Counter depth for sure in that space the fridge you are looking at will be like the elephant in the room and beleive me you would curse it everytime you walk in there.

Thanks all for the advice.

Ive been browsing online, most counter depth fridge measures 24.125 - 24.5 without the door depth (26.875 excluding handles, 29.375 with handles up to 31) it’s better than the other fridge on my first post.

i think I’m gonna go for the smallest depth possible. It’s a price difference of $700 for the counter depth I’m looking at online.

I have never found a counter-depth fridge that had enough room in it for my use, My sis feels the same way = we both do a lot of baking. They look great, but that's about it, On the other hand, lots of people love them. If it will mean less obtrusion into a small kitchen, then it could be a better choice. I would never not have an in-door ice.water dispenser either - no way ever. But again . just depends on your own personal preference and how YOU use your fridge.

Counter depth! I was skeptical about losing the space, but do not regret buying a counter depth fridge one bit....LOVE my 4 door, recessed handle Samsung!

Chess - I understand where you are coming from, but I feel just the opposite. I will never get another fridge with ice and water in the door. To me, it is useless and ugly. Your conclusion is exactly perfect - it is how each of us use our refrigerators.

Also a side by side has less freezer storage. I would go with either a French door or a bottom freezer. And no ice in door. It's the thing that breaks the most and quite honestly those lines do get icky after a few years

You need more height in that alcove. Your cabinet above is too low. That needs shaving down or removing before you fridge shop. A standard fridge alcove is 36”Wx 72”H.

Heed Sophie's warning re: fridge height! Counter depth for sure. Skip the ice & water through the door, it takes up way too much room in the fridge interior (which is already smaller being a counter depth). A side-by-side has less interior room than any other configuration.

We are a family of five with 3 teens. I have a behemoth fridge like you are considering and CANNOT WAIT to get rid of it for a counter depth. Yes, it will hold less, but then I should also throw away less because the food won't get lost behind the gallon of milk. Aesthetically, it definitely will improve the look of our kitchen.

A couple of things - 24" is not counter depth - that is cabinet depth ( ref that fit that area built-in like a subzero - they are also 84" tall ) . Your picture appears to have a deeper cabinet to go above the ref but where is the panel that goes on the left side? That is not just decorative - it does help support that extra deep cabinet. As mentioned by Sophie - check that height! It needs to be 72" to the bottom of that cabinet.

Be cautious when looking at dimensions. A counter depth ref may have a case depth of 25"- 26" but it also requires a 2" air gap behind it so you must add that to what you are measuring.

Make sure you really look at a counter depth model and make sure it is deep enough for your needs.... there's nothing worse than spending this money and not having something that functions properly for you...

Good luck!

I agree to skip the ice & water through the door, because the ice maker mechanism are known to fail, take up freezer space, & sometimes the water will eventually make the surface seal loosen & rust & bubble the front door. My parents have had so much problems with it. The ice maker has been fixed 4× in 5 yesrs. They'll never get it again. I look forward when they ditch it.

Christina, yes the ice & water in the freezer door do take up valuable space in your freezer. Open the freezer door and take a look at the design on the inside.

That is NOT enough vertical clearance.

I have a basement. One reason I love having one, is that I can keep extra/overflow food in the basement refrigerator. Like the 7 years of corn we had for dinner tonight, like all the various types of brownies I bought for dessert. Couldn't live without it!

There was a time you could find a counter depth (or nearly) in a 25 cuft unit. These were a bit taller to gain the additional space from a 22 cuft, around 75". If you had more vertical room, you still might find one.

When I look at photos of fridges, it makes me wonder what type of kitchen they are designing them for. Yes, it fits in the opening, but it doesn't look like it belongs there, when it sticks out into a room and the unfinished sides are exposed.

Are manufacturers just over-sizing the fridges or are kitchen specs and designs not keeping up with the over-sized fridges?

I can understand this happening in older kitchens with new fridges, but we see it everyday here, even with newly designed and built kitchens. Is no one bothering to read the size specs of new appliances?

The only true counter depth refrigerators are the built in ones ( sub zero, etc) the standard refrigerators called counter depth will have the doors protruding about 4-6 inches since they are counter depth without doors. Since you are already considering Lg and Samsung fridges, consider the GE profile line. Comparable price range, nicely built great features and they almost never break

Counter deep doors do not protrude 4 to 6". Maybe 4" including the handles. But they are vented out the back so there is supposed to be a gap at the top.

Based on your dimensions you might need to shave a bit off the bottom of the cabinets to accommodate the height. I did this for my GE counter-depth fridge (PYE22KSKSS) with an oscillating tool and metal straightedge. Details on request. Go for the counter depth based on your info. And check Costco online.

Debbi "24" is not counter depth"

This website disagrees with you.

counter depth fridge

@ Chess - 24 " is often the size of the case BUT what that article is failing to mention is the required air gap of 2" that most of those ref require....This makes you cabinet panels 26" deep thus allowing the countertop at 25 1/2" deep die into the side of it cleanly. A professional counter depth ( as they called it ) will also have that 24" deep case but does not have the same air gap requirement and has a different hinging mechanism so the doors can swing and not rub on the edge of the counter...

Either way my comment was directed at the fact that a kitchen counter is not 24" deep - it is 25 - 26 " depending on the overlay of your door.

@ Christina - I believe what Sophie is referring to is that you have no air gap at the top of your ref. That is a very important part of the ref being able to breathe...

@ chispa - ref. sizes have changed over the years but so have the cabinet panels. Quite often is someone is working with existing cabinets or more basic cabinet lines you can only get 24" deep panels . So you will see the side of just about every ref. When doing anew kitchen, the panels are usually purchased and 30 - 36" deep and get cut to fit the model being installed. That way the sides of the ref box are covered and it looks more built - in

Debbi Washburn

@ Christina - I believe what Sophie is referring to is that you have no air gap at the top of your ref. That is a very important part of the ref being able to breathe...

It does make sense that it would be better to have room up there. But honestly, when I bought my fridge a few years back (it's probably been 10 now that I think about it!) all I checked was that the fridge would fit under the cabinet. Even the installers didn't care about the fact that it fit right against the front panel of the upper cabinet. And it has had not a single problem, for all those years. But there IS actually more room up there since that front piece is a couple of inches wide. It's open behind that. When I recently had a new floor installed, we shaved about 1/2" off of that panel. We didn't need that much as it turned out. So now I do have a bit of space below the panel.

If you don’t meet manufacturer’s clearance requirements, that voids your warranty. If it breaks, you pay for it.

Oh hell mines LONG past any warranty LOL.

We have an ice and water dispenser in our door. It is our first refrigerator with one. I love it! It measures the water and is pitcher height. 3 years and...knock on wood....no problems!!

I pull our refrigerator out every 6 months and sweep the coils. I also have an attachment for my canister sweeper and an under appliance duster and use that about once a month.

You will need to have breathing room around your refrigerator. They are more energy efficient and require a little more breathing room. Ours was 2" on the back side plus 1" on the top and 1/2" on the sides.

I had our cabinet man make our cabinet with the breathing room in mind.

Both of my SIL's have counter-depth and found that they hold practically nothing. One solved the problem by putting a full-size second fridge in the pantry. The other lives alone and doesn't cook, so it didn't matter.

We redid our kitchen when last year and did not want counter depth because we wanted more storage. Still we did not want the fridge sticking out. We solved the problem by recessing the full-size fridge we wanted into the wall behind. It was simple for our kitchen contractor to do. if your wall behind the fridge does not have pipes in it, this could be an option for you. Then you could keep the fridge you chose without having the bulky footprint.

I am amazed that a counter-depth refrigerator isn't large enough for people. You can get a 24 cu ft refrigerator with counter depth. Do you shop infrequently? I shop for fresh fruits and vegetables generally three times a week; sometimes more in summer. Any less frequently and they are not "fresh fruits and vegetables". Other perishables twice a week. Generally, 4 cu ft per person is considered adequate storage. So a family of four should be swimming in space in a 24 cu ft fridge.

Fuzzy - Costco?

Fuzzy, it is true that you can get a counter depth fridge that is 24 cu ft. but since the volume is a product of height, width and depth, if you reduce depth you must increase height and width to keep the same volume. For example, a 36" wide Miele counter depth fridge is 80" tall, costing you the storage you'd have above a standard height fridge, but still has only 18.9 cu ft of storage. To get more volume, you have to go wider, sacrificing cabinets on the sides of the fridge. If you recess a full-depth fridge, you can get the volume without giving up cabinet space. If your kitchen is very large and there aren't space constraints, then it's not an issue.

"I am amazed that a counter-depth refrigerator isn't large enough for people. You can get a 24 cu ft refrigerator with counter depth. Do you shop infrequently? "

LOL. It really does not matter WHY they need more room. Counter depth fridges are shallower than normal depth fridges. They work for some, they don't for others.