Well I have a similar situation in my kitchen....so I bought an Amana side by side 22 CF total.
I bought it...cough cough....er eh....24 years ago.
One shelf on the door is propped up because the hanger thingey on one side broke and it has a new ice maker....but...outside of that....
But Amana isn't "amana" any more.
Linda C

I don't have a french door which I know is what you want to know about and I'd be interested to know too. My Amana is about six or seven years old, works fine and is in the garage. It's a bottom freezer which I really like.

I just mainly wanted to commiserate with you on the GE fridge. I moved here a year ago and got them to leave the two year old GE fridge because it matched the other appliances. It's a side by side and makes the most awful noise you have ever heard. I guess it will be kaput in another year or so and I won't care. Can't stand GE appliances!

I've been studying fridge's for months, reading reviews and shopping around at the stores. One thing to think about is counter depth vs reg. Counter depth is more shallow and won't give you the storage.So go with the regular depth if you can.

Samsung gets good reviews.

Here is a link to your size range at AJ Madison, they are a big internet and brick and mortar store. They have reviews on most and a rating done by customers. As with anything you never know for sure and you usually get what you pay for. If you are on a tight budget, check out a Sears scratch and dent store if there is one near you.

Nancy

Here is a link that might be useful: FD refrigerators under 36

I've had a French door, bottom freezer Samsung since last August, so close to a year. It has been wonderful! Replaced a traditional fridge, top freezer.

The Samsung is a good looking, reliable, food hog. It holds a ton. I don't have room for a separate freezer, so the big freezer in the Samsung is a great asset. The model is RF266ABRS (a smaller one) and it has water inside the fridge. No water/ice through the door. It has NOT required any service calls. However, the front of the unit is 36" wide.

I purchased a Kenmore Elite French door refrigerator in June 2003. No problems, no complaints, no service calls. I've enjoyed the adaptablility of the shelving. I use the bottom freezer for flours, grains, nuts, butter, yeast, little baggies of homemade pesto, and other things that I use frequently & don't want to have to go to the garage upright freezer to bring to the kitchen.

/tricia

I have a maytag french door fridge, bought in 2005. Works great. Really good for platters and other wide items. Don't love a bottom freezer, but it is better than the side by side.

Jo

I have a Jennair French door counter-depth. I needed the counter-depth because of space but they are very small. You definitely need a second fridge in the garage (working used is fine) if you get a counter-depth and they are more expensive. I remodeled the kitchen three years ago and spent a lot of time on the appliance forum. Of all the appliances talked about on that forum, it became quite clear that there was no one refrigerator that won out over all others. The life expectancy of todays refrigerator is 7 years. If you can get a standard size refrigerator, I would heartily recommend the French door over side by side. Much more room to fit in platters, etc. particularly when entertaining.

I really like mine,Everything is up where you look,no bending over,nice

Don't have a french door fridge but desperately want one, and am planning to buy the Samsung. Just chiming in here to say the flip side, which is that I HATE HATE HATE my side-by-side. Much more difficult to put larger pans of food in there, and the depth to width ratio makes it much more likely that things get lost in the back.

We bought a Samsung a year and a half ago when we built this house. I love, love, love it. I find that in this fridge things stay a lot fresher than they did in my old fridge, which wasn't that old.

I love being able to set my temps in my fridge and freezer. I like things very cold. It is really quiet. I do get noise when it is making ice but that is all I ever hear from it and it doesn't last long at all.

Oh, that's so good to hear--thank you all. The toughest thing for me will be to find one whose door can open and not bang the counter opposite. The remodel is still on hold, but I've got to have a new fridge now. :(

We bought a Samsung at Lowes -- I was unsure at first if I would like the French Door model -- LOVE it. I looked at a lot of refrigerators and reviews at the time and we have been very happy with ours. Good luck!

Not a big fan of the side-by-side and have been thinking about switching to a french door. One of my biggest concerns is that my refrig door holds a lot of jars (mustard, ketchup, soy sauce, etc) and I mean a lot. Seems french doors don't hold as much and that means all that stuff has to go on a shelf somewhere and won't be as handy as I'd like.

Anyone have a problem with limited door space?

Sue

We bought a Kenmore Elite French door fridge in April of 2005, and I really like it. Water in the door, ice maker in the bottom freezer. I had to have the icemaker replaced shortly after delivery, but haven't had any problems since. We have a built in island and had to go with either a side by side or the French door style. My fridge in our last house was a side by side and I loathed it - this one has tons of room.

Sue - we also seem to accumulate lots of jars of condiments, and it is kind of an issue. I've sort of solved it by putting everything together in a plastic shoebox on the top shelf, and since I'm short it's not a problem for me :-)

Becky

I know LG gets a bad rap  but they get lots of good reviews too and it had everything we were looking for including the crushed ice through the door which DH uses every day. Ours is the French Door with the 2 drawer freezer. We have had it for 3 years now  maybe longer than that. I *love* this fridge and have had Zero problems with it.

Yuk, I hate side by side, even the SubZero that came with our house. It does keep food, especially produce very well (I would never have thought it would make a difference, but it does), but there's no room for anything big in either the fridge or the freezer.

Fortunately, georgysmom gave you the solution: you need a second fridge somewhere. We got a cheap, basic one (if you have ApplianceSmart or some other scratch 'n' dent place in your town, that's ideal), and now we like the SubZero in the kitchen. In fact, because I have plenty of backup space (we have a 5' freezer back there, too), I love having the little drawers in the kitchen freezer; it makes it easy to store and find little bags of ingredients, stock, etc. But it would drive me absolutely goob-shooby if it were my only freezer.

I've had an Amana french door fridge for about 5 years now and really like it. I wish that they had ice and water in the door when I bought mine. My grandparents had avocado green a french door fridge in their kitchen for years. It was quite the conversation starter since no one else had them. They must have bought it in the early 70s, late 60s.

I have a three year old Amana FD with bottom freezer. I love it. It has the deli drawer on the bottom of the frig. where I keep all my meats and cheese. It pulls out and the top flips up. It is so handy and keeps the food so well.

I have had an LG french door since 2006 and just love it. I have had no problems. Love the bottom freezer drawer although the ice maker is a bit out of the way, doesn't bother me, guests seem to have problem finding it though. LOL I love the pull out shelves and the big shelf/drawer in the fridge part. I really like not having to bend over to get stuff out of my fridge. I did not get the ice/water in the door, personal choice. My DD just bought a Samsung french door with ice/water in door and she loves it.
Sue, I don't have a problem with the door storage. The doors hold a lot of stuff, even gallon size jugs of milk.
The alarm on the doors can be annoying when putting up stuff or cleaning, but I really wish I had had that feature when the children were home. Lost a bunch of freezer stuff once because the door didn't get shut properly....another tale for another time. :)
Just my two cents worth....
Murphy

Murphy,
On my maytag fd, there is a pad to touch at the top (when door is open) to turn off the alarm. Sort of like a dishwasher/ washing machine control. I turn it off when I am cleaning shelves.
Maybe you have it too?

My parents have an LG which they're very happy with. I often find myself not closing the door all the way, but I supposed you'd get used to it if you lived with it daily.

Linda - Looks like you and I are the only ones that like SxS. I never had one until my current which I got used from my inlaws, and now I'm not sure I'd ever want to switch back. Once in a while I find the freezer width a bit limiting, but 99% of the time I find the long arrangement much more practical to deal with.

I've never had a side by side OR a french door refrigerator. Elery has a side by side and hates it, wants a french door with a bottom freezer when we finally build that house at the farm.

So, I'm reading this with interest and taking notes for the future!

Annie

We ended up with the Samsung french door, freezer on bottom, but we didn't get it with the water outside-- ours has a filter and a small water spout inside, on the side. I thought I would hate that because it would make a mess --I was wrong, I love it and so does the rest of the family - have had no problems with it. That leaves lots of room in our doors. I wasn't sure I would like the french doors either -- but I love them, easy access, lots of room inside. Best fridge I've ever owned.