There are bad reviews for all appliance brands so not sure I would use that as a primary source of information. I talked to the local Thermador repairman recently on another issue. He said the Freedom columns are very reliable and almost all the repair calls they get are due to misuse not mechanical failure. He said he would love to have one in his home.

Thanks, @Stan Z. That's helpful to know!

I just posted this exact picture in another thread below, sorry if you've seen it. We used 30" Thermador columns- very happy 2+ years later. I have been impressed with all of the Thermador appliances, and previously had and was happy with Wolf/SZ. I can highly recommend the Thermador.

I explored this subject in great depth a few years back. Here is the thread link.

The thread is very long but contains many critical details on the purchase of a built in 36" fridge and, specifically, details on my two finalists: SZ and Miele. The others were all worthy but the build quality and sturdiness of the finalists were above the others in my estimation. People love their Thermadors but I found it to be expensive when compared to the Miele.

The SZ was 2K more than the Miele and I was ready to go for it although I didn't care for the big grill on top. So in the end, I went with Miele. That was 3 years ago and I can report an excellent experience with the Miele since then. My issue was toughness for power outages and I am pleased to report the Miele has weathered them all. The interior lighting is outstanding. I like the glass shelves and door storage a lot. It's not a bossy fridge -- doesn't make a lot of storage decisions for you. It's fairly open plan, easy to clean and has been trouble free. The Miele sticks out an inch or so from my cabinets but the frame and the style of the door almost make it look integrated. I did buy a 5-year warranty. 0 issues otherwise. Great refrigeration and keeping power.

This fridge does require changing out a water filter. They like it done twice a year but I have excellent filtration in my house so I do it once. So far it has presented 0 issues and the filter is very easy to change.

Hope this helps.

@johnsoro25, thanks for the pic! I did see it in another thread. Beautiful!

@rococogurl, thanks for the old thread! I read through all of it. Is your Miele not exactly flush because you were fitting it into a pre-existing space? One thing that concerns me is that there are only 2 drawers, am I correct on that? I love those wide deli drawers. We had a Samsung in our previous kitchen remodel and LOVED it - if we weren't going for the completely integrated look, I would just buy that one again. Never had any issues in 8 years and replaced the water filter twice a year.