I'd have to say that it is more of a splurge item than it isn't. I can see it coming in use if you have little ones who like their snack time and cold juices, but other than that I can't see any use for it over a standard under the counter refrigerator.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Appliance Guru Reviews and Commentary

Yeah, they are a bit of a splurge, but I LOVE them. My sister said they were her favorite thing in our new kitchen, even though they are technically in the breakfast room. We put a hutch in the breakfast room and the drawers are in the center of the base with panels to match.

My kids like the fact that the person sitting closest at the dinner table can reach over and get more milk or juice for a refill without getting out of their seat -- but I wouldn't get them for that reason. They give us more room for food storage in the main fridge and they (along with the drawers beside them) keep the drink and snack traffic out of the working parts of the kitchen. The espresso maker is on the counter in the center,so coffee, milk and juice are all handy at meals too. During a party, we can stock it with more beer, water and sodas.

We have the Perlick which are 24" wide. One of the things we liked was the variable speed compressor with a higher BTU rating -- plenty of quick chill and fast recovery when the drawers are opened frequently -- important for keeping milk really cold (Perlick makes commercial units that are used in a lot of indoor and outdoor situations where they also need that chill factor). We open them at least as much or more than the larger fridge, but they stay cold even when the house is warmer in the summer. Even with that power, it is energy star rated -- the only one that was when we looked.

They do hold a good amount too -- Ours are not full now and we have a gallon of milk, 6 half gallon jugs or bottles of different juices a large jar of jam for sandwiches for school lunches and has room to spare in the top drawer. The bottom drawer will hold 48 canned drinks or maybe 30 water or beer bottles plus more on the upper shelf (we put juice pouches for school lunches there -- a dozen or more).

I wouldn't push them for occasional use, but if you know you will use them daily like we do, I think you'll really enjoy them. Look at the layout and make sure the location supports the kind of daily use you are picturing then make sure you get a unit that suits your needs -- they vary a bit in size (mostly 24, 27 or 30"), panels or no panels, temp range, chilling power, even some with variable use now.

My little ones are nearly 13 and 15 and they have friends who are also kept out of the kitchen. Doesn't completely stop the gazing and grazing at the big fridge door, but it helps -- especially when we keep fruit and yogurt in the drawers.

Other folks place them inside the kitchen for produce and prep items -- just depends on how your space works, where the main fridge is, etc. .

It is indeed a splurge. I have one in my island in my prep zone, use it every day. My regular fridge is far from my stove, close to the dining room. My fridge drawer holds all the produce and other foods for cooking.

there are a couple drawer fridges from Electrolux and Ariston that cost less and give more capacity.

Here is a link that might be useful: using ONLY fridge drawers w/out an upright

Thanks so much for all of the feedback/opinions. It's amazing how much this helps! I'm supposed to make this decision today because our cabinet order is due! I wanted to ask "lascatx" since you seem to really like yours and are using daily, even though you have the 2 fridge drawers, would it be better to do a freezer/fridge combo? The one I'm looking at (Kitchen-aid) makes ice(so does our reg. fridge), but it would be right there at the bev. center. Thanks by the way, for your detailed description of what it holds (I didn't realize that it held that much stuff!) If it helps, our bev. center is right next to where the mudroom is (near door to outside)---so perfect location (away from working part of kitchen). The fridge is across the kitchen about 12 feet away. I have little ones and am thinking that it would be great for them for lunches, snacks, drinks, etc.

In my opinion, a drawer of anything is better than a door. i don't have the undercounter built in ref drawers, but my samsung fridge has the two drawers at the bottom. i love it. its so convenient for drinks. i find it almost as important to me in my kitchen as a microwave. speaking of microwave, i will be getting a microwave drawer too to go in my island.

I have ONLY the U-line two drawer refer. It is the only refer I have (I do have a freezer in the cellar for gardening produce) so I use it constantly. I love having it and I'd never go back to one of those huge fridges!

Lascatx is right, the drawers hold a freakish amount of food because of the way they are organized. I probably shop more often than the average Joe but it holds on of the things I need to have on hand with no problems.

I opted not to get the fridge/freezer combo because it seemed like a waste. What am I going to put in there? One steak and some ice cream? Also, I was aiming for energy efficiency so it was a no brainer from my stand point. What would you put in the freezer?

For my use, the freezer would not be good. We like having a lot of cold drinks and some snacks. Having bottled water in there (even if we fill ourselves) has taken the place of the water and ice dispenser on the larger fridge and eliminates the need for ice in a lot of our drinks. We definitely use the fridge space enough that I would nto want the freezer space. My main fridge is about 12 feet away across the kitchen also. When we entertain, I can set up an ice bucket or put ice in the freezer just outside the door, maybe 3-4 feet from the drawers.

I think the choice is all about your placement and use. In a gameroom or bar, away from the kitchen, I can see the appeal of having the ice. But if ice is all you would use the freezer for, you could also get a 15" ice maker and have the best of both. Sounds like yours near the mudroom and rear door might be a spot kiddos would be able to get frozen pops or treats in the summer -- and take them, and the drips, outside.

Does that help any?

I have sets of freezer drawers and refrigerator drawers on either side of my range because we had to locate our regular fridge far from the cooking area, and also had to get a smaller fridge than I would have liked. This way, I can keep things that I need for cooking at the range nearby, like butter and milk and breakfast things, like eggs and bacon etc. It also gives us more fridge freezer space than we would have had, which was one of the main reasons we did it. Sounds like a very different use than you would have. But we love them, they are so much more convenient to use than a regular undercounter fridge -- not squatting to see what is inside, and they are totally hidden. They just look like cabinet drawers.

Jeannie Kitchen, what brand/model of freezer drawers do you have? And could you make ice in them, the old-fashioned way (ice tray filled manually with water)?

I have subzero freezer drawers, don't know the model. You can get them with a built-in ice maker, but we didn't because we have an ice maker in our regular fridge/freezer combo. It would be awkward to make ice in trays in the freezer drawer because you wouldn't be able to put anything on top of the ice cube trays until the ice was frozen, or you would have to put the trays on top of some flat box type of food, or give over a section of the drawers just for ice trays. I would think it would not be very practical. I don't think the ice maker was much more expensive to include, so I would probably just do that if I wanted it for making ice.

Jeannie-

We are getting the SUB combo drawer for our outdoor kitchen. Do you love them or do you think we could get by with something less expensive? Do you hate anything about them?

I have the Subzero double freezer drawers on one side of my kitchen, and Marvel refrigerator drawers on the other. I only got the subzero because it was the only brand that I could find that made double freezer drawers in the right size etc.

I like them. The interior of the subzero is much nicer than the Marvel drawers, more "finished" looking. But the freezer drawers are not huge, and are pretty expensive. We covered ours with cabinet panels, so the exterior is not relevant, and thus the "subzero" name meant nothing to me. I just couldn't find an alternative, and for whatever reason, I didn't want a combo on both sides, I wanted two of one on one side, two of the other on the other side. I don't hate anything about them, but if you could get something significantly cheaper, with good reviews as to quality, I probably would. They are just drawers to keep stuff cold.