From priciest to least expensive: 1. there are built in fridges like sub-z and that ilk where the doors are flush to the surrounding cabinets. you can get panels for these, generally. 2. there are counter depth fridges where the doors stand proud of the counters by a few inches but the body of the fridge is flush to the counter. you can get panels for some of these. 3. there are standard fridges where the body of the fridge stands forward of the counters. I don't think these come with a panel option. I found about 1-2K difference in price between #2 & #3 so bought #3 for a new build and made a 6" alcove for the back to recess into. I had no problems with "lost" items, it seemed very similar to a #2 type fridge I had of the same manufacturer in a prior home. A fridge will last 10-20 years, your kitchen may last longer than that. I really liked the alcove option, it seems you will always win when you can buy a less expensive appliance with more space.

Look at the Fisher Paykel brand as well. If you do not get water in the door, the RF201ADX5 is $2300. Regardless of the brand, think hard whether you really must have water/ice in the door: that is the first thing--and most often thing--to break. Plus, since the counter-depth fridge is space-constrained, you are using up quite a lot of valuable fridge space on the water dispenser. Also, have you looked at recessing your fridge cabinet space? Depending upon your construction, you may be able to carve out the back for another 3 or 4 or more inches of depth to put in a regular-depth fridge.

I have a roughly 5-6 year old model by KA Counterdepth French doors, so the latest versions are likely to be a tad different. The good: easy clean durable exterior; functional roll out freezer tray, solid interior shelves and racks ( no breakage yet); quiet, good lighting, and most importantly solid temperature control The bad: lower gasket has a poor seal, the condensate line freezes up relentlessly, and hence deposits a puddle on the floor most days if I don't chisel the ice out of the bottom of the freezer drawer. If I had hardwood floors it would have wrecked them a hundred times, thankfully I have vinyl floors, and early on there were some nasty falls when I did not toss a towel in front of the fridge. Bottom line, would I buy again? Probably not due to the seal and condensate line issues. Laundryvet

Samsung makes a 36" counter depth with the ice maker in the freezer and an interior water dispenser eliminating the through the door issues most fridges have these days. LG and GE have similar models. Samsung has the only single hand capable inside water dispenser with the button below the spout that you can press the glass against. The others seem to require you to use your other hand to push the button above the dispenser. I looked at them recently but decided to go with full depth since the CD fridges don't fit my needs. I also noticed that some of the shelves have vent holes in the framework (shelf trim) in the back making them have even less depth than they appear to have.