I hate side by sides. Sorry, is it too late to resell/switch it out?

So sorry you are dealing with that. Most of us here at GW seem to dislike that style. I hated my side-by-side. So glad it's been relegated to being the extra fridge in the garage. Works well there but not in my kitchen.

Have you thought of trying to sell it and getting a new one? You might really like a bottom-freezer style.

How long have you had it? I know people who have exchanged fridges. Maybe give that a shot.

Yes, I agree with funkycamper. If you like having refrigerated items more at eye level, the bottom freezer is the way to go. Hopefully you can find a way to replace your side by side.

I have read of people that hate the freezer on the bottom because of the constant stooping to get in the freezer. I would be one of them too as my entire family is taller than the norm.

While I am of the sxs camp, I would try to exchange it if after creatively attempting to load your frig it doesn't work for you.

That's a good point, I guess in an ideal world you'd have a full width freezer and full width refrigerator. But if space is an issue and your side by side is too narrow, you would probably be happier with a bottom freezer. The ones with a drawer for the freezer are easy to get into and most people tend to use their refrigerator a lot more than their freezer, so there's a lot less stooping to get to the produce bins, etc.

I have a side by side here in NY and I hate it. btw, I hate it. I also don't like it. I have a FD in FL and I love it. For the once or twice a day (or less) that I go into my freezer, I love have shelves I in the fridge I can put large platters on and still have lots more room. I would only do a bottom freezer or a FD again. Never a side by side.

I'd like some advice from folks here as I am redoing my kitchen and refrigerator space is a huge concern.

I do not like bottom mount freezers and it's hard to believe anyone does. I guess it's the lesser of two evils if you're limited to 36" because a SxS makes your fridge too narrow.

What I am planning on is a 30" refrigerator column paired with an 18" or 24" freezer column. For those of you who have a full 30" freezer column, did you feel that was sufficient? Better than the refrigerator space you'd get in a 36" fridge with a bottom freezer?

What about 18" or 24" freezer columns? Did you feel that was sufficient? 18" feels a tad narrow to me but still better than a bottom freezer I have to stoop into and dig through. If he 24" will fit I think that will be the best of both worlds.

Refrigerator styles will always be a matter of debate but I have to say we love our french door (freezer on the bottom) and would never have anything else. Yes, most use the refrigerator more than the freezer but we actually go in our freezer maybe a lot more than average (for ice, etc) but still love the bottom freezer. We are a tall family too. I can see almost everything in the freezer with bigger items in the bottom and smaller items in the basket drawer on the top. With a top freezer I used to have to take things out to see what I had.

So not the lesser of two evils, for us its the top choice.

I think that's why armoire styles are so popular.

I have a 33" single door, bottom mount fridge and like it so much more than the FD refrigerators. Only one door to open, and better storage on the doors. Having the freezer as a drawer on the bottom works great for us!

uscpsycho, the single-door bottom mount I have now is my favorite fridge of the last 4 or 5 I've had (including side-by-side and French door, with the French-door coming in second). But I just don't need a huge freezer - I can't imagine what I would put in one of those columns. It would just waste space in my kitchen.

I think it really depends on the size of your family and your cooking/shopping habits. If you belong to a produce CSA, you might need lots of refrigerator space for vegetables. If you buy a 1/2 pig or cow once or twice a year, you'll need a big freezer. Some people also do a lot of advance cooking and freeze broths, soups, casseroles, etc.

The whole bottom freezer drawer is new to me (my new refrigerator was just delivered last Saturday!), but I love it already. It's so handy to pull it out to access what I need. Before I got it, I worried that things wouldn't fit neatly in the drawer and would get buried. But it has a two level drawer and it's easy to have everything visible and accessible.

A single door with bottom freezer was my very favorite. Currently, I have a 36" CD SxS which is much to small. I didn't mind SxS when I had a full depth 42" but would never want anything smaller. My next fridge (if this one would finally die) will definitely be a full depth with bottom freezer. While pretty, I do t think I would want a FD, as I'd probably end up needing to open both doors most of the time, which seems like a hassle. I do like the ones Ives seen with a shallow deli drawer between fridge and freezer, that seems like it could be handy for lunch stuff, leftovers, etc.

I had a smaller FD bottom freezer for about 8 months and hated it also. It was like a constant puzzle trying to get things to fit and organize. They are pretty to look at though. Due to it leaking from day one and destroying my kitchen I was able to use it until kitchen was just about done with remodel. I got a CD single door bottom freezer. It's not a big fridge, 33 inch but I can fit a ton and it is so much easier to organize. I love a single door, my favorite too.

Oh, my! Now you've got me daydreaming of my refrigerator's demise and browsing for new ones. Is it just me, or have prices tripled since I last bought one??

I LOVE my 36" sxs fridge! I cannot begin to fathom why freezers on the bottom are so popular. It looks like a place where frozen foods go to get lost, never to be seen again. I love that frozen and cold foods can all be at eye level.

It's new, but beyond the swap out period, and beyond budget for dumping it and buying a new one.

I'll deal with it. But I'll definitely consider shelf width for any replacement. Top freezer would work fine.

I HATE bottom freezers with the pull out drawer. ... have had them and it's a PITA. Like a chest freezer, there's too many layers to excavate and things get lost.

I think it's all about how you shop, cook, and eat. I've been a single door bottom freezer fan since I grew up with one in the '50s and '60s. We live very close to several markets, some walking distance, so I'm able to shop daily if I need to. Frozen foods are pretty much non existent in our house, the only things typically in our freezer are ice cubes, a carton or two of ice cream, and a few beer mugs chilling :)

Bottom freezers are ideal when most of what you store and eat is fresh.

WOW! I am surprised at all the sxs haters who like FD and bottom freezers! I have a Sub Zero SXS in my kitchen and replaced my old sxs garage refrigerator with a FD. I bought the FD because of all the hype for it and if I was going to have a garage refrig I wanted it to hold a platter or 2 when I entertained. I HATE the FD! you have to open both doors to find what is inside and the freezer is a big pit! The SZ can hold a party tray but is usually full of evryday food so hence we need the garage refrig. The freezer drawers in the SZ each hold a different meat type or vegetable, nice and organized with plenty of extra shelves for bread, ice cream and frozen leftovers. I Love the sxs ease of use and will replace the kitchen sxs in my remodel with same. Just goes to show it is user pref and style!

The first thing we did when we bought this house was replace the side-by-side with a bottom freezer french door. The side-by-side is the beer/soda/garage fridge now. Unfortunately we'll be using it as a main fridge during our kitchen remodel. I'd say get rid of it and replace it.

Also, regarding the freezer issue that raebutt mentioned... I will agree the freezer on the french door isn't great. However, we have an upright freezer that we store our stuff in that's about 5 big steps from the fridge (in the laundry room).

I will never get why people like bottom freezers. It seems like the worst possible format for a freezer. It's like a giant pit that you have to pile everything into meaning you've got to pull a bunch of stuff off to find something at the bottom, or to take it out.

I get that it's a sacrifice you might choose to make because in a smaller side by side both the freezer and refrigerator are too narrow. But most of you don't see it as a sacrifice, it sounds like even if you had room for a 48" side x side you would still opt for a smaller fridge with a bottom freezer. Different strokes for different folks I guess...

Maybe it's the design you don't like ... We have a Fisher and Paykel fridge with freezer on the bottom and love it ... The freezer has 3 drawers and it's easier for me to look down into the drawers to see what's there, than to pull out things at eye level. It's also constantly surprising how much fits into the freezer! It's not the biggest model but I freeze a lot of stocks, soup, slow cooked stuff etc and it all fits in

We also have a Fisher Paykel bottom freezer, non French door. Those 3 freezer drawers are the best! No more bottomless pit to dig through and, although mine is a cabinet depth, it seems to store more than the old Amana.

I'm surprised more on on the bottom freezer bandwagon given the love for drawers in kitchen cabinets. To me the bottom freezer is really functional just like drawers where you keep your pots and pans. Compare that to a cabinet with a half shelf and a door. It is NOT a bottomless pit. The drawers are not that deep but stay more organized so hold more than the traditional top freezer.

SxS have the issue of having to put things sideways. Think of a large pans, cookies sheets, etc. They don't fit in any sxs I have ever seen. I remember my MIL's sxs had everything sideways. I think she used to have to freeze things in their chest freezer 1st and then put in sideways. That doesn't help when you want to put a large veggie tray in the fridge.

You don't have to open both doors of the FD. Even without any planning you will tend to put drinks on one side, eggs on another, etc. You just open the door you need. Been doing this for 10 years and I can do it without thinking. Yes, sometimes you open both doors, which is great because they don't crowd the aisle. A 36" door is one big a... door.

You don't have to open both doors of the FD.

Now that depends. I agree that with a 36" or larger you don't, but with the narrower ones you do, which is why I also prefer a single door for a 33" or narrower fridge.

And I'm staying right now where there's a 42" FD and I still have to open both doors half the time if I can't remember where something is before I open the door, because you can't see into the other half very well with only one door open.

I didn't like the concept of a bottom freezer that was a pull-out drawer. Ours has shelves, just like a top-mount, and wouldn't want otherwise. It means doing deep-knee bends once in a while to find something or get ice, but that hasn't been a particular issue, yet.

We found that 33" was definitely too narrow for a SxS to be efficient storage.

I have a SxS and I don't hate it at all. The top to bottom storage on both doors makes all the difference. So much is stored there that the main sections are available. I have yet to have something that doesn't fit. The freezer half makes me laugh because I frequently need to do a slight reorg and there's always more space.

Now, I live alone and don't have big chunks of meat to accommodate.

Bought a used SubZero SxS for our new kitchen and find it to be the most functional fridge I've ever had. Having eye level storage on both sides is great and in this 48" model the shelves on both sides are plenty big for everything we want to store, except, perhaps for getting a 30 lb turkey into the freezer. Really like the fact that the space is not filled with bulbous plastic, just plain, quite adjustable, skinny glass shelves that don't get in the way. Best of all it was only $1200.

This is my dream refrigerator:

http://www.subzero-wolf.com/sub-zero/full-size-refrigeration/refrigeration/pro-48-glass-door

OK, here's a question for the bottom-mount lovers. I alluded to this earlier.

If you could fit a 30" fridge column + 24" freezer column, would you still go with a 36" bottom freezer? If you did you'd be sacrificing a good deal of overall capacity in both the refrigerator and freezer. Still worth it to lose all that space for a bottom freezer?

I have had the 36" glass door SZ, with bottom freezer. It was a beautiful fridge, and a great conversation piece. But boy, I had to keep it pretty inside with that glass door! Imagine your fridge contents (as they are this minute) for all to see ;) It was my husbands favorite, and he was pushing for that gorgeous SZ above, but 6 years of keeping the shelves pretty was enough for me!

uscpsycho- I now have paneled columns, both 30". For almost 6 months now. Love them so much. They are beautiful and so functional and fit everything I need. Highly recommend that route.

Uscpycho, To answer your question, If you needed that size, had room for it and the $ to buy it then that would be the ideal set up. Right now in my life that size you mentioned would be great but not long term. Also it would be out of place in my size kitchen and I can't even imagine what that would cost but I'm sure it would be out of my budget.

Yes, it's not just the money, it's the space. And it depends on the size of your family and lifestyle. If you need to store a lot of large items in your refrigerator and freezer, you might make it priority.

Personally, I can get by with something small. And I really like the ergonomic benefit of having the bottom freezer (with at least 2 levels of drawers - I can see how shelves would be a PIA).

Agreed that two stacks would be preferred. I am fairly sure that those fridges would rival the costs of my entire kitchen, however. I found the side by side nearly unusable (all three iterations I've inherited).

Wow ... this is a sensitive topic!

I could do a bottom freezer IF it has several sliding shelves in it, maybe.

Our ultimate plan is to have an ordinary s/s with icemaker in the kitchen and a all-freezer and all refrigerator in the pantry area. Small town, not much shopping, need to stock up when we shop.

Wanted to clear up the question regarding opening one or both doors on a FD:

It depends on the model, not on the size. We have a F&P in the house we live in now (30") and the doors open independently. In the retirement house we just finished and will move to next year, we have a 36" Liebherr. You have to open both doors. So if you have a strong preference, you have to check out the specific model. I have a hard time getting used to opening both, since we only use that kitchen 2 weekends a month right now. I'm sure I'll adapt when it's the only kitchen we have!

I also like the freezer drawers in both units. I think we lose less stuff in there than we did with our previous top freezer. (We can still pull it off, but the main problem is not labeling things when they go in because "we'll remember.") My MIL always had SxS and I always hated them. But if each side was really wide, well that would be a different story!

Lori that is really good to know! I had no idea that some models required opening both doors.