It's sort of personal and nobody can answer for you. I'd go with the 27" integrated SZ if there were one or two of me, for example, and not waste all the energy and space on a larger unit.

But maybe you have a huge vegetable garden and freeze things. Or you have massive beer tasting parties and need to fill the fridge. Only you can say what works best for you.

I have 18" freezer / 30" fridge and love it. I couldn't survive with a 24" fridge. The only thing I would change is have a 24" or 30" freezer as well but space was an issue...
R

Anyone know if the Miele 48" comes with the 18" freezer too? I saw an 18" Thermador at the dealer today, and it was Tiny inside.

it's a more efficient use of space to have an appliance closer to a cube shape than a long thin flat shape.

it's also more energy efficient.

since the appliance walls are insulated, a long thin flat shape loses more of its possible volume to wall insulation than a boxy cubic shape.

also, small spaces are harder to use to pack things in. Wide shelves are more efficient for packing purposes.

Thank you for the answers. It looks like thermador will not work as there is no adjustability for my 83 3/4" soffitt. Now I need to decide which brand to go with. Apparently, miele, sz, and liebherr will work. I just cant validate spending 10k on the sz. I am leaning towards the liebherr, but they only come in 24/24. Argh. I guess I need to think about it some more.

get
a 24" all fridge and
a 24" fridge - freezer.

or, two 24" fridge-freezers.

e.g.

2 of GE GBC12IAX
2 of Fagor 3FCA68NFX
2 of
conserv / vestfrost / summit cp171
because it's passive cooling, and
you can transfer goods from one freezer to the other when you defrost.

Summit Commercial Series CP171
12.0 cu. ft. Counter-Depth Bottom-Freezer Refrigerator with Adjustable Glass Shelves, Manual Defrost, 2 Compressors, Interior Light, Wine Rack and For Commercial Use

2 24s will look allot better because it will be symmetrical. I would get a 48 inch if i was doing 30 inch fridge. I just feel that an 18 inch freezer is still small. Its obviously allot bigger then a standard 36 inch side by side but u can barely get anything wide in there plus you lose space to the ice maker. If you can get 2 27 inch sub zeros you hit a home run. Nothing compares to Sub. Quality, Design & Style.

On the AJ Madison website you can see all the brand & which ones make different configurations to get to 48 inches. I live by that site. They have the best website.

Refrigerators - http://www.ajmadison.com/b.php/Built+In%3BFull+Size%3BRefrigerators/N~26+4294842433+4294961194
Freezers - http://www.ajmadison.com/b.php/Upright%3BBuilt+In%3BFreezers/N~51+4294964270+4294961194

Here is a link that might be useful: Built In Refrigerators

IMHO, a 24" fridge is way too small, despite the symmetrical look. we've been debating the fridge purchase in our household for a long time, and considered the thermador freedom columns(30"/18" or 30"/24") seriously. the jenn-air 48" (and it's sister, the KA 48") actually has more room (especially on the freezer side) than the thermador. check them out.

rockybird, since in your case it's "just for one or two people" get the smaller option, i.e. two 24" appliances that cost 1/4 what a fancy name appliance costs.

b.t.w. you can get extra door bins for any fridge. It increases the fridge's capacity.

I have one of the 24" conserv / vestfrost / summit cp171 - that davidro mentioned. It has been a great fridge/freezer and holds a surprising amount of goods. The lower freezer has it's own compressor and will go very cold if you set it. Oh and it's a true counter-depth.

Also the freezer is not self-defrost, but it doesn't seem to need defrosting very often. Maybe once in 2 years. And the upper fridge will keep working while the bottom freezer defrosts.

Nothing very fancy, no light in the freezer, a stainless door- the sides are silver. Fairly quiet, and it's made in Denmark.

After reading the recommendation of the Summit CP171 by davidro1 & alexr, I went to summitappliance.com to check it out. Guess what? They are now offering to customize their refrigeration units (refrigerators, freezers, wine cellar & beer dispensers) with RAL colors (main body & optional accent color).

DH and I have been satisfied with our 10-year old 42" GE Monogram SxS (counter depth) w/ice/water in the door. The freezer is 12.5" interior width. ("Pizza box" width -- lol.) I'd actually prefer more freezer and less fridge, but I'm not a big cook or entertainer. I'm a fan of the counter depth unit's shallower shelves.