I can't imagine that you wouldn't run the laminate under the refrigerator. What happens when you need to put your refrigerator out? You'd ruin the flooring trying to get it over the sides of the floor. I'm sure others with laminate will chime in. If you don't get any answers here, try posting on the kitchen forum. There are quite a few with laminate flooring there.

Like pdxgal, I've had my fridge and wall ovens next to each other for 20 years with no problem. I, too, don't want to change my electrical service for those appliances, so the new ones will occupy the same positions. That said, you should be sure to e-mail customer service of the company that manufactures your new refrigerator and ask what their policy is regarding ovens and refrigerators next to each other. GE customer service told me it would void the refrigerator warranty. KA customer service told me the warranty would still be in effect, but they recommended 3 inches between the appliances if it was possible. I am going with the KA built-in side-by-side, and I have their answer IN WRITING (love e-mail!) regarding this appliance issue. FYI: When I asked GE customer service by telephone whether their policy was "carved in stone", they said yes. But their own marketing brochures have at least two photographs where their ovens and fridges are right next to each other!

Thank you SO much everyone! It seems most of you are for the CD fridge. We have a small fridge - the kind found in dorm rooms (not tall and skinny but short) which we could also use but there's no practical space to put that in besides the basement. But our kids aren't allowed to drink soda, my husband keeps only a few beers in the fridge at a time, and I keep my diet cokes in room-temp storage so I don't even know what would go in the small fridge. I'm certainly not willing to keep food down there or regular drinks like juice/milk so I really do think we'd be stuck w/ the CD fridge for most of it. I could keep our old fridge in the basement for holiday meals as well as all the drinks we presently keep in room-temp storage, however I was upgrading to an energy-efficient fridge! why would I want to have the new fridge AND the old fridge, considering that?! Going up in 3 cubic feet in size on for the fridge portion (free food), when I picture gigantic dice of a cubic foot each in size, that seems like a decent (not great, but decent) improvement... (I hope)! Here's what I'm too dumb to figure out: if the fresh food portion of a fridge includes the space in the door/doors - regardless of whether it's a 1990 standard fridge or the new french door kinds - how does that translate based on the new layout? In other words my current old fridge has very little door space; it has only one door and its shelves for condiments and butter. The new fridges have space for at least 2 gallons of milk in the door, but less space for condiments and yet still some space for them. So if the milk will no longer be on the main shelves but in the door, does that mean I'll get all that added space on the main shelves + the additional 3 cubic feet of fridge space? Anyway...thanks for helping me figure all this stuff out!

First I'd contact the closest Home Depot with your original design and ask them to beat the Lowe's quote (don't tell them Lowe's can't get it for you). Believe me, they'll bend over backwards to beat the quote. If it's a Formica or Wilsonart problem, try a local hardware store. Our local Ace Hardware can order laminate countertops at a decent price. It just takes a little longer than the big box stores. Or try a local kitchen designer place. All else fails--contact Formica or Wilsonart corporate and explain the dilemma. Customer service will help you figure it all out. Even if they have it fabricated and shipped from somewhere else, they should be able to help. In this economy, no one wants to lose a sale.