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Panel Ready Refrigerators: How customizable are they really?

5 years ago

I am considering the idea of a panel-ready refrigerator, but i have no idea how to shop these things, much less customize it for my kitchen work-in-progress. How customizable are these fridges really? Can I turn my closet door (a slatted, shutter-like wood panel door) into the front panel of my fridge?

I am desperately trying to keep the original wood (closet) doors in my house (the key source of character in my 1925 home). I am removing one of the 33 inch-ish closet doors and sliding a 33-inch wide fridge into the space for a near-seamless fit.

But what would make the room even BETTER is if I could take the closet door--the slatted, shutter-like wood panel door--and actually turn it into the front panel of a panel-ready fridge. Cloud I be so lucky?

My husband is a bit of a carpenter with access to some big wood saws and equipment. So I could virtually custom fabricate the dang thing myself if I had a clue as to where to start with all this.

Do they even make 33-inch panel-ready fridges? (this width is smaller than the standard 36 inch)...

Advice?

Any advice?

Featured Answer

jwvideo

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

Interesting idea. But, per your first question, the answer is as Helen says: there do not appear to be any 33" panel-ready fridges. I just ran a quick search at the AJ Madsion and Lowe's sites and found panel ready fridges available in 30" and 36" widths but not 33" widths.

Beyond that, there is the practical consideration is that your louvered door is two to three times thicker than the cabinet panels for which "panel ready" fridges are designed.

There's another practical limitation with setting a 33" wide fridge inside a 33" door frame. Almost all fridges need extra clearance on the hinge side for the fridge door (s) to open wide enough to fully access crisper drawers and such.

There are (or at least used to be) fridges which had thin doors and what were called "zero clearance door hinges." That allowed full access to interior drawers etc. with the door opened to only 90° but did not t find any current models when I ran a quick search.

I suppose you could do what a friend of mine did when working on the kitchen in his retirement home -- he put a 30" fridge inside a closet with a louvered door. (actually, bi-fold doors.) The louvers allow for necessary ventilation for the fridge motor and cmpressor but YMMV on how inconvenient you would find that kind of set-up.

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Comments (7)

Rita / Bring Back Sophie 4 Real
5 years ago
I don't think this will work. The door need to be the same width as the integrated or paneled refrigerator- and fit the refrigerator door.

You can download the specifications for various refrigerators that include technical drawings for how to install them.
weedmeister
5 years ago
You may not be able to fit THAT door, but with the drawings and skills, you could make something up.
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The other thing about the panel ready DWs is that they are calibrated to have the door springs work with the weight of the wood panel. Without that weight, they can be a bit "springy". Also, if you are doing a cabinet front on it in a wood that changes color over time, it should always be ordered at the same time as the rest of your cabinetry. Sometimes even painted cabinetry can change color over time if you've gone with a site finished guy who uses oil paint. (The days of that are about over, but there are still a few of those around who choose that.)
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cpartist
5 years ago
I don't believe that is an original door from the 1920's. Those look like the are from the 50's or 60's. If you do a paneled fridge for your house, the fridge should either match the cabinets or be made to look like an old fashioned fridge.
baileysr
5 years ago
If you love those doors, do you have any opportunity to use a barn door
In your home? You have huge flexibility to make any size barn door, and you can buy the hardware so your handy husband can probably tackle the job himself. Maybe you can use it as a pantry door in your kitchen?
PRO
Kristin Petro Interiors, Inc.
5 years ago
A paneled refrigerator is not the same as an integrated refrigerator. You have more flexibility with the height of an integrated panel, but not with a paneled refrigerator. Refer to your appliance specs for size requirements. Typically, the panel on either type of an appliance is .75” thick. Your doors would not work.
Helen
5 years ago
As others have posted, the panel on a paneled refrigerator is not the same as even the door for the cabinet but is made according to manufacturer's specifications.

There might be 33" panel refrigerators but I am not aware of same. Even for those models made by consumer brands (i.e. KA or Jennair) they are expensive - and don't forget you need to also purchase the appropriate appliance pulls.

While I am not an architectural historian, I would be surprised if those closet doors were original to a house built in 1925 as the style looks like the kind of doors that were ubiquitous in homes built in the 1950's or 1960's - or even the 1970's.

If you want to keep some interest going, why not use beautiful doors for the closets or interiors. Take a look at the Trustile website (for example) and you can view the multitude of styles available - and in almost any kind of wood you would want.

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