I was excited to shop for a new fridge for our new home build, until I actually started shopping. My current fridge is a GE Profile SXS in white and will be relegated to the garage at the new house. It has served us well but I need SS counter depth and I want a built in look - no ice/water in the door and no SXS. I love the sub zero and it fits well with my cheffy aesthetic and mindset. But, out of the budget at 9K. Leibehrr is very nice and a good alternative but again too spendy at 5K. Also, we would have to modify the upper cabinets to install a taller fridge. Too many other things yet to purchase with our new house build. But definitely the look and function I am going for. I also wanted a single door but not readily available in counter depth and freestanding models. I actually considered a fridge only single door model(love all the space for the fresh foods I cook with) and could live with a freezer in the garage, but living in the central CA Valley, we would miss the ice. Then I thought we could install an ice maker in the kitchen but again, the cost factor and uncertainty of where we would install it - it is a new house but not custom and we would have to retrofit it somewhere in the kitchen(BTW if anyone has done that please chime in....) I narrowed it down to the KA, Jenn Air and Viking SS CD French door models with internal water dispenser. They are essentially the same inside - all made by Whirlpool - with minor differences including the handles and the KA and Viking have removable liners on the door bins. Viking is the cheapest at our appliance dealer($2899) and I like the looks of it with the pro handles. Jenn Air is $3249 with $300 rebate and KA pro handle style is $3199. Viking carries a 3 year warranty which is very good since we tend not to purchase extended warranties. We will be moving in the end of December and need to decide and buy a refrigerator soon. I appreciate all the information I get on this site!

Counter depth is a little of a misnomer -- the box will likely be approximately the depth of your counter, but it can vary a bit. The door will stick out beyond cabinet depth. This is the version most folks are looking at -- budgeting $1,500-2,500. Built-in may be counter depth or flush. They will also be taller than standard fridge openings as well. And they run $6-7k and up, give or take. Outside of this forum and similarly obsessed folks, most who ask about counter depth are not asking for a built-in fridge. crl_ gave you my best tip for starting your search for either -- got to ajmadison and search by size. If there is a model to fit, they will probably have it there.

It's been about 5 years since I did the kitchen - so I don't remember all the terminology. Our floor plan is open so I wanted the kitchen to look as "clean" as possible. I saved a bit of money going with a Liebherr counter depth with a cabinet panel put on. It has one door. Capacity is a bit smaller than some of the models I looked at. Did not go with the bio fresh - but this frig keeps veggies and fruits fresh much longer than any other frig I've owned. Has been working well for 5 years - no problems.

I have a beach home with a 33 inch refrigerator. It is not counter depth. We built the house in 2011 and we are on a second one. The ocean environment is not kind. Ours is a second home that we rent so a different dynamic since you didn't mention renting. But rust was not the renter's fault - at least not entirely. It doesn't help to leave windows open in the summer which I am sure some renters do - or at least the shoulder seasons. So the 33 is a bit of a pain since the variety of replacements is less. Supply effects price. But no way would I be putting a counter depth one in - the replacement cost is too high especially if you are not using it everyday. This is what I see - 20 days a year, replace every 5 if you are lucky. So you only get 100 days of life from a fridge. So buy the $1000 model not the $3000 model. I have Subzero columns in our primary house - it is really hard to spend more on a fridge. Then there are the hurricanes. There is a reason why most beach houses are not all that fancy ..... Our house is 2100 sqft, 5 bedrooms. It will be full Memorial Day. With multiple kids per bedroom. We don't do bottled drinks much but our guest do. But every brings coolers anyway. But a 33 standard is bigger than a 30 counter - and we run out of room. FIshmarket + sports drinks + everyone bringing eggs - so there are 3 dozen in the fridge.....