Dunno. There are a lot of "it depends." And I'm not talking about diapers and senility, thank you. :>) [EDITED TO ADD THIS PARAGRAPH] First thought: is the whole cabinet 71 and 15/16ths or will your fridge be one of the current crop with the max height is for the doors but the rest of the fridge is not so tall? If so, you might be able to work that space with the fridge sticking out an inch or two into into the room. Some new fridges have doors that are a bit taller that the fridge-box. Almost like a false-front on an old-west building. For instance, on my new KA, the tops of the doors are almost exactly 70." The tops of the hinges are about 69 and 1/2" and the actual top of the rest of fridge is 68 and 3/8." If were trying to set it into cabinetry, I could fit it into a 70" tall space if the doors were about an inch proud of the cabinets. If your proposed SxS is similarly designed (and many seemed to be when I was looking last fall), you might well have enough clearance for venting, as discussed below. BUT, if the main box of the fridge is 70 and 15/16" tall, don't try this unless you can cut some venting slots in the surrounding cabinetry. That front vent on the CD unit is not the same as the louvered system on a built-in unit. At least on every fridge I've ever seen (other than a Sunfrost, that is), the front vents on freestanding fridges are only part of the venting system. It allows air flow for evaporation tray (for any moisture that drains down in there) while also providing make-up air for venting the machinery in the back. The main venting on freestanding fridges is almost always at the back of the fridge. Because of that, almost every manual will tell you that you need clearance at the back and the top. For my FD Kitchenaid, the manual specs a minimum back and top clearance of 1/2" FWIW. Read the manual for your proposed model to find out what the minimum clearances are. . If you can't put vent slots in the cabinetry, I've heard of people using small, quiet computer fans to route hot fridge air out of cabinets but I have no first hand knowledge of this. If you can figure out how to vent the unit, the top clearance is still very tight. Like the thickness of credit card tight. Even if your house is new and museum-quality furniture-grade perfect, it may not be so in a few years. It is not just the floor that needs to be (and stay) pefectly level. Your cabinets cannot buldge, swell, shift or move in any way. Never seen a house where that doesn't happen to some degree. Personally, I'd be thinking about some cabinet modifications. Your question about doors is probably covered in the manual, too. Different fridges spec different side clearance requirements. This post was edited by JWVideo on Fri, Apr 5, 13 at 13:43

Thanks for the advice everybody! Yay, it looks like we will be able to do what I wanted to do which will make the kitchen more efficient. It will get the fridge out of a more narrow passageway (52 inches) and into a larger vestibule (about 65 inches wide) while still maintaining the same proximity to the cooking and prep areas. You won't be able to see the back or the side of the fridge because there will be a cabinet on the side which will be built up against a utility cabinet to the rear. The fridge will still be recessed to be even with the pantry wall.

Personally, I don't think it's a problem seeing the refrigerator door & handles if the rest of the refrigerator is "built-in" so it isn't a mass of SS. (Yours appears to be built-in.) Note: It's not just the handles, it's also the doors - the doors must stick out past anything adjacent to them - walls, cabinets, counters, other appliances, etc. If you want to hide the doors, then you will need a 9" to 12" spacer b/w the wall and the refrigerator - 9" will work if the wall isn't too much deeper than the refrigerator + doors + handles and the door(s) can open into the doorway; 12" if the refrigerator door(s) won't open into a doorway. That "spacer" can be a 9" or 12" tall pullout pantry cabinet or broom closet or it can be upper + base cabinets.

Thank you ulisdone and live_wire_oak! Right now my ideas are bigger than my budget, so I'm still in the ideas phase. Today I visited an appliance store to get ideas and learned that my preferred appliances are considered "compact" (e.g., 30" fridge, 18" dishwasher). Funny how the small appliances have giant price tags... On a related note, anyone ever heard of Beko (the appliance brand)? It's Turkish, apparently popular in Europe, but my family & friends who live overseas say it's considered the low end... Liebherr is looking like a good option so far.