Cool Drawer is a an albatross. On paper all the flexibility looks great, but how often are you going to empty everything to change from cheese, butter and lettuce storage to ice cream and frozen pizzas ??? It doesn't have an ice maker if you choose to use it as a freezer. The biggest drawback is it's width. At 33 11/16 " or 855 mm wide it is too wide to make for efficient access and that is also a non standard cabinet width. Makes planning difficult too. So, you are looking at a MANDATORY custom built cabinet and more $$$. Some factory brands simply won't produce a panel that wide for an integrated look. At approx $2500 ea. It's not cheap either.

hvtech42 - I'm looking at refrigerators now and agree with you. My situation is my almost 20 year old KA side by side is still working fine (has some very minor cosmetic issues). But I'm replacing my kitchen floor. So - if I ever want to replace the KA before it dies - now's the time to do it. When I look at the build quality of refrigerators (at least the stuff I can see and handle - drawers - shelves and the like) - the current SZs seem to have the build quality of my old KA. The new KAs are a lot worse. Some models of some brands like Samsung and LG seem to have better build quality than KA. So I am confused at this point. Also - when I got price quotes - the cheapest SZ quote was $7400 for a 36" side by side. Is that reasonable? I find it kind of maddening that getting price quotes on these things is like pulling teeth. Nothing on line or over the phone. I don't have problems getting price quotes on $75k cars or $1000/night hotel rooms. I think the notion that if you have to ask what something costs you can't afford it is ridiculous. Most people who wind up having money to spend didn't get there by being cost-oblivious. I live in a somewhat higher end house - but don't give a hoot about resale. I'm in my late 60's - and figure my next stop is a nursing home.or grave. My primary concern is build quality that leads directly to reliability. In the end - a refrigerator isn't a design statement. It's a utility stream. I have never had a refrigerator fail. Not even the low end harvest gold one in my first condo. That I gave to my late mother in the mid-1970's when I remodeled my kitchen (it was still humming when that house was sold in 2005). Or the super cheap ($175) bare bones absolute bottom of the line 20 year old one from Montgomery Ward that we use in our garage to store things like beer and water. Have needed some repairs on ice makers over the decades - but that seems to be par for the course with any brand. Refrigerators that fail seems to be a new phenomenon in recent years. Is my perception wrong? Finally - when I moved where I live now (almost 20 years ago) - there was no outfit that serviced high end appliances in terms of warranty work. Now there is. And it's the same outfit that will do the warranty work not only on your $10k SZ - but someone else's $800 Whirlpool. First come - first served. This alone would give me pause about a SZ (the repair outfit in question isn't the worst in town - but it's far from the best either - the best today IMO doesn't do any warranty work at all now). It's kind of like paying for concierge medical care - and having to wait a long time in waiting rooms to see doctors who are also seeing lots of Medicaid patients. Perhaps this sounds snobby. But - if I paid such a large amount of money for an appliance - I would expect not only a superior product - but superior service as well on the hopefully few and far between occasions when I needed it. Robyn

Thanks beekeeperswife -- the freezer drawers with icemaker is what I am thinking about as a solution. I couldn't find much regarding user experience with these in the forum. But I am also open to other solutions for ice making that doesn't create wet ice that is constantly melting and creating new ice (which it looks like the Perlick does). Can you share your experience with regards the following: 1) How much ice does the catch tray hold? 2) Is there a mechanism that automatically shuts off the ice making when the tray is full? 3) Could the entire drawer hold ice, or do you see any problems with filling the drawer with ice? I should perhaps also mention that we will be using RO water buffered to neutral pH, and so brass/metal fittings are not preferred. I believe the Sub Zero drawers can be used with quick fitting PEX which should be compatible with RO water.

lalitha, as you can see from others' photos, the kind of thing you are looking for is done all the time. These units are meant to be installed flush with adjacent cabinetry. Unless you plan to have a very thick panel on the fridge (as opposed to a standard 3/4" panel), there should be no issue with install. The other possible issue would be if the adjoining cabinet has a handle that sticks out far and is directly adjacent to the fridge door. If the GC/cabinetmaker don't think it can be done, I think you should have them speak to someone at Miele. It's possible they have better documentation. Try looking at the Thermador documentation - they use the same hinge, and it should give you a good idea of the clearance. When opened 115 degrees, a door with 3/4" panel would be 1.5" from the cabinetry. If you have a 1" overhang, that's still 1/2" clearance. Don't give up!