fake wall (or cabinet, in someone else's case) above the refrigerator meet the refrigerator with no gap between wall and fridge? Is there some reason why this would not work?
But if it would not work, your solution with the Viking trim sounds terrific, heartsurgeon. Were you also suggesting that the Viking trim would work with Jennair and KitchenAid refrigerators? Also, someone posted somewhere that the Fisher and Paykel refrigerator has a trim kit that creates a built-in look, but CR rates F and P at the very bottom of the list. Meanwhile, do any of you know if it's possible to have some custom metal firm fabricate appropriate trim for some other brand of refrigerator at reasonable cost?
I also have a theoretical sort of question: Assume a person wants to have a SS refrigerator, i.e. no panels that match cabinets. In what way is a genuine built-in different from a cabinet-depth free-standing refrigerator installed with integrating trim and grill such as Viking's?

"Were you also suggesting that the Viking trim would work with Jennair and KitchenAid refrigerators"

Viking does not "make" this refrigerator..it merely provides the exterior shell (and stainless panels if ordered). I suppose you could fit the stainless side panels and top kit on the non-viking version, but then you have the front of the fridge to deal with!

My Viking fridge is a little smaller than my old Sub-zero, but we have 3 less people living at home now, and frankly, the price the Viking was so much less than another sub-zero, it was a no-brainer. I like buying "quality" stuff, and i'm willing to shell out some money for something that is "better", but geez, a fridge is just a cold box...hard to get to excited about anything other than the appearance...and the appearance worked great in my remodel (went all viking/stainless).