Can you recess the frig into the wall? That's what we did. I didn't want to spend more $ on less space, either.

LSMom is right about the perfect solution--make it look good while keeping the fatty fridge you want!

Can you pull out the surrounding cabinetry and use panels or whatever it takes to hide the sides? I prefer a full-depth fridge, but don't like them sticking out of cabinetry. I mean, it looks like a bad fit! So if you can make it fit and look good, it'd add resale value to me (and to most). Recessing is even better, if you can.

When you measure, remember that the door doesn't count--just the case. Doors on counter depth are still sticking out so don't worry about that. The manufacturers have the case depths (and everything else) online for quick shopping around.

Or if you can pull it off, make the cabinet run on the fridge side extra deep to accommodate the fridge...deep counters ahhhhhh....

If you can't recess it, and resale is an issue, get a CD model. Most buyers (not the TKO'ers here, of course) go by their first impression when they walk into the kitchen and you don't want any hiccups. Or you could use refrigerator side panels such that your standard depth fridge will be covered on the sides, and look pulled forward from the pantries. Like pulling a sink base forward from the cabinets flanking it. You'd want to pull that over-fridge cabinet forward as well, i.e. this entire assembly would be 6-7 inches forward of the wall.

Can you make the one cabinet next to it deeper by _X_ inches? Then the countertop would have a jog in it. A check, a zigzag, whatever you call it. Often fridges go at one end of a line, so it means spending on custom work on one side only. This uses the same budget to give you both a bigger fridge AND more storage space too.

HTH

How do I know whether it can be recessed? There's an interior wall behind it (which I believe would be good), but I'm pretty sure it's a main support wall that runs pretty much the length of the house. I think I would feel uncomfortable removing studs in that wall. This is a DIY project so I can't ask a contractor!

I think I understand what idrive65 is saying about using end panels, but I'm a little concerned with the pantries on either side that it would look weird...

davidro1-- I'm not sure what you're saying by the countertop having a jog in it... The countertop will run directly into the 12" pantry because it's 24" deep. The fridge will follow, then the 24" pantry and that is the end of the run.

I'm trying to attach a drawing so you can get a better visual of this (each square = 6"):

Looks like the fridge has full-height units on both sides, not base cabinets (with counter on top) so disregard my remark on the counter jog.

If you make the 24" deep pantry into a 29" deep or 30" deep pantry, then it hides the fridge when entering or viewing the kitchen from that side. It also narrows the entrance. You may conclude it's money well spent.

-hope this is now clearer.

With this drawing I have 48" of clearance between the pantry and the peninsula-- would it be a big deal to shorten this by 6"? Even if not, I'm not sure our semi-custom cabinets come that deep... It's a good suggestion, though!

I'm still intrigued about recessing the fridge... Even if I found out it could be done on that wall, it seems like it would be a safety hazard or something. Don't refrigerators need ventilation?

You can use a standard 24" depth cabinet and have it installed away from the wall -- usually pulled out a bit with 2x4's or larger to get the depth you want and still give mounting stability. You would need a side panel to finish the end or some other clever treatment on the side. It may not be cheaper, but you wouldn't give up capacity. If you close i a fridge, make sure you have clearance to fully open doors and remove drawers for cleaning, etc.

KMGARD,

It looks like you have lots of space in front of the fridge wall to bump up the pantries 6" into the open space. 42" will be plenty between the pantry and the peninsula. We have a fairly similar situation- the fridge is on a load bearing wall and we have the cold air return on the other side (in the LR), so it really wasn't a simple solution to recess the fridge. Plus unless you can 'borrow' six inches, recessing to gain a couple of inches (you still need something to support the drywall on the other side of the wall) is hardly worth it.

What I would suggest is that you either move your two pantries forward 6" (I would definitely move the OTF cabinet forward regardless- very hard to reach into there if it's back 6 inches), and cover the space with extra panels 30" deep. That would then give you a 6" jog on the counter beside the stove.

However panels can be pretty expensive- maybe even more than the CD fridge would be. cuz you'd need 2 panels.

Or, you could add a 6" filler behind the 24" pantry- maybe a skinny pullout broom closet? and just have one panel, for the stove side of the 24" pantry.

It's just the two of us too, but for whatever reason, we never seem to have enough fridge space, so I'd hate to go to a 'real' CD fridge for that reason.

Consider the aggravation/expense of recessing the fridge vs. putting a little extra money into a counter depth model.

BUT if CD is not in the cards, I would definitely recess it as having a fridge stick that far out into the space is something that you don't see much anymore with the advent of CD fridges so when you do see it, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

I looked on AJ Madison at pricing. The CD side x sides seem to be several hundred less than the CD french door. Possibly this is where you can pick up some savings??

Side x Side would be better IMHO than regular depth french door model.

Thanks for the suggestions. Raehelen, I think you're right-- it wouldn't be worth the effort for us to try to recess the fridge, especially with the safety considerations... I do like the idea of using a 6" filler, though!

One question-- if I use a 6" filler to bring the 24" pantry forward, how do I bring the 12" pull-out pantry forward? If I use a panel on the left side of it, won't that make it so my base and wall runs next to the stove won't sit flush against its side? Does that make sense?

mamadadapaige-- you're right. It probably would stand out these days, so I guess I"ll have to look at some other options. However, the ONE thing DH has asked in this kitchen re-do is that we don't get another side-by-side. He can't stand not being able to fit anything large in the freezer. And honestly, now that we've looked at some, I really like how they're set up. I might consider a single-door with the bottom freezer though...

This doesn't reflect your design but in this kitchen it looks like they have a 18" deep cabinet over the fridge and a 18" fridge panel(I have no idea where I got the image, might have been here, so to be clear it's an example no judgement intended) so you would get a bit closer to the edge of the counter coverage with a 24" panel (though note they have chosen a fridge with grey versus black sides which reduces the contrast):

For my Mom's kitchen we used a stock cabinetry line with pretty limited range of options. We pulled the 24" deep pantry and cabinet over the fridge forward 6" and closed the other side with a 30" fridge panel:

This is with the Shaker moulding and we enclosed the opening along the top with a section of lightrail:

If your cabinetry line doesn't offer 30" deep tall cabinets you could just pull the cabinet over the fridge forward using fridge panels to enclose the fridge or you could place fridge panels on the outside of the pantries and pull all of that part of therun forward. I'm not sure either is a good option, I can't quite picture it, but it might work. No idea on clearance issues.

we recessed ours into the wall. the construction guys put in a header, which they needed to do anyone because half of that area used to be a doorway, but that takes care of whether it's load bearing and having to remove studs etc (at least in my unprofessional opinion!) Behind the fridge is just the unfinished back of the wall of the adjacent office. We did enclose all around our fridge for a built in look. It not air tight or anything so ventilation is not an issue. Oh, and we also put the outlet in the bottom of the pantry next to the fridge (and then bored a hole at the bottom of it) to feed the plug into -- so that the fridge can be pushed all the way back.

We looked at counterdepth, but didn't want to sacrifice any space in the fridge.

Bumping out the cabinetry on the refrigerator/range wall looks like a workable solution to me. If you've never worked with 30" deep counters, I can assure you, you'd love them.

I guess the one thing that jumps out at me on your plan, is that you're going to be doing an awful lot of walking in the course of preparing a meal. Your sink (and presumably, your prep area) looks like an awful long way from the stove. How much traffic will you be dodging as it passes between the garage and whatever room is beyond your peninsula? Have you considered positioning the range in the area to the left of the door leading to the garage?

I just went thru this same dilemma. We briefly considered making the counters deeper on the run next to the refrigerator but didn't because we were DIY and not sure about the effect. So, we went with the Jenn Aire Side by Side CD. In hindsight, we should have accomodated the full size fridge. Although my DH loves the JA, he doesn't have to fit the groceries into it. We are empty nesters so the only time it is a BIG problem is when all kids and significant others are around. If you have more than 2 people in the family full time, my suggestion is that you pull the surrounding cabinetry out. I wish I had.

Once again it depends on what is "expected" in houses in your area and price range. I would be concerned about a kitchen that didn't leave enough room for a full size refrigerator if that is what I needed. If I had a family and needed a large refrigerator and a house would not accommodate that, it would be a bigger problem than a well done full size refrigerator with a 30" deep cabinet above it, when I preferred CD models. The photo carryscott posted is the problem with trying to put a full size appliance in a space built for a CD appliance. If you live an area with a lot of families that would attract the same, I would go with a full size. If you live in a mostly adult community I might consider CD, but even then some people would find the CD fridge limiting. Since full size refrigerators so greatly outnumber CD refrigerators chosen and purchased, I would think that is what the greatest number of people want. To appeal the largest number of people looking at your home that is what I would probably go with. It might also depend on style. I think CD fits a sleek, modern kitchen with straight, simple lines better, and a standard one goes well in a kitchen with other unfitted, furniture look, or mixed depth cabinets, like bumped out sink cabinets. Remember also, very few people are as kitchen obsessed as most people on this forum. They just want to like the kitchen and have it work for them. You don't want them to open the refrigerator and say, oh my, "I could never fit enough food for my family of 4 or 5 people in there". Gee, do you think a larger one would fit? On the other hand, while it may have happened, I can't imagine many people turning away from a house they liked because it didn't have a cd refrigerator.

Sue

Any time-life book at the library will show you how to put in a proper header; spanning 36" in a structural wall is child's play for your average carpenter. If you do this and pull your cabinets out 6", you will have created a space that makes a standard fridge look counter-depth. Don't know what's on the other side of your wall, but knowing there is 6" of dead space would enable some cool built in bookcases, tho blocking out the kitchen cabinets 6" without interfering with the potential for built-ins from the other side could be problematic.

I seem to recall being able to look up the recommended side, top, and back air clearances for my fridge on the mfg. website. They're suprisingly small; otoh, you want to follow them or you hurt the efficiency of your unit. So, maybe you can easily look this up for the models you are considering too.

If I were staying in the house, I'd go to the trouble to make the space work for a standard depth fridge recess. If you replace a fridge every 10-12 years, the extra cost for cd adds up. Plus we need maximum storage in minimum frontage. But if I were selling soon, I'd go for less hassle and just get the counter depth model.

Another picture of a regular depth frig in the middle of 24" cabinets, and in a great kitchen, is in Arlosmom's kitchen slideshow, which I just came across a few threads down. Here's a link to it. The frig is in the third and fourth boxes from the left, along the bottom.

kmgard,

I'm not quite sure what your question is about pulling the 12" pantry forward.

But this is what I'm envisioning. 6" pullout behind the 24" pantry. Then either 30" cupboard over fridge or 24" pulled forward and some support built out from back wall. You'd only need a panel on the right side or range side of the pantry as the gap would be hidden by the pantry and the fridge and the OTF cabinet (as far as I can figure out).

Hope I've figured this right?

{{gwi:1589978}}

I apologize for the text showing through- used the back of my son's swimathon form and the flash makes the typing show!

All of you are so fantastic-- I seriously don't know what we'd do without the help of this forum. It certainly wouldn't be a DIY project, and we'd be spending twice as much to get a kitchen half as good! So THANK YOU all for the time and consideration you put into answering questions.

After reading through these posts, I'm convinced to go with a full-size fridge. I just can't stomach paying more for something smaller, and as sue pointed out, I think a CD could backfire worse if a family moved in and needed more fridge space.

FWIW, I live in a mature, gated, lake community with homes from 30-years-old to brand new, and $150K to $700K. Pretty eclectic! We live in one of the least expensive homes-- 3 beds, 2 baths, built in '94, with one of the biggest yards in the neighborhood. It has fantastic resale potential, but my hideous kitchen (posted it several months ago but can't find the post) it white linoleum with really odd/crappy white cabinets, white laminate countertops, and brass hardware. Awful layout. In my size home in this community, our potential buyers could be anywhere from a retired couple looking to downsize to a young military couple with one or two children. So even though we don't necessarily need the fridge space, the next people might!

wa8b: the layout issue you mentioned is certainly a potential problem as far as traffic flow. Behind the peninsula is a dining area, and to the left of the fridge/pantries in my drawing is the living room entrance. We were originally trying to keep the appliances situation close to where they are now to avoid added costs, but now that we've decided to stick with an electric range (even though we'd rather have gas), the potential to easily move the non-outside-venting range is definitely an option. However, my drawing represents where the stove and sink are currently located, and I've never had much of a problem traversing the 7.5' of space... Also, I like the idea of keeping the drawer bases for pots and pans on either side of the stove. But maybe I should referse the fridge/pantries and the stove/counters. The room would be more open when walking in, and the stove wouldn't be right next to the garage door. I'll probably post a separate thread about layout to discuss this...

caryscott and raehelen, thank you so so much for the photos and drawings! It helps a great deal to see my potential options. caryscott, I can see that a non-CD fridge does not stick out that far, and the gray sides definitely make a difference.

For those of you who described the logistics of recessing the fridge into the wall, thank you so much! This MIGHT be a possibility-- we'll see how comfortable DH is with the idea. :)

Again, you've all given me a lot to think about-- I really appreciate all of the feedback!

Katie

Katie,
just saw an ad in the B&G kitchen mag for a new french door fridge from Haier. googled it: prices range from $1300-$1800. looks nice, but not sure if it will have enough cubic feet of storage for you. what are you needs?

also haven't a clue if haier is a good brand, but thought i'd pass it along

Here is a link that might be useful: Haier fridge

Funny that egganddart should point out my full-depth fridge...it's a bit of a thorn in my side. I had the cabinet built for the Jenn-air cabinet depth floating glass fridge, but my DH nixed it as "too fancy" (even though I ran it by him in advance of placing the cabinet order...shows how well he was actually listening at the time). So we're keeping the 4 y.o. full-depth Amana for now, but I'm still planning to replace with a 36" counter-depth at some point. But for now, we've spent enough money. Time to take a break.

mamadadapaige-- wow, that is a fantastic looking fridge! I'm a little leery about ordering a brand I've never heard of though... Our refrigerator needs aren't that great because it's just the two of us, plus we have an old fridge in the garage that we use for beer, soda, etc. But when it comes to resale, I'm thinking it would be better to go with a full-size fridge since I can't anticipate THAT family's needs. Of course, if the buyers don't like how it looks sticking out, then that's another problem!

arlosmom-- I think your kitchen is lovely and you shouldn't let the fridge bother you. You're lucky that yours is in a corner-- mine will be along a main pathway through the kitchen, so i suppose I'll have to consider bringing the cabinets out around it. Have you thought of recessing your existing fridge the way others have suggested here?