This was also my concern. Plus I want a counterdepth refrigerator. There aren't many single door ones available, but I am waiting for the new KA V series single door counter depth, freezer door on the bottom to be out. Should be soon. I have talked to KA several times about it. Anyway the V series is replacing their T series and I saw the same model in the French door type and liked the freezer drawer layout and studiness better. I have a friend who hated her french door LG and had door gasket problems that reocurred so much that the the store took it back and she now has the single door freezer on the bottom. She likes that arrangement much better for the same reasons already mentioned--only open 1 door when putting something away. I just imagine going to it with a large pan that I can barely hold in one hand and then needing 2 arms to prop open the 2 french doors. I do prefer their look, but I'm in and out of the fridge too often to give up the convenience of 1 door. Anyone have the V series French Door by Kitchenaid?

Thanks so much for all of your replies! DH didn't have an opinion on which layout and I was leaning towards the second layout but wasn't sure, so I'm glad everyone confirmed that the second layout is the way to go. blfenton - good point about having more countertop room for wine bottles and glasses (& even other bar items) with the second layout. I wasn't even thinking of more countertop room! natschultz - and I agree the second layout will make it less claustrophobic, which is what I was afraid of with the first layout. For the 42" glass front upper, the dealer is actually ordering the cabinet "pieces" in the peppercorn color and then a local cabinetmaker will be putting the 42" cabinet together (Kraftmaid does not make a 42" wide by 42" tall cabinet) with reinforcement for stability. I hadn't thought about doing wine cubbies - that's an idea b/c I think the 9" pullouts are what's really driving up the price for this second layout. I do also like breezgirl's suggestion of replacing the 2 9" pullouts w/ 18" cab & drawer. breezygirl - I think with the second layout the dealer is trying to get the symmetry with the uc fridge centered between the 2 9" pullouts. I have no idea why I didn't think/ask about an 18" cab - I'm definitely not opposed to asymmetry as I have that in the first layout! And I definitely like that the 18" cab can fit more liquor than the pullouts;-) ellaf - no, I don't think the symmetry will come into play esp b/c we will be replacing the table, chairs and lighting but with what yet I don't know! I'm not opposed to the asymmetry in the bar area like breezygirl suggested with replacing the pullouts with 18" cab. I think an 18" cab would give us more storage space than the pullouts (& I'm not totally sold on functionality/practicality of the pull-outs). The dealer will be out at our house tomorrow afternoon, so I will ask him about replacing the 2 9" pullouts with the the 18" cab and the difference in price. And I will also ask him about wine cubbies, although I'm leaning more towards the 18" cab since I think the wine cubbies would provide less liquor storage than the pullouts. Many thanks for your help in this decision!!!

Hi L G, We ended up with all True for the bar appliances. In the living room bar, we ended up doing the True ice Maker and a True beverage center. We opted to put the ice maker here, as opposed to basement bar, since we figured we would use it much more often in the main living area as opposed to basement which is more used for movie watching and parties. So far that has turned out to be a good choice, since with two small children, we aren't hosting as many parties (yet). For the basement bar, we went with a True refrigerator, a True dual zone wine refrigerator, a True freezer, and a Miele dishwasher (Lumen, I think - I can get the exact model if you want). To be honest, so far this bar hasn't gotten a lot of use but we are still settling into the house, and I think it will be great once we are a little bit more up and running. It's been nice having the extra fridges for the beverage and wine storage. Overall we are happy with the selections. The quality and aesthetics are great. As someone recently posted on one of the threads, the True ice maker isn't "whisper quiet". You can hear it filling up water, clearing out drain, and dumping ice into the chamber periodically throughout the day. I honestly don't really notice it, and without basis of comparison, I imagine it's similar if not better than other ice makers due to the nature of the operation, but if appliance noise is a concern, I would definitely try to check out one and see if you are comfortable with the noise level before committing to one. But we've been very happy having it, and having it near the living space means it gets used a lot, and it's super nice making a cocktail and having a fresh supply of clear ice right by everything. Hope that helps, if there's more information that would be useful please let me know. -joe

some nice things about adding a cutout for a snack /beverage fridge: -The adults could use it too, for water, beer and fruit. -It would clear the beverages out of your regular fridge which would give you more room if your fridge gets overcrowded. -It would keep the kids out of the work triangle while the adults cook. -It might add a little bit to the value of the home at resale. A lot of kitchen renovations have this feature. -It could be replaced with a wine fridge in future. The standard dimensions ( 24" wide) are the same. -I just think it's nice to have a few things in a house that are for the kids. * But if you don't want to add a beverage area as a permanent feature then as other have mentioned a freestanding dorm fridge would serve the same purpose and be less expensive.