Cool Drawer is a an albatross. On paper all the flexibility looks great, but how often are you going to empty everything to change from cheese, butter and lettuce storage to ice cream and frozen pizzas ??? It doesn't have an ice maker if you choose to use it as a freezer. The biggest drawback is it's width. At 33 11/16 " or 855 mm wide it is too wide to make for efficient access and that is also a non standard cabinet width. Makes planning difficult too. So, you are looking at a MANDATORY custom built cabinet and more $$$. Some factory brands simply won't produce a panel that wide for an integrated look. At approx $2500 ea. It's not cheap either.

I had a pair of Thermador Columns installed in December (30" Fridge, 30" Freezer). I love them. I had a hard time deciding between the above set vs. 27" pair from SubZero. So far, everything has worked perfectly and I'm very happy with my decision. My final deciding points were: For about 20% less money I could get 25% more storage. (The 27" SubZeros were about 25% more money compared to the 30"), and I had room for either. I LOVED the way the doors on the Thermadors swung fully to the outside of the fridge, rather than staying within the front of the fridge. Opening is so much wider feeling. As for now living with it, here are some thoughts on concerns others have brought up: I'm 5/2" and have no complaints about the top shelves. They are high, but I prefer that to stooping over for lower stuff. And the drawers are great! And I like the shallow shelves, with deeper door stuff because no more lost stuff in the back of the fridge. The doors hold ALL the condiment type stuff and the rest is wide open for large jugs of milk, juice, and everything else! One of the comments I get most when people look inside is: WOW, you can see EVERYTHING at a glance! It all seems to be at eye level and just item or two deep. No more hidden leftovers & stuff. The shelves are still deep enough to hold two gallons of milk, one in front of the other, as well as my big huge serving platter, cookie sheets, and pizza boxes. So no need for the shelves to be any deeper for me. I love the ice bucket location. Open the door and it's right at waist/chest level. Perfect. As I said before - no regrets so far!

I need to make the same decision. :) I do not know the cost of the same base units from Gaggenau. Perhaps someone could post them if they get them before me. I think the layout in the Gagg is better than Miele or Thermador. The UI always seems better on the Gaggenau, too (based on reading the operating guides).

I am one of those strange people who actually prefers a flush install of a built-in appliance over a fully integrated installation. I always feel that a fridge is too big to look nice as a "fake cabinet". It just doesn't feel organic when I see this giant panel that pretends to be a cabinet. On the other hand, with a flush install, the fridge is still kept out of sight for the most part, but you get just enough visual cues to realize that this isn't a comically oversized cabinet. I like that. I want to know where the fridge is hiding. Your mileage might very well vary though. Everybody has a different design preference.