As far as a counter depth fridge being big enough for a young family…the answer depends on your family’s grocery shopping/consumption habits and budget/space constraints. Counter-depth fridges come in different sizes with different storage layouts. Take a look at those factors as they apply to your family. A lot can fit in a refrigerator if its shelving/drawers and the storage containers used maximize efficiency. A comment about your layout…refrigerators/full pantry cabinets are usually placed at the end of a run of cabinetry. You say you can make the walkway bigger…can you extend the cabinetry walls so the pantry cabinet/fridge could be relocated?

To me any refrigerator that is built in like yours should be counter depth. Also, the layout is poor. Work on changing the refrigerator & pantry positions.

Full RF but better layout.

I agree with Celery. Could you move the fridge 90° to the wall where glass door cabinet is? THEN, you could have a full depth fridge boxed in an out of the way. I think with three growing boys you will need another source of refridgeration, even an inexpensive beverage fridge in the laundry room can hold 5 gallons of milk and lots of eggs, or get an old fridge and keep it in the garage. I know because I have 7 kids and we made it work with a CD fridge and a mini fridge in the laundry room. No garage fridge.

Counter depth fridge is so small! I have one as a backup in my garage and I consider it a 2 person fridge. I cook a lot, a standard fridge can barely handle my needs...for a family of 6.

(not a pro) Can you post a 2D overhead layout, with dimensions? That will help others help you.

Without seeing that or having dimensions, I'm thinking that you would be better served with an L shape as follows:

• Eliminate the cabinets on the left hand wall
• Narrow the pantry cabinet to 8-12", and pull it forward to the depth of the fridge box (hinges of fridge door sit proud of the front of the cabinets.) Then it won't look like a cave in that corner.
• Move the fridge over to the left
• Lengthen the counter to the right of the fridge and add cabinets (or make existing ones wider)
• It's hard to tell from your image, but it looks like you have plenty of floor space between the island and the back wall. If that is the case, you could pull the counter and cabinets at the right of the fridge forward a few inches so that you get extra deep counters and your fridge doesn't stick out so much.
• If you are getting custom cabinets, you have the added bonus of being able to get them extra deep for more storage. Otherwise they could to be pulled forward and support added along the wall for the back of the counters.

It's hard to edit a 3D view, but here's a rough mockup.

You lose about 10% storage in a counter depth fridge and IMO most of that would be the stuff that gets lost in the backof a standard depth fridge .. I would however look at true pullouts for the pantriy cabinets and put them on the other side of the fridge . It would be great to see the whole to scale floor plan of the soapce and IMO in NA where there is a super market on evry corner a counter depth fidge and a back up fridge in the garage keep the stuff in the garage for the kids to go get .

A full depth fridge suggested for a family of 5. If you can find an interior wall somewhere else in kitchen to put the fridge, you could possibly recess a full depth fridge into the wall.

I have counter depth with four children with two boys being well over 6 feet. Never had an issue and did not have a second fridge.

My daughter has three kids (two boys and a girl) and a dh that eats like a concrete finisher., which he is. the men in her family eat a ton of food. she has a full depth frig.

she uses every inch of her frig. her frig is next to her pantry cabinet which is the same depth as the frig cabinet, so the frig looks as good as a counter depth. its not obtrusive at all.

I would place the fridge on the other wall . Then you can use a standard-sized fridge and build in and more counter space on the other wall.

Of course what my illustration doesn't show is that there would have to be some type of filler or spacer between the pantry doors and the fridge so that all the doors can open without any conflict.

All of these designs have a weard dead space in the corner. Unless that's a big pipe chase, or there's a bizarre constraint elsewhere, there must be a better solution.

But anyway, we're a family of three who couldn't imagine having a smaller fridge. We do keep lots of pickled things in the back, and have some large stuff (almond flour, e.g.) in the drawers, but our fridge is packed. If you cook most nights with no leftovers, and shop often, maybe you could work with a counter depth. We do a lot of take-out, and cook things in relatively large batches, so there are a lot of containers in the fridge all the time. We did make our pantry full depth, and we did recess the fridge a few inches into the rear wall, but you can only go so far.

Fridge panel · More Info

New Kitchen 2016 -- wall 4 right, after · More Info

This image helps me picture what a fridge set close to a corner might look like. Kitchens with this layout are few and far between on the Kitchen Forum, but for those of us with kitchens in older homes, the floor space is limited and rather small by todays standards, and for a number of reasons, moving walls is not an option for everyone. It's certainly a configuration to avoid if at all possible.

I have 4 sons (and a husband that works mostly from home) and a counter depth fridge. It's a french door fridge with a freezer drawer. We also have a garage fridge but it's only used for drinks (alcohol mostly since it doesn't freeze in the winter like other drinks - learned that the hard way lol) and overflow frozen items - not everyday items. It is plenty big enough. I grocery shop one huge trip a week then smaller stops to the store as we run out of fresh produce, yogurt etc. Ours has a large tray style drawer, a separate veggie and fruit drawer and lots of storage on the doors. I have never had an issue stuffing it full of all that my family eats, which as you can imagine is a LOT.

As for location you want it out of the way - so at the end of an aisle (preferably near where you will be dining) not in the middle, since the kids will be in and out of it a lot.

I have a small family but still prefer a full size fridge. it is on its own wall.

Thank you everyone! The problem with putting the fridge on the other wall where the little glass cabinet is is that it will interfere with the island because it will stick out too far. That little coffee bar is actually only 12" deep. It's an awkward corner for sure. Next to the coffee bar is a doorway passthrough. I can't really move the fridge off of that wall too far because we are trying to minimize plumbing changes and the only other option is an exterior wall on the far side of the kitchen which abuts the end of the island. I don't want my fridge opening into the side of my island as I think it crowds the walkway. Maybe a counter depth fridge is the best option. I am giving up a 5x5' pantry and I just don't think shrinking the pantry will be a good idea for the amount of food we keep in there.

@cupofkindnessgw thank you for the picture. It helps. The pantry is 30" so it will be a little bigger of a corner than that, but still looks a little awkward.

Honestly, the size of your family doesn't have as much to do with it as your shopping habits. Friends who have one kid only shop every two weeks and they cram their full size fridge full and need an overflow for beverages. We have three (teenage) boys and tend to shop more frequently throughout the week - we would be fine with a counter depth. (We do have a large chest freezer in the basement as well, which also helps.)

Would love advice on the layout, See full layout and constraints here: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6236772/you-all-dislike-my-kitchen-layout-help-me-figure-it-out 

There are only two of us and I take full advantage of our full depth fridge and nothing gets lost in the back. I would never choose to have a counter depth if it was possible to have a full depth.

I had a huge full size fridge when our six children (5 boys) were growing up, maybe 30 cu ft? With a huge chest freezer in the basement. If I remember correctly, at least 6 gallons of milk a week.

Anyway, after they were all in college, we remodeled that kitchen. The best look and layout needed a counter depth fridge. In my experience, it was the best refrigerator I've ever had in terms of adjustable shelves & storage bins, and overall "useable" space.

The specs should list "cubic feet", and "useable cubic feet". This can vary a little or a lot.

My counter depth fridge was a Whirlpool. Since then, I've had two different built ins. Both 42" side by sides, one GE Monogram and currently a KitchenAid.

Not impressed with either one, but the KitchenAid is awful! List price is a little over $10K. Inside components are very cheaply made, and the interior layout is beyond frustrating!

25.0 cu. ft 42-Inch Width Built-In Side by Side Refrigerator Stainless Steel KBSD612ESS | KitchenAid

If you have the room to recess a full size fridge, you would have the larger capacity, and easier & less expensive if it needs replacing.

Family of 4 and we have a 31 cubic foot full depth with built out cabs around it. we eat a lot of salads that comes in those giant plastic containers so yes we utilize every inch of the fridge.

Using all of the refrigerator you have doesn't mean you will have a problem with a smaller refrigerator.

We have a walk-in in one of our homes, so I guess more than 650 cubic feet, plus a 48" counter depth refrigerator/freezer and while the walk-in isn't full, we certainly have about 16 linear feet of well stocked shelves in it. Yet, our family of four transitions to a built-in column refrigerator plus a beverage refrigerator for half the year without any problems at all.

Hi almostdone21. A lot of good comments on this thread. One thing I might add is that you do not have to choose between counter depth and volume. There are 42 in. and 48 in. wide counter depth models that will offer you the volume that you 'might' need and having more space than needed is not a bad thing. I would suggest looking at the 48 in. wide builtin models available. Subzero, Jennair ( and its Kitchenaid twin), are those I specify most often for my clients. The 48 in wide models offer approx. 30 cu. ft with 20 or so of that dedicated to the fridge section alone. ( I believe the 42 in. wide models offer around a total of 25.5 cu. ft. or so ). These models are S x S style and so should be easier to open space-wise when the door swings out.