All other counters are quite a bit more than 48" away except a small 15"deep counter right past the entry doorway- it could be a temporary landing space but it's partially blocked behind a swinging door so it's not ideal either. I'm also just picturing how right now we often stand slightly to the side of our (single door) fridge when we open it, and just open it a little bit to get what we need. We rarely open up the fridge to a full 90 degrees right now to get things- only to clean. If you have to go to the corner to open the door (hinges on the right), you'd have to stand right in front of it and open it wider to get in there- it feels like you would have to be almost "in" the fridge to get stuff out, whereas if the hinges were on the other side you can be standing a little more next to the fridge and access things without opening the door wide. I don't know if that makes sense, but I feel like if we had the hinges next to the wall it still might work as long as we could get bins out for cleaning. So the 3 1/2 in clearance to the wall required for the french door fridge I'm looking at doesn't necessarily mean you could get the drawers open with that spacing?

Athome: that picture showing 2.5" is for a single door model. It states that 'other models may require more'. I'm hoping you realize that with a single door, the hinge will be on the side away from the wall, unless you provide the additional space to the wall side. The location of the hinge pivot point and the thickness of the door will determine how much if any space is needed to the side in order to open the drawers. I've looked at a lot of fridges (I have a wall to the left as well) and some only need 90* while most need more to get the drawers fully open or removed completely. Don't forget any clearance issues on the right side between the door and the countertop. Some people forget this and are dismayed when they punch a dent into the door from the corner of the countertop.

We are considering all the same issues as this poster. Our fridge will be on the far left of the row of cabinets in a galley kitchen, so it seems that opening a single door left-hinge fridge will be more convenient than an FD. I also am very concerned about energy efficiency and durability, so I have some questions about how well the FD models will seal long term. I have no interest in throwing my $2000 fridge out in 5 years! We did find a GE model that seems to fit the bill: PDCS1NBWLSS GE Profile Energy Star 21.1 Cu. Ft. Stainless Bottom-Freezer Refrigerator - Left Hinged. We have not bought this yet but are still shopping around. We want a modest sized one like this (again to avoid wasting energy for space we rarely need), but there may be something similar in a larger size. Good hunting! Good luck!

We had an Amana CD bottom freezer drawer for about 10 years. Not FD. Liked it fine. Had to replace in December, now have KA Architect series CD fridge with bottom freezer drawer and FD. So the same size fridge, only difference is the doors. I don't notice that there is more room when the door is open. I DO notice that now I have to juggle 2 doors instead of just 1. So as long as you have room to open the doors fully enough to open the crisper drawers, I wouldn't say one is better or worse then the other. BTW, ours was $1999 at sears. Link below. Maybe this will work for you. Here is a link that might be useful: KA counter depth fridge