Pros/Cons for keeping freezer column in Pantry

7 years ago

We are in process of designing our new house and I was thinking about putting Freeze column in pantry to increase counters in kitchen and to reduce big footprint of steel or paneled wall for refrigerator and freezer in kitchen.

Pantry is very close to kitchen not too far.

Featured Answer

plllog

7 years ago

You don't have to have the freezer next to the fridge, even if it's in the kitchen.

The main reason not to put any kind of cooler in the pantry is that they put out heat and moisture, which are the opposite of what you usually want in your pantry. It's not a problem for a lot of people. Some care more. Up to you.

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Comments (6)

seb225
7 years ago
For me personally, it would depend on how far away the pantry is from the sink and the fridge. My family uses lots of ice for beverages, water, and smoothies, so proximity to the fridge and sink is much more convenient. If necessary to separate them by more than a few steps, I'd install an undercounter freezer or ice maker near the fridge and sink for convenience, or have a combo fridge/freezer in the kitchen. If your family doesn't use lots of ice, the freezer is used predominantly for frozen food storage, and your pantry is well vented with ac/heat airflow, then the pantry is a logical place.
jimpats thanked seb225
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jugosea
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In our last kitchen remodel (6 years ago now) we split the location of the fridge and freezer columns such that they are on opposite sides of the kitchen. The fridge is more in the active work area, while the freezer is in more of a storage portion of the kitchen (eg next to two full height pull out pantries). In the kitchen we are currently remodeling (in a new home) we again split them, but put the freezer in a walk-in/butler's pantry. The drywall is just going up, so I can't comment on how well it works, but I fully suspect that it will be just fine, given our experience in our current kitchen.
jimpats thanked jugosea
Lefty Lou
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I have had a remote freezer for nearly 19 years and love it. We are starting a remodel and will have a freezer drawer and ice maker in the kitchen and keep the main freezer in the garage. That works for us. These are some of the things I considered (plus a few that don't affect me):

Pros:
- Eliminates that larger freezer box from the kithen
- More space for larger refrigerator only unit = more refrigerator storage in a smaller space than you would need for a refrigerator/freezer combo.
- Able to locate ice maker in most convenient spot out of work triangle
- Able to keep large freezer out of main work triangle (it's not generally part of my work flow)
- Locate small freezer drawer in the most convenient place for your work flow
- Big ugly freezers that go in the garage (or wherever) are dirt cheap compared to something pretty and built in.
Cons:
- Ventilation could present a problem in a pantry (not in in the garage, though)
- If you get stuff out of the freezer a lot, a remote location would get old fast.
- There are times when you want to quickly grab something out of the freezer, e.g. chilled glasses, a frozen dessert, lemon zest, vodka - solved by having a freezer drawer, see Pros.
- Can you afford to sacrifice the storage space elsewhere? Pantry, garage, etc.
jimpats thanked Lefty Lou
ILoveRed
7 years ago
Lefty Lou...your presentation makes a lot of sense and may work for me.
corimike
7 years ago
What did you end up doing with your refrigerator/freezer? I am considering the exact same set-up, but concerned about whether the freezer will be awkward in the pantry, and also if I have cabinets built for a 32 inch refrigerator in the kitchen, will always need to replace refrigerator with a unit that is not traditionally sized.

Pros/Cons for keeping freezer column in Pantry

plllog

Comments (6)

seb225

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jugosea

Lefty Lou

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