I am still in the planning stages of my kitchen. It sounds like our layout is similar to yours as we will have about 4'' between our 33'' fridge and the wall. We haven't purchased a fridge yet but FWIW we are planning to get a single door bottom-freezer. My feeling is that because the fridge is next to a wall, it will be easier to access the fridge from the other side using just a single door, as opposed to having to step over in front of the fridge to open both doors. Also I think with one door it's easier to just open the door half-way and reach in, with less obstruction from the door bins. With regard to being able to access the crisper drawers, I have done some testing of this in the store. I find that in general a 4'' gap beside the fridge should enable you to open the fridge door at least 90 degrees. At 90 degrees I have been able to pull the crisper drawer out far enough to access the contents, but not far enough to remove it for cleaning. This is not a big deal to me. I plan to use protective measures like ziploc bags and paper towels to help keep it from needing cleaning too often. When it does need cleaning, I will slide the fridge out. To me the additional counter and cabinet space I gain more than makes up for this. You might want to run some tests of your own on models you're considering. Accessing the ice maker is not an issue in the models I've looked at, as the freezer drawer pulls out and is not hampered by the wall. I have ruled out fridges with a freezer that has a swing door for this reason. Not sure about the water dispenser as we are planning to have a water filter installed at the sink instead. HTH!

With our upcoming kitchen reno we are leaning towards a paneled CD french door fridge. I love the look for our little space. I think we will skip the ice/water on the door because with the CD I don't want to loose more space with the ice maker, and I'm worried about water on paneled doors with kids. We wanted to stay under 3k so I think this leaves me with either the GE profile or the Jenn Air - but I am having a hard time finding showrooms with these exact models so I can "test drive". I saw a GE Profile FD french door in a showroom and the freezer drawer was so tall I could barely reach in. I'm 5'4" and I'd seriously have to go to the side of the drawer to get out anything. Are all GE Profile french doors like this? Does anyone have JA or the GE Profile CD french door experience/comments? Thanks for your help! Tara

I was suggesting it be put inside the upper cabinet - not between the cabinet and the counter. So outlets and tile are safe. As long as shelves are adjustable, the cabinetmaker should be able to do this. You could use copper piping like I did. They are small = thin, so soft. Lowe's also sells small wooden dowels that will fit inside the copper tubing... BUT the dowels MUST be put inside the copper BEFORE the copper is cut. I have a double plate rack - dinner plate above, salad below. The chicken wire on the doors doesn't show up well in this picture. I hit/went over it with dark glaze dipped in a sponge brush to knock down the silver/shiny finish. If you don't want to do a skirt under the sink, or if the plate rack proves to be impossible, you could always replace the glass with chicken wire. Leave as is, or put fabric behind. If you decide not to remove the cabinet over fridge, you could remove the center panels from those doors and add fabric and/or chicken wire. Fabric to hide storage, or chicken wire only for display. You can see my hood in the link. My HVAC guy measured and cut the copper. You can see the edges/corners have a piece that bent - they do that on a crimping machine they have to make duct work. He brought - but I did not use - a small (about 1") copper piece to go straight down the front/center. I left it off, wasn't needed to hide a seam. So I know they can cut and crimp a piece or pieces to go over your entire hood, or fit inbetween the raised wooden pieces. That said, I haven't seen your wood hood in person, I'm going on a wood hood I had similar to yours in our last house that I could have fit copper between. Here is a link that might be useful: my kitchen

Hi there, I'm going through a similar situation with my DSS 14. He lives 2 hrs away w/ BM and is supposed to visit EOW. For about the past two years and steadily declining, he has not wanted to visit. He has not been to visit in 8 weeks. His stated reason for not visiting is that he does not want to miss "X," which is basically the "activity of the weekend" in his circle of friends. DH has made him come a couple times, and when he did, DSS would not talk to anyone the whole weekend and sat around with a pained look on his face. My DH has been an outstanding father given the circumstances. He has 170K miles on his 4 yr old vehicle from driving back and forth (BM does not meet him, so he drives 4 hrs round trip on Friday and back on Sunday.) He takes both DSS and his brother, DSS 12 on individual father-son weekends, and DH spends EVERY minute (that they're not in their room) with them when they're here. DH also pays $1200/mo cs, plus all health ins. and 60% of meds not covered by insurance and has NEVER been late on a cs pmt (at least not in the 9 years we've been married--it goes directly from our bank acct.) Anyway, DH is very hurt by this and does not know how to handle it. He is trying to give DSS 14 space and time to be a kid. (This past weekend, DH drove to their town on Sunday and spent the day so they could be in town the rest of the weekend.) I have worked very hard and gone out of my way to be a great step-mom the past 9 years, realizing nobody is perfect, and it's not an easy situation for any of us, but as far as I know, DSS has never mentioned "me" as the reason he does not want to visit. That would be extremely painful to me, not to mention unjustified. Anyway, I don't know your situation, but it's very possible that you are just a good "excuse" for her not wanting to visit b/c she wants to hang out with her friends. Just keep your chin up and don't let it come between you and your DH. Also, on the CS, at the hearing on it, DH should mention the BACK CS she owes. Perhaps they cancel each other out?? Good luck to you!