I think it depends on how you're going to really use the space. We're putting a BC on the island, adjacent to an undercounter ice maker. We plan to use the island as a prep area, but also a counter-height bar to serve drinks from to guests on the seating side. It's a KitchenAid model that stores wine on the bottom and other drinks toward the top. Since we bought a 36" built in fridge, it will help maximize the counterdepth space in there by moving all drinks to the BC, rather than wasting it on beer, cokes, etc. Do you have a need to store other types of items at the butler's pantry? How will you use this space? Here is a link that might be useful: Our bungalow and kitchen remodel blog

We have the u-line undercounter built in bev fridge with glass door and trim that matches our white kitchen cabinets. According to the thermometer I tested it with in a glass of water it goes down to 37 degrees. We don't have a real fridge yet so we have food in it and it keeps well. When we get the real refrigerator it will be the big Samsung regular depth with ice and water in the door (DH loves crushed ice) but I'm so looking forward to having all the drink traffic in a separate area of the kitchen and having my real refrigerator uncluttered with drinks. The bev fridge will have wine (2 racks), beer, orange crush (a treat for when the grown children visit) and probably some bottled water for occasional use. I'm also very happy with how it looks and, as someone said earlier, it breaks up the run of white so it adds visual interest. The only thing I don't like is that the shelves are not adjustable so really tall things don't fit upright. Once that bottle of wine is open it either must go in the main fridge or we'll need to finish it. Off hand I'd say we'll probably finish what we start. Just as a side note---our 3 children are all grown up and we endured many "3-headed looks" b/c our bev choices for all children were milk or water (and that meant tap water). We also didn't keep salt or sugar snacks stocked in the house (making popcorn was an activity and so was peeling fruit). Sometimes our children also complained that "everyone else" had all the snacks and drinks we didn't but now we see them making healthy choices in their own lives and we're glad we didn't relent when they complained.

The KitchenAid beverage center is 24" wide. We shopped for months to finally choose this model. We picked it because it has less beverage space and more wine space, which fits our beverage needs better than the two-wine rack configurations. We also like that it has three zones: a cold beverage section, a cool white wine sections and a red section. Currently the temps for those sections are reading 37, 52, 59. The model was brand new when we chose it, and there was one GW memeber that got one right when it came out. He replaced his Vinotemp with it because the Vinotemp was way too loud for him. The KA is extremely quite while running. When it was new, I could hear the relay that controls when the fridge kicks on, but that softened up after a couple months. The appliance guy said that was normal for that type of relay (which is the "better" kind to have anyway). We bought our in spring 2007 and paid ~$900 for the panel ready model. An added bonus is that the beverage section actually goes down to 37; many (if not most) beverage fridges have thier lowest temperature at 40. Anything above 40 is not food safe, so I wouldn't feel comfortable storing opened juice, or cut fruit in there.

We have both an undercounter microwave and a beverage fridge. I bend down a little for the m/w controls, but 99% of the time I'm using the same buttons - open/close, stop/pause and the numbers to set time - I know their location now, so I just knuckle the panel and I'm set. The beverage fridge, I do have to go into a full deep-knee bend to grab things, but it's an alcohol-only fridge, and I use it a lot less than if it had, say, bottled water or if I stored juice/soda for children in it. BTW, we ended up with a beverage fridge instead of wine fridge because Spouse is a big beer drinker, and most of the wine-fridge racks had slats that were too widely spaced to hold bottles of beer. Even 25-oz bottles of many microbrews and imports are skinnier than wine bottles, and slipped right through the slats when we tested empties at the appliance store. We have the obligatory few bottles of wine on the slats, removed one glass shelf so as to accommodate taller beer bottles, and the fridge works fine for our needs.