Thanks for pointing that out. The wall in question has the open entrance to the kitchen in the center, with the countertops/cabinets perpendicular on either side in galley style. (So when the fridge door is open, the handle would be in the open space of the doorway.) Per specs, SZ has 13.2 ft3 fridge space and 4.2 ft3 freezer space. Thermador has 14 and 6 ft3, respectively. We mainly use fresh rather than frozen foods. We have to do a built-in because of the space constraints. The 36" SZs tout larger storage capacity, but I'm not sure I can find a good deal on one. Should I skip both of the above fridge options and try and wait to find a deal on a 36" SZ, or would you pull the trigger on either the SZ30" or Therm 36"? Both options are available for less than 1/2 MSRP.

Thanks for the reminder of your previous thread and the link. I think it should be fine depending on how far the fridge juts out into the kitchen. If it can be recessed and counter deep, it shouldn't protrude enough to be an issue. But a big, deep fridge, not recessed, might protrude too much and make that corner seem cramped. It's really hard to tell with your drawings. Is it possible for you to give us a true overhead drawing of the space to scale? Even something hand drawn on graph paper would make it easier to help you fine-tune your plan.

It sounds to me like you want the SubZero but are having trouble justifying it. It's by far the best fridge of the ones you've named. You seem to have very realistic expectations and a good understanding of the context and variables. If you have plenty of cash and the SZ is a luxury you're thinking you will enjoy even though it's above the grade of the rest of the appliances and neighborhood, go for it! If you're financing the remodel, and will be paying interest on many thousands of dollars more for a luxury that's above the grade of the rest of your appliances and neighborhood, take a really good look and make darned sure it's worth the debt. I adore high end fridges with their high end performance, but the marginal difference per dollar is quite low. For most people, it's just not worth it. Are you confident in your choice of cooking appliance(s)? That's the one that usually has the biggest impact on pleasure in cooking and the kitchen, and that's usually where people will put their extra luxury money. One thing about the SZ is that with some maintenance and perhaps occasional repairs as parts wear out, it should last you for as long as you're in the house.

Hope this reply isn't too late. I've had the GE 23 cf French door fridge for all of 6 weeks GE PWE23KSSS I'm surprised how much I like it. Background story: My old fridge was a 14-year-old GE Profile side by side, a huge 29 cf behemoth that held a ton of food for a family with 3 teenage boys. I had no trouble fitting anything in, & I liked that I could stock up during our snowy winters for fewer grocery runs. It had a through-the-door water & crushed ice dispenser that we loved. It had a handy mini-door for grabbing milk & juice without exposing the whole interior to warm air. The ice dispenser died after a few repairs; it lasted only 3 years. The water stopped dispensing last spring, but the ice maker still worked so we kept the water connected. Then the interior water line cracked, flooding our basement, so time for the beloved behemoth to retire. Unfortunately, large fridges these days are made with box depths of 29 inches or larger. They won't get through our 29 inch interior doorways. So I was stuck with getting a counter depth. Sorry for the long background, but I was just trying to explain how I was all set to NOT like the new, smaller counter depth fridge with the "awkward" interior water dispenser & no crushed ice, no handy mini door, & no bells & whistles like flex drawers or self-closing doors. But I love it! The doors have flexible, deep shelving, adjustable to however you need to space them. The door shelves can hold two gallons of milk and two narrow gallons of juice. The door shelves hold lots of condiments, jams, etc., & that frees up the regular shelves for food storage. That to me was the big surprise. The storage is so efficiently designed that I'm not missing the old 29 cf fridge. I like the drop down door shelf for extra storage; goes up if I don't need it. The collapsing shelf is nice in theory for making room for tall items, but I haven't needed it because the door shelves are capacious enough. So far, stacking foods in plastic containers to maximize space stores everything really well. The interor is so accessible, well lighted, & stays at an even temperature despite opening up the French doors. This fridge is much easier to keep clean too. The produce bins could be larger, imo, but they do hold a large head of lettuce & long celery stalks. The deli drawer keeps cheese & deli meats fresh; I've used the colder drawer settings for temporarily holding thawed ground beef that I wouldn't get to for a day or two. We like the ice maker very much. Makes enough, easy access, doesn't hog space. No crushed ice, just cubes. The freezer holds way more than I thought it would. Fits a huge frozen turkey & more. We eat a lot of frozen fruits & veggies, & so far, plenty of room to stock a big supply. The tilting storage cubby inside the freezer drawer is great for butter or small items. I thought having freezer items piled on top of each other would be a pain, but it's easy to access things. The top freezer drawer helps a lot with organization. The interior water dispenser -- I thought it would be a hassle to use, but I really like it. If you grip a cup with thumb & 2nd/3rd/4th fingers, that frees your index finger to push the button. So one handed operation, easy to do. Some have complained about dripping, but mine doesn't drip. The water is chilled & very fresh tasting. The filter is easy to access, unlike my old fridge. Finally, the new fridge is very quiet. I didn't realize how noisy the old fridge was until we got this new one. Stainless isn't really stainless, but a damp microfiber cloth deals with fingerprints just fine. Thanks for your patience with this long wordy review. I am so pleased with this refrigerator when I was expecting hassle & inconvenience, that I just had to tell.