What you meant was how I originally read the question, but then I wasn't sure. I would not do a 24" fridge/freezer unless you live in an area where you shop daily or nearly every day and don't use a lot of condiments. But -- for the question as you intended, I have the 30" fridge and 18" freezer. We are a family of 4 (2 teen boys) and have groups of 12-20 on a fairly regular basis. I think the 24/24 would work for most families, and I would love that wider freezer. Do consider your cooking style and the age and needs of your family members. The drawers are great and hold a good amount of produce and meat or whatever. If you tend to have tons of different condiments, different kinds of milk for each family member, as it can be at certain ages, lots of different juices, etc., it could be a squeeze. But I think for most folks, it would work. Do you have the option of a second fridge in a utility room or garage as a safety net? If so, I would definitely do it.

The manufacturers have different ways of measuring and accounting for space -- like one measures to the wall and one measures to the end of a shelf. I'm told they don't necessarily reflect usable space. Even if they did, you are talking about a tiny fraction of an inch down the back or side. When you are talking about a cubic foot or less, you may well find that the one with the smaller stated size has more usable space. I think that's what you ought to look at -- how well the space looks like it will hold the things you need and make them easily available to you. You do lose a little space in the columns because you have basically one more wall -- one on each side of the fridge and the freezer (all exterior walls) as opposed to a wall on each side and one (sometimes thinner) between the fridge and freezer. I have the Thermador columns. Mine are 30 and 18. If you have the space for a 24" freezer, I'd go for it. I'm happy enough with the 18" in the kitchen, but we do have another freezer. The Thermadors are great looking, well-lit, well arranged -- love the higher bottom drawer. They are virtually silent, chill well, have a super chill that is great. I love the full-extension drawers and that the door only has to be at 90 degrees open to allow the drawers to open fully. I think the space is very well designed and utilized. I didn't like SZ's ice maker at the very bottom - not good for a tall person with a back and neck issues and Texas summers. I really like the ice drawer in the Thermador right in the center although I wasn't sure about it when I first saw it. I didn't have the option of 54", so I didn't really compare a pair of SZ 700's. They were the only SZ'z I liked and the choices I had didn't work as well for me. I can't say anything negative about Thermador though. I really love mine.

I have an 18 month Dacor full column fridge and the cooling system is not working (under warranty). It's been 3 weeks, 2 repair visits and I'm still out of a fridge because they can't fix it and Dacor doesn't want to replace it. The repair person said this is a known issue yet if Dacor was proactive in keeping their customers happy, they should reach out and fix this issue but instead, waiting for customers to complain first. In addition, when you open the fridge, you see the mechanisms that operate the door and fridge at the top which is an eye sore. The trim kit to cover this, is not included with the purchase of the fridge which is ridiculous after spending so much money, I don't recommend!

Hmm. Not liking the idea of having the fridge opposite the cooktop regardless of the positioning options on that wall. Seems like that corner could bottleneck a lot. I'd explore putting the two fridge columns on the end of the sink run, opposite the barstools. That way, if someone else is helping your prep at the island and needs to get into the fridge, they can do so without interrupting your cooking at the stove. And if you want more landing space next to the fridge, you could move the sink and DW down toward the micro/oven.