Having moved frequently I have had KA, Miele, sub zeroes , may tag and GE refrigerators. The present home's built in was a subzero that failed after 15 years. Shopping around I bought a subzero for just under 9 thousand this past summer. The prices were 8700 with free delivery, 9700 plus a 250 delivery charge, and another store was charging 9700 with free delivery. I had assumed that all stores were selling the unit at the same cost. Husband was pissed that I had to spend so much. I had looked at monogram and LG units along with a few other refrigerator but either I did not like the shelves or the replacement fridge would not fit in the refrigerator cabinet. Back in 2000 I had to replace another failed subzero that was 16 years old. The price at this time was 3 grand. I was stunned to see the six thousand inflation price. I owned a small Miele with a single door and under freezer. The unit was only five feet high but held a nice assortment of groceries while keeping the food fresh for days. This small Miele held more groceries than a side by side GE refrig I had when living in Atlanta. Bigger does not mean better! Having had side by sides and the single door panel I prefer the Miele and the subzero. What makes the difference is shelving space. The subzero is designed to hold a huge amount of food so I can pack a turkey along with all the holiday prep in the subzero whereas with the side by side I had to use the garage shelving as my back up refrig. I live in the northeast so temps are below freezing by November . A few times I had to scramble placing the garage store good in coolers when the temperatures hit fifty. There are many spacious refrigerators out there that are lower in cost than a sub zero but I found that it was only a two grand price difference . I could have bought a less expensive fridge but it would have sat bizarre in the kitchen cabinet. I love my subzero but there are other great options on the market that function just as well. I strongly believe that the single or french door refrigs give you the best use of space and having the freezer below is also an easy stock option. I trimmed by monthly expenses for a few weeks to negate my subzero just to calm the hubby down. Think of buying your fridge with how you will use it and what you can afford. Good luck

I have what KristianCO has, but without the wine slots in between. At least at the time, that required ordering a panel that goes between them -- an insulation panel, I think? She mentioned the ice -- another reason I liked the Thermador over the SZ. The SZ had the ice down at the bottom, nearly on the floor. That just doesn't work for all the ice we can use here in Texas. Fori, it's not having a second fridge to make up for the failures of the first one. People who spend $3 million on a house as well as the guest who walk into one expect a certain lifestyle to go with it. Even if they don't cook, they probably entertain. If they don't entertain, they want to look like they do -- or at least they could. In my area, people look for a space for a second fridge in homes by the time they hit $250-350K. By $1 mil, they expect a second fridge regardless of how big the one in the main kitchen is. Beverage fridge somewhere in the house or in an outdoor kitchen is probably also desired if not expected. I've seen homes below $1 mil (at the time) that had built-in fridge, second fridge space in the utility, a wine fridge and a small beverage fridge in the master suite. Those homes are probably between $1 mil and $2 mil now, but they give a clue what folks look for when they reach a certain price point. Yes, you can design for change and tear out a pantry, assuming you also left the upper clearance, and maybe it won't make a mess of flooring and cabinets, but in a $3 mil home, I don't think you are going to save a lot of money in the long run. First, you have to plan the layout to include a tall pantry and cabinet above the fridge that would be lost or have a 12" or greater opening and dress that off. That would all be lost when changing the fridge and you could have the cost of cutting down the above fridge cabinet and doors or a new cabinet. All the crown on that wall will probably need to be removed to change the upper cabinet. Your toe kicks will have to be removed and adjusted. Not a big deal, but another detail. And if any of these trim pieces split when being removed, you have to match trim and finish. This won't break the bank for anyone living in a $3 mill plus home, but it is enough that you can see the savings may be negligible or non-existent. Not to mention that after suffering through an entire build out, the last thing you will want to do is any reno any time in the reasonably foreseeable future. Most folks are exhausted well before the build is done. Ok to do it - but be honest with yourself about the cost, especially if you are not a DIYer.

FWIW, I have Square Trade warranties for all my appliances and electronics that I have purchased in the last three years. I have had to file four claims for four separate items. I received my entire purchase price back for all claims. One of the items was a built-in microwave that was fried by three consecutive power outages. I obviously did not have to send the microwave to them; they had me sign an affidavit. Because my items were under $500, they just refunded my money. They will send someone to repair, if your item is more than that amount. The really great thing about ST, is the warranties are usually at least 3 year warranties, and they are much less expensive than store warranties. My fridge, for instance, is under a 5 year warranty. I am NOT affiliated in any way with Square Trade--I just wanted to share my good experience with them. Square Trade guarantees they will either fix your item or refund your money within 5 days, and I have--so far--found that to be true. I see that this particular seller has a Square Trade icon on the page, so if you wanted more info about that and what it would cover, etc., you could contact Square Trade directly and talk to them. FYI, on Tuesdays, they usually have a 30% off special on their warranties, and you can purchase one within 30 days of any ebay transaction (that has the ST logo/link), or within 90 days from any retail store--brick and mortar or online. Just thought I'd throw that out there. :^)

Thanks so much, Anthony! By the way, I have seen your appliance videos on Youtube and they are great! The kitchen will be about 26 feet by about 16 feet. Do you think that size kitchen supports such a large fridge and freezer? As far as getting it in stainless, any concern with smudges/fingerprints? We would get it in stainless with professional handles or could get it paneled, but I actually prefer the stainless, but am still worried about it always looking messy. It would be nice to have an internal dispenser at least like in the integrated subzero, but the built-in 36 inch columns do not have that now - at least as far as I know, but I could be wrong. And the 36 inch freezer is really big. Wish we could get the built-in in 30 or 24 inches in Subzero (I realize we could do the integrated freezers in that size, but kind of like the look of the built-in in stainless with grilles above). The Miele is nice that it comes in the clean-touch stainless (SF version) but not the same "professional" look and more expensive, even with their current 10% promotion, and not as much capacity. Any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks so much!!!