It sounds like you sometimes need more fridge, sometimes more freezer, and sometimes both at once...if so, then 2 units are probably the best way to go. I would point out, though, that many small fridges/freezers are significantly less efficient than their larger brethren....2 small units will use more power than a single big unit, most of the time, so if your concern is energy efficiency/cost it may be more complicated than it first appears, If you never need both at once , there is one other really good option - the Fisher Paykel "Cooldrawer" unit. Its an undercounter drawer which can be set as a fridge, freezer, wine fridge, "chill" (extra cold refrigerator, for meats and fish, etc), or "pantry" (for things that need cool and dark, but not true refrigeration). It might work for your needs...

Piaa, I have had both a chest freezer and an upright. My current freezer is an upright freezer. My chest freezer (manual defrost) kept frozen foods solidly frozen and rarely did I defrost an item that had freezer burn. My upright freezer (auto defrost) also keeps food solidly frozen but I frequently defrost an item that has freezer burn. Live_wire_oak is right, it is much easier to organize and locate food in an upright freezer than in a chest type. I always felt that I spent a lot of time moving the wire baskets around to get to the basket that held what I needed. My upright has been stored in our unheated garage for 21 years - in summer heat and winter temperatures that can drop below 0 degrees fahrenheit. Prior to that it was stored in an unheated wooden storage area in the southern heat and humidity. The freezer has never had a problem or needed a service call in the 33 years we have owned it. Whatever freezer you select will be fine. Get the freezer that has the best footprint for your storage area and fits your needs.

rita, my Mother used to buy chocolate Easter bunnies at the after holiday sale, wrap them in butcher paper and label them "liver". Next year, into the Easter baskets they went, LOL. I'd say buy a steak or two before you buy a lot of meat. Just because other people liked it in the reviews, it may not be what you like and it would be a shame to have all those packages of steak....I mean "liver" (grin), and have it not be what you like. I think it's a good idea to check and see if they can freeze and vacuum pack individual steaks or small packages, they'll keep their quality better unless you really do intend to eat steak weekly. Annie

About all you'll need to protect that flooring is to attach some felt or vinyl furniture pads to the feet. Makes it easier to slide and avoids risking scratching the flooring when you move it. Beyond that, chest freezers are tubs with refrigeration coils and a "defrost drain plug" at the bottom of one side. There's not much more to them than a portable cooler. While most plastic coolers have only a screw cap on the outside end of their drains --- btw, ever heard of a cooler leaking when the ice inside melts? --- the small chest freezers I've seen have screw caps at both the inside end and the outside end. Both have to be removed for any water to drain out. Small chest freezers are all manual defrost, at least as AFAIK, so you will need to defrost it every once in a long while. FWIW, mine went years between needing defrosts; for example, the manual for the Frigidaire model I had recommended defrosting when the frost built up to ½ inch/12mm thick. I never actually wound up using the drain plugs on my chest freezers. I found it easier and faster to use a plastic bench scraper to remove most of the frost and followed up with a towel or a shop vac to get any remaining frost and water. If you do choose to use the defrost drain, having the freezer on a plinth could be helpful since it would give you more room for a bigger pan or dishtub to collect the drain water.