I have a 12 inch pull out pantry and love it. They also make 15 inch ones. What other food storage do you have? Can you land your non-food stuff somewhere else.

oh you poor thing! another terrible decision to make. you'd think after we make all of these decisions we could run for president or something.

my fridge is a nightmare too - but only because of all the science projects in it. I've been cleaning it out bit by bit. I might finish in a few wks. It isn't something I want to rush thru -lol! I always seem to find something I'd 'rather' do!

If you need a 'set down' area there, don't let him talk you out of it. You planned it that way for a reason!

The thing is I already *have* a full pantry on the other side of the fridge, so I don't really need another...

That cabinet would be the last one before you hit the hallway. Thus it's usefulness as a "drop" area.

Cabinets are Kraftmaid...am still searching for something useful in the 15 inch range. Burns me up to think I am paying good money for...a smaller cabinet!!

I am not sure I understand this dialog but I have 2 15 inch wide pullout pantries which hold an incredible amount of food. All easy to see and reach, but in the many months I have pretty much memorized where stuff is. It contains more than the previous black hole 36 wide and 24 deep shelving cabinet yuck.

My pantries are not floor to ceiling but there is oh maybe another
12-16 inch tall separate cabinet to the top, above the pantry. Boy, this is so efficient, and so well planned and makes me happy. It's a major show-off feature of my new kitchen.

You will be able to find everything because you can easily see it. Accessibility is uno. Keep a fresh, open, mind.

One of my pullout pantries is smack up-the first piece when you cross the kitchen threshhold. It's great.

she has a pantry, she wants a cab w/counter top to drop things on and pick back on the way in/out the door.

the contractor is just trying to slip something else in there rather than do what she wants. He needs to put in a 6" spacer for the fridge door which will cut down the width of her cabinet.

i think she basically wants to know (view) a cab about 15" wide to see if it looks ok.

if the spacer is needed for the fridge door to open correctly then I guess ya gotta do it.

I ran into a similar problem and finally (after much agonizing) had to settle with the 15" drop zone next to my frig.
It holds a basket for the mail, keys, cell phones, items- to-be-returned, etc. Not as roomy as I would have liked, but certainly adequate. I'm pretty techno-ignorant, so I'll see if I can wrangle a teenager into helping me post a picture for you a little later.

Why do you have to have a six inch wide spacer to be on the sides of the fridge? Can it not just be an inch thick wood panel side that comes out flush to the side of the fridge? And you pull the over-the-fridge cabinet out a little if needed to flush with panel sides of the fridge. You can make it look built-in without a six inch wide spacer.

Here's a not so great shot of our 14" pantry cabinet next to our fridge.

I don't understand the problem. What is a 15" cabinet + 6" spacer going to do that the existing 21" cabinetry won't do?

Here's the configuration on that wall, from left to right;

Pantry (not changing pantry)
Refrigerator (seven inches away from rear wall so it will open--otherwise it hits the corner of the pantry wall.
Cabinet

The door to the freezer needs to open 180 degrees on a "zero" hinge. That means it has to have all wall behind it. Otherwise I can't get my drawers out.

The pantry can't be changed or moved.

A one inch spacer, unfortunately, would not be enough to allow me to open the door.

My contractor seems way more bothered than me that the fridge sticks out from the wall. But it is fairly close to the island--currently there's only 33 inches between the fridge and island. If we push it back 7 inches, there will be 40 inches.

I will post my plan as soon as I get an updated design. The first one had measurements that were off.

I still don't understand and look forward to the plan view.

If it helps, the pantry is not a cabinet. The pantry is 36" deep. The fridge must be pulled out from the wall by seven inches, otherwise the freezer door hits the pantry corner and it cannot open.

I think if I must have a six inch spacer, maybe instead of just sticking a piece of wood there, I should put in a roll out pantry. If they come that small.

Without a diagram I can't be sure if what I'm suggesting will work or not. Why not just move the pantry in between the fridge and the wall. You might need a 1" filler there so that the pantry door opens. Then the drop zone will have that much more space for a larger cabinet and be on the other side of the fridge.

Yeah I was going to say that having a 6" spacer would drive me nuts. You should be able to get a pullout for it. If you want a normal cabinet instead of a pull-out on the other size I would probably have drawers. I don't know what you store there currently. I do think the whole thing will look nicer and make things more roomy with the fridge pushed back.

Here is a link that might be useful: rev-a-shelf 6

Thanks gregincal--I like that idea.

I will post a diagram as soon as I can get one with the right measurements. KD has wrong dimensions.

The door to the freezer needs to open 180 degrees on a "zero" hinge. That means it has to have all wall behind it. Otherwise I can't get my drawers out.

I don't understand exactly what you're describing, but wouldn't it be much easier just to get a new fridge with doors that don't need that much turning room? I have a Liebherr that isn't a built-in, but it can be stuck right into the cabinetry because the hinges pivot with no need for extra space around them. I think more fridges are being made this way these days?

>>wouldn't it be much easier just to get a new fridge with doors that don't need that much turning room?

I wish. Unfortunately the fridge is only six years old, and stainless steel finish. And any fridge I get would be next to the wall of the pantry/closet. I've never seen a fridge that could open out onto seven inches of wall.

My kitchen is not that big, and there is really no other location for the fridge.

One thing that might be confusing to posters here is the pantry--think of it more as a closet--it cannot be changed or moved. It's in front of a venting system, which is why it sticks out.

KD still has not given me plan.

I understand what you're describing, I think. Your fridge in in a corner, except that the side wall is only 36" long. Which makes it very similar to this

except that where my door starts, your wall ends. I agree, this does not make for a properly functional fridge, though my home's previous owners apparently disagreed with us. And judging from the age of the fridge (does Montgomery Wards even make appliances anymore-- in fact, does Montgomery Wards even *exist* anymore) they were satisfied with it for many years.

I would store my broom and step stool (I'm 5'1", I like my step stool to be handy) between the fridge and wall, and get a drawer base on the other end if you don't need pantry space and want a landing spot.

Also, just out of curiosity, what on earth is your kitchen designer smoking* to not have already addressed this? In my last home, I wound up putting a fridge in a corner because I had a tiny space and it was the best compromise I could come up with, and even I (a total amateur diy'er planning my very first kitchen) knew enough to plan for space to open the fridge door. I would certainly expect a paid, professional kitchen designer to know better.

*since you say you are waiting for a layout from your KD, that means you are working with one, right?

Yes...I am working with a KD. I'm not faulting her yet--there just aren't a lot of options.

I now have a plan and a picture, but can't figure out how to post them here. Yes, I have read the instructions.....

Help?

That's just terrible! Sorry I can't help more.

I totally get your challenge....as we are dealing with the same issue of a refrigerator opening against a wall. Our refrigerator is in a corner of a small galley kitchen and, although I hate to lose counter and cabinet space to its right, we have to allow room on the left (against the wall) for the fridge to open properly.

Our solution (I hope!) is to have our cabinet maker put in a narrow "wine center" on the wall side of the fridge. There will not be a door on it, but there will be slots to hold several bottles of wine (one above the other) and a place to hang wine glasses above the wine bottles. We will leave enough space open at the bottom so I can slide a small, folding step stool in there under the wine bottle section.

I don't know how wide the area will be, but I am guessing only 4-5". I don't think it will be very visible, as it will be tucked back a bit to allow the door to open. While I hate to make the counter top and cabinet that is to the right of the refrigerator smaller (it will now probably only be 15"), it is necessary...and I'm hoping the wine center will make good use of that space and that the 15" on the other side will still be large enough to be functional. At least with the wine nearby, I can sip enough of it that the smaller countertop won't bother me so much!?!

Good luck with your project!

I understand exactly what you are saying.
The contractor wants the most perfect finished look to the kitchen, so he can add a photo to his project book. He doesn't want to do a kitchen where he has to leave the fridge sticking out 6". HE wants it "built-in".

But you would lose valuable counter real estate because in a small kitchen every INCH counts. You want a 21" cabinet next to it on the OUTSIDE (forget about that pantry on the other side, it's not the focus). HE wants to put a 6" space between the pantry and fridge, then your OUTSIDE cabinet will only be 15".

I am going to say that I think 15" will be adequate for cell phone, car keys. Although 21" would be better. Especially with a basket. You won't be able to sit a purse there. You will probably like the total finished product better, with the smoother fridge line up.

As far as lower cabinet storage goes, I have an 8" cabinet (matching upper is a spice pullout) and I simply store trays in it. It fit the spot and is very useful.

This is not my house, but I would bet the cabinet next to this stove is about what you will end up with.

Lauraxx, open a free Photobucket account, upload your picture(s) there, then click on the HTML from the drop down menu that shows up when you hover your mouse over the pic there (it's the third one on the drop down list), it will automatically copy the HTML address when you click on it, paste it in the posting box here, when you click on the Preview Message your picture will appear.

We have a similar area and we just put a small cabinet on the bottom with granite top and then there is the backsplash and then a separate cabinet on top. I have our phone, notepad and yes at times my keys though I keep them in my purse that hangs on the door knob of coat closet or else I would never find it again. Since I started doing that have not spent 15 minutes again looking for purse or keys, but I digress, it should be easy just to break up the space with regular cab on top and base cab on bottom. They are small but I have all sorts of stuff in them and they are plenty big and the small landing area is just enough.