thanks for the input guys! i had pondered the idea of moving that whole wall of cabinets to the right, but realized in doing that the stove would move. i can only move stove a couple of inches to the right (make that 2'), and still be able to fit my waist inside the corner without hip-checking the stove every time. What i really need to be able to completely open the freezer door (past the first point where the door holds it self open) as i can the refrigerator door. That requires 5 3/8'. I have 3/4' i can gain just by tightening up the 12' base cabinet closer to the stove, add another 2' by shifting all the cabinets to the right, but i'm still short 2 1/2'. These cabinets are 14 yrs old, i know i cannot get doors for them anymore, i've tried both lowe's and home desperate, so i'm thinking if i can find a carpenter to make them 9', and move everything down to the right, i might be able to hit it! I cannot modify the opening as the last poster was correct, it's a 8' tall patio door. Find a pic of how far (little actually) the door opens (while resting on the glass of the patio door) Here is a link that might be useful:

The previous owners of our house had a fridge that just barely fit in the spot against the wall, so tightly that the hinges interfered with the door and you had to have it open the wrong way, i.e., with the opening toward the wall. No landing space on an island, nothing! And even with this worst case scenario, the only time it bugged me was when we had to load groceries - you pretty much had to set the bags on the floor next to the fridge and work from there. When cooking, storing leftovers, etc., it wasn't that big of a deal. Heck, the previous owners lived with it for 10 years! I am much happier now that we have a narrower fridge that opens the correct way. Since you have a landing space across from the fridge, I bet you will be much better off.

Thanks for your reply! I am curious about what kind of trim will be required between the units if I go this route. I'm meeting with our kitchen designer tomorrow and will bring subzero spec sheets, hopefully we can get an idea. Interesting that you say you like the look of them opening the same way, I'm glad! I've never seen an example but will try again to hunt down some photos. Thank you for the other suggestions as well - not sure about switching the two but I do have a little bit of flexibility and might be able to separate them. I also had another idea that struck me as genius for a moment - just get the 30" fridge and put the freezer separately under counter. Either a set of 30" drawers or a 24" unit. Everything will be panelled so doesn't have to be the same brand. Slightly less capacity but probably still sufficient given that I have another upright freezer in the garage, which is easily accessible. This would give me so much flexibility in my layout and look so much better! Then I remembered that my husband and kids consider an exterior water and ice dispenser to be absolutely essential (I could care less but they'll pull the plug on the entire reno if I try to negotiate out their water and ice!). As far as I can see, these only come on freezer units, not fridge. So now I'm researching water and ice units that I could build into a cabinet....

From the CRL site (your hinges may not be the Geneva but the adjustments are all the same): The CRL Adjustable Geneva Series has taken our popular Geneva Hinge to a new level. Adjustment to accommodate the desired angle (up to 90 degree) is done after the door is installed. Once the door is hung, simply loosen the Allen set screws and turn the door to the desired closed position. By merely tightening the Allen screws your door will self-center to the desired closing position. The door can swing 90 degree inward and 90 degree outward (adjusting angle from factory set position will reduce 90 degree swing in that direction). For doors pulling outwards only (using a clear door jamb), you can adjust the hinge to close 5 degree inside the shower area, thus having the door close snugly against the jamb.