If you don't need a french door or side-by-side, there are (were?) some fridges that could be hinged left or right. I currently have a setup like yours and open the door into a doorway. I feel your pain.

I think Fisher & Paykel sells a left hinged fridge...look at AJmadison.com for a great sort feature. They have a great website for browsing options.

Thanks, fori. I've considered that I might be forced to get a one door top fridge/bottom freezer. Even then, I think I'll refuse to put the hinge on the left and open the door into the room. No way, no how am I losing a landing zone!

How will a one door top fridge/bottom freezer be any different? It still won't be possible to open it if it's right next to the wall (and hinged on the right).

You're right, sjhockeyfan. It would have to open on the left. Which would really suck.

>Which would really suck.

Well, it's not ideal, but it's really not that bad, unless you do a huge turkey or bone-in-rib roast for twenty every week. It's not horrible to lean back around the door to set things on the countertop, not if there's no other place for the fridge to go. I know because I've had that setup in the past.

What if I just swapped the fridge to the left and put the cabinets on the right? Would that solve my problems, or is there something I'm not considering? Would that look weird?

I had that exact same set-up before I did my remodel. I was able to open the doors just fine (side-by-side) by getting a fridge that was a bit narrower than the spot that it went into. I did have to pull the fridge all the way out (like in your picture) in order to remove the vegetable bins for cleaning, but for everyday use, the doors opened without issues. You just need to leave a couple of inches of space over against the wall.

I would be super tempted to split up the double cabinet. I don't think it will look weird and it will make your fridge very happy.

I would definitely consider that (as opposed to a left-hinged refrigerator in the original space).

jellytoast - when we moved in last year, the fridge was pushed against the wall, and we could barely open any of the drawers (which take up at least 1/3 of the fridge) to get to anything. Each drawer would only open about halfway. Perhaps another fridge wouldn't have the same issue.

robotropolis - yes, it's definitely seeming like either splitting up the double cabinet or swapping the fridge to the left and cabs to the right is where I need to go. I think I'd need to go with a CD fridge in that case though, yes?

french door fridge will def. work better than what you have.

the bottom freezer is a drawer, so no issue.

the top fridge section is one compartment so if one door does not open all the way, you can still get your stuff.

you can also look into the 33" french door fridges, I think GE makes one, but it is not counter depth. beyond that, there are some really pricey options in non standard sizes.

We have had the same issue with fridge location in a couple of homes. Never really bothered me not to be able to open the door all the way. One possible issue if you get a french door fridge is opening or accessing the wide deli drawer. We have ordered this fridge for our new build that also has the fridge next to a wall. It has an exterior deli drawer that lets you can see it contents without opening up the drawer due to the bottom shelf of the fridge being glass.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchenaid Fridge

How wide is the opening? I would definitely consider a narrower fridge - or one like xc60 posted, where you can access almost everything without even opening the right door.

I don't think splitting your cabinets would look weird - especially with one side set up as a coffee station. My only concern would be if it would then come too close to your island/peninsula.

What's the clearance between the countertop and the peninsula/island/whatever it is?

I can do some measuring this evening.

I have to admit, I hate the look of the extra drawer fridges. I'd rather reconfigure the cabinets than get one. It's an excellent idea, though, xc60. :)

Definitely split the cabs and look into a CD fridge. Problem-o solved. If you do that you'll also get rid of the tunnel thing in that doorway, too.

One solution that hasn't been suggested is to widen the opening between the kitchen and dining room. If the wall depth to the right of the fridge is around 28", , and you use a full depth refrigerator, that will allow the fridge door to fully open and just swing into the DR when you have to have full access. It's probably less work to move the cabinets around, but since so many people are opening up walls these days, I thought I'd suggest it as an option.

We have the same situation with our fridge. When this home was originally built, it had a regular freezer on top fridge that opened into the kitchen. Somewhere along the way, someone upgraded to a side by side and it has been a real pain! Before we moved in 5 years ago we had the wall cut down but there is still a 12 inch section of wall when the fridge is pushed all the way in. We just ordered a new fridge on Saturday, the same Kitchenaid model that xc60 posted. We liked that the doors do not hinge out past the fridge box and also that it is ADA compliant. I know this model will open wider on the right and even though it won't open all the way, the french door design solves that problem!