You have summarized well.

However, the "Cons" are not the of same degree. Not being able to use the space you thought you got, is a big disadvantage. Pulling out a drawer to retrieve something is not a big disadvantage. Discovering you may have forgotten something could happen in either shape Freezer if you pack lots of things in and don't keep track of what you have.

I heard GE is totally getting out of residential appliance market, so I don't think I would buy that brand.

I've had both, a 36" side by side and a 36" French Door with freezer on the bottom, and hands down I love the french door. It's much more practical, you can see everything inside much easier. The bottom drawer freezer is not that difficult to deal with. I'm not one who freezes a lot of things,so for me it's perfect.

I just got rid of a SxS for a bottom mount fridge. In the 3 or 4 days I've been using the bottom mount, I've fallen in love! I can see everything that's in my fridge (impossible in the SxS) easily and there are no more places to push an experiment to the back and forget about it.

I did lose my ice and water through the door, but I still have an icemaker in the freezer, so I'm cool with that. I'm digging for negatives here and the only other one I can come up with is that my top door is somewhat heavy when I open it, but I only have 1 door at the top. With 2 doors, like on a French Door, it shouldn't be too bad.

Thanks! Looks like the votes are in for a French Door with bottom freezer. What brand is best? Any other opinions?

Here are some more discussions...in particular check out my response toward the bottom where I summarize the pros/cons of:

* Bottom Freezer vs Top Freezer vs SxS
* FD vs Single door
* Icemaker location

[I also vote for bottom freezer w/FDs]

Best, btw, depends on several things...primarily, IMHO, how much you're willing to pay!

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread: Do you love your french door fridge?

We went from a bottom mount freezer to a side by side and I much prefer the side by side. I like having feezer items and fridge items at eye level. I like the organization in the refrigerator--multiple smaller shelves work better for me than fewer bigger shelves for my family. There has been nothing that I've wanted to get in either the fridge or freezer that I couldn't (including frozen pizzas.)

The newer side by sides seem to be much better configured than the older styles. My sister's sxs is awful and I would never had dreamed of getting one if I was using that as a basis for my decision.

After 3 1/2 years we're still loving our (cd) sxs. We had never had an ice dispenser before and we all drink a lot more water after getting it.

If you are worried about items fitting in a particular sxs, bring them to the store with you. That's what I did when I was oven shopping and it saved me from a big mistake.

I had a side by side (Kenmore) and hated it. Both sides were too narrow. Then I bought a French door, bottom drawer freezer, Maytag. Love the shape, size and functionality of this style of fridge! The Maytag and I took a while to get to know each other (I froze the water line repeatedly), but after that, it was fine. Especially liked the door alarm feature (came in handy when one door wasn't shut properly). And I especially like French doors for narrow pathways.

For the new house, I've gone with a Kitchenaid French door, bottom drawer freezer (to be delivered in early Feb). Have had a lot of luck with other Kitchenaid appliances.

Not much I can add except maybe think about how your family 'lives with the fridge' :) I noticed at my son's house they just got a SXS and they have two kids. They use the water dispenser constantly and they stock up their freezer side alot. Now, DH and myself are building a new home and we have a French door on order. It won't be a huge one (22.6 cu.ft.) but it will be plenty big for the two of us. We are not fans of the 'water in the door' feature and as for freezer room we have an upright freezer also. Anyway, good luck with your decision, BTW, I noticed my son's SXS 'runs' all the time and is quite noisy, could just be the brand.

Thanks so much for all the advice. We are going to the store today armed with boxes from items we use and platters to determine what actually fits where.

I want the best layout possible for our needs. So much to think about...

Anybody have used a French Door with the two bottom freezers??

After thinking it over for months and visiting friends who have FD and SS units, I opted for the single door refridgerator above and freezer below. I found that having to open both doors each time I was looking for something was a royal pain and the storage on each side of the door was somewhat limited, meaning you could fit some things and not others. I can fit much more on the single unit door than the French door models. It's easier to open one door at any given time than two when you have your hands full. We also kept our old unit and put it in the garage for extra storage space for beverages, and a little extra freezer space. I also saw the bottom freezer as a drawback but it's made me become more organized with the way I freeze. I went out and bought a slew of squared off containers for sauces etc that fit great & I can readily see them when I'm searching. I had my mind set on a S by S before buying for the freezer aspect alone but as with some of the other comments, I wasn't wild about the limited width of the fridge side. If I could add on to my house I would get the full size freezer and full size fridge units I've seen recently but that's not happening anytime soon!! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: True side by side

I'm just curious, what model did you get? I had a single door top frig with bottom freezer (black) and really liked it (it's now in the garage). I could not find a stainless steel version with the features I wanted (interior water dispenser in frig and ice maker in freezer), so I went with a French door model, which has been fine.

Thanks