ARgh! Are there ANY full-depth refrigerators that look built in?
I've spent many hours on this forum refining our kitchen plans but I've been unable to solve this issue. We are framing the wall behind our refrigerator so that we can get a large, full-depth frigerator and recess it into the wall (there are 5 of us). We don't mind if it sticks out a few inches from beyond the counters, but we did hope to make it look as integrated as we could. Our cabinet maker is waiting for our dimensions.
As long as the unit vents out the front, I thought it would just be a matter of finding a fridge with a door hinge that would allow it to open while sitting flush with the cabinetry surrounding it.
The problem is, I can't find a reasonably priced unit that is both full-depth and able to integrate into the cabinetry.
We don't want to spend more than $2,000k on a fridge (the less the better). We don't want to pay up for panels either ($1500).
Can anyone point me towards a full-depth, ~24-26 cubic foot, ~36" wide bottom freezer that we can integrate? We prefer a single door, but in a 36" width, most seem to be french door.
Here's what our fridge wall is supposed to look like:
Thanks GWers!
Vermonter
Comments (13)
cookingrvc
14 years agoworldmom
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Help Please! Jenn Air Floating Glass Refrigerator Full-Depth
Comments (11)That is good to hear Grace. As my current fridge is 31 years old and appears will never quit on its own, with the upcoming kitchen reno I've splurged on appliances almost as much as the cabinetry. I was originally planning for JA SS but the appliance store guys talk about the cleaning, dinging & scratch issues of SS in general and their wildly enthusiastic endorsement of the BFG for easy care & spectacular looks swung my vote. The only reservation I've had is that my cabinets will be dark brown stain and have pondered that they wouldn't look all that great together. Finished kitchen photos with dark cabinets certainly have more 'pop' with the SS. On the other hand the FG reflects back what is around it so the light floor & counter tops will hopefully add some of the lightness back in to the mix. I wonder why they are so rare in the marketplace? Have they just not caught on yet? I don't know how long JA have been marketing the FG collection. Will it take being used extensively in the kitchen magazines & TV shows for them to become mainstream? Or, as my mind wanders the labyrinth of appliance choices, may they like the Edsel car disappear from the appliance landscape for being so different....See Morebuilt-in vs counter depth refrigerator, real differences
Comments (5)Okay, I'll give it a shot, based on my limited knowledge on the subject. Major differences...first off built in fridges are often smaller in size to their free standing counterparts because of the cabinet design. That is why you'll see a lot of 42inch+ BI fridges. My SZ is quite a bit smaller when compared to my old freestanding Kenmore. Also, the fancier BI fridges come with multiple compression units/vacuum sealing functions, heavier insulation, and usually (which is a pretty important factor) a very solid warranty for years. Also, the price differences. There is a much much much larger market for free standing less expensive fridges. It would be safe to assume that for every built in fridge that is sold, the major players (Kenmore, Whirlpool, GE, Samsung) probably sell 10 or 20 units. Supply and demand is a huge factor. The major brand fridges also make their products overseas to keep the costs down. A SZ, Viking, or Northland fridge would be made in the USA and that adds a lot to their price. Also, the major built in manufacturers sell primarily to high end installations where people are throwing around $100,000 or more for a remodel. These companies have a brand image of being good quality and, more importantly, expensive, the SZ pro48 is like 16 grand. You take someone who knows high end kitchens and show them one with a sub-zero, viking range, and what not, and they will automatically assume the remodel was expensive. Compare that to walking into a house with a Kenmore freestanding, a GE range, and a Samsung microwave. That looks more "pedestrian" (I am not using that word as a put down by the way). I like to put it this way to people. Think about it like cars. Sure you can buy a Toyota Camry for 25,000, it'll run well, fit all the stuff you need, and get you from A to B for years to come. That is the best selling car on the road so you'll see a ton of them. Now imagine buying a car that does same thing, but paying $150,000 or more for it (think a Bentley or something). It will do the same thing as the Camry, but it'll be more powerful, handcrafted, and look incredible while doing it for years to come, and you'll rarely see one on the road. People will know it does pretty much functionally the same as any other car, but it has an image, and people will know it's expensive. All fridges do one thing, they keep your stuff cold. Some preserve food fresher for longer if they have vacuum sealing like SZ, and I can tell you from experience it DOES keep veggies/fruit fresher a lot longer than my basement fridge. Sometimes extending the shelf life of the food for a week or two more, sometimes even longer. Anyway I hope that this helps answer your question....See MoreARgh! Are there ANY full-depth refrigerators that look built in?
Comments (6)"Fully integrated" means that only the handles will be deeper than your 24" base cabinetry.It's seamless. You're in Sub Zero type territory for that. "Built in" means that you can see some of the door gasket and probably door sides protruding from your 24" base cabinetry. You're not in that price range either. "Counter depth" means that the box itself is 24" and the door and handles will protrude. Those typically provide around 21 cubic feet of storage space and cost more than your budget too. In your price range, you're best bet is to go for "not sticking out too bad" rather than any integrated or true built in look. Panels on the sides will help it to look more built in, but it will never look integrated without moving up a lot more bucks. Even in the "regular" fridge category, you're going to be budget challenged. You're pricing puts you just above a builder's grade to low mid range model. "Well featured" full sized refrigerators prices start at around 2K and go up from there. You can occasionally find some scratch and dents or a good sale to get something like a GE Profile model less than 2K, but you're going to have to do a lot of leg work....See Morefull depth fridge 'built in look' next to cabinet run
Comments (6)Here's a couple options. Pull the drywall put 1/2" ply to line the opening and it's now 28 1/2". Pull the cabs 4" forward with very usefull added counter space. Do the same recess and add a 2x4 and 1/2" drywall run the length of the wall to the left as needed to bring that section forward. Build the end panel you have to the right of the frig into an 8" end wall. Rotate the frig on an angle so the left side meets the counter depth pulled out to 26" and the rear right corner is recessed in the new wall. The left side trim panel can run straight back on that side. Add up the costs and see how it compares with this $5700 Liebherr FD. Here is a link that might be useful: Liebherr 36...See MoreBuehl
14 years ago
Circus Peanut
14 years agoDo you really need the door to be flush with the side panels? I'm not sure any of the non-built-in/non-paneled fridges allow you to have the door flush with the surrounding cabinetry, because they need to have the hinges free to rotate. Even the counter-depth Liebherrs (I have one) have the door thickness beyond the side panels, although less than most because of their ingenious hinges.
Take a close look at the finished kitchens blog, and the thread Buehl linked above, for full-depth that were made to look built-in -- I don't think that the "exposed" door looks bad at all, in fact you sort of want it that way so you aren't scraping your knuckles when you open the thing up.
Liebherr:
overlyoptimistic
14 years agoHere is a picture of our Samsung 29cubit foot fridge. Doesn't look completely built in, but we're happy with it. This picture was taken before the top trim pieces were installed.
xoldtimecarpenter
14 years agoBuehl
14 years agopetepie1
14 years agomarcy96
14 years agoshelly_k
14 years agoannettacm
14 years agoWe brought the side panels out a little, and our regular refrigerator looked built in.
shelly_k
14 years ago
vermonter_2009Original Author