Yeah you definitely just fasten the left side to the wall! If you have a filler piece on that side I think you'd just use some kind of blocking to fill the space between the cabinet at the wall. Screw blocking to stud, cabinet to blocking.

I have exactly this with Ikea cabinets. Only no filler on the wall side because we didn't have room. Our fridge just opens away from the wall (so the fridge door is between fridge contents and the rest of the kitchen). Not ideal but was the right compromise for us in a tight space.

What is accessed through this panel??

Ah, blocking. Maybe that's the word for what I am trying to describe!

The wall panel - I was totally confused when I pulled the refrigerator out and found it there. But I think it's prob an access point for the heat pump/HVAC system. Our outdoor unit is right on the other side of that wall.

It sounds like our situation is similar. That French door fridge I have (previous home owner's choice) works fairly well - but the left door can't open far enough to allow all the interior pull outs to be removed. You can open an close them all, just not slide them far enough out to remove them. To do that, one must first pull refrigerator forward of the wall.

I'm thinking that if I get a 30 or 31" single door with a right-hand hinge, it'll be an improvement. The 30" door would swing into the kitchen (so that you kinda have to move around it when taking contents in/out), but at least there'd be no conflict with the corner any more. And my favorite work area is on the other "side" of the kitchen, so I'm usually on a diagonal path of approach anyway.

Yup, similar situation on the fridge door swing. We have an island sort of opposite the fridge (kitty corner) just a few steps away so i unload things to there. It doesn't really bug me at all.

It sounds like the cabinets person you talked with didn't really know what she was talking about. I have no familiarity with Kraftmaid but from other comments I've seen on here I'm guessing this was probably a cabinet salesperson with minimal training rather than a real kitchen designer. I would take her advice with a grain of salt.

Since our kitchens are similar, it's reassuring to hear that the righthand door swing works for you.

You are right that I'm talking to a salesperson with access to software and a book of cabinet options. So I thought she might just be worried about something that might not phase an installation team. But it's also true that I really don't understand any cabinet system that isn't Ikea. (I have done an Ikea kitchen before, but I have I never installed or seen anyone install Kraftmaid / Diamond / et al). So when someone else starts to look worried, I begin to wonder what basic thing I don't know.

Cabinets are supported by screws through the back into studs in the wall not by side attachments, those are just to make cabinets tight against each other.

if you could spare a few inches on wall side with a filler strip you could open your refrigerator without having the door open away from your countertop.

Help me carry that thought forward. I thought I wouldn't have a problem using a wall instead of a side panel to the left because cabinets are primarily supported from the back. True? Or do I need something at least for stability? And if yes, what must it be>

I have thought about moving the refrigerator we have off the wall until the door can swing far enough open to allow all the interior bins to slide clear out the refrigerator. I'm not sure exactly how much clearance is needed. The door doesn't need that much space to get to 90+ degrees and the amount of turn required to operate the refrigerator on a daily basis (it already does in the space I have for it to the left.) But the outer door seems to need to pivot really far--much wider than 90 degrees - before it will entirely out all the interior bins' paths of exist. I haven't worked out how much clearance it needs to get the correct angle yet, but it's significant amounts. And after a certain point it stops being worth it. I mean, I could lose an entire cabinet trying to get the door to work, but how badly do I want it? Instead I could get .single door. Or, I could pulll the french door fridge all the way forward of the wall and cabinetry every 6 months to remove all the bins and do a deep clean and then push it back in again.

There's no way that is an electrical panel. I don't know what's typically done inside walls, but I think that access point must relate to HVAC or plumbing or both. There's a plumbing line that enters the kitchen right at that corner. In addition, our heat pump is directly behind that corner on the exterior of the house. There's a bulkhead along the ceiling right at this point in the room too that I assume is there for reasons. So my best guess is that there's some systems coming in and branching there, and someone at some point made an access point for it. That said, you are prob right that I ought to verify.

I actually already have enough clearance at the wall to open the french door refrigerator to 90 degrees for everyday use. However, the door needs immense amounts of room to open far enough to allow one to remove the interior bins. It seems like I either wall up the access point with a narrow pantry cabinet and open the wall from another side, when/if its ever needed, or I keep the refigerator in its current location and get a single door model.

I still don't know what the Kraftmaid standard answer is to installing deep refrigerator cabinets, but I've been comparing cabinet lines and found this buried inside a Diamond/Masterbrand product guide:

"24″ deep cabinets must be fully supported by screws installed in a structural member in the ceiling or soffit, and into adjacent cabinets"

I take that to suggest that it is in fact possible to support and stabilize the cabinet by drilling through it into a soffit, another cabinet, or maybe a wall (or wall + blocking), and that support from the bottom may therefore be optional.

I think with the soffit above the fridge it might be more difficult to add a deep cabinet. I have a 24" deep cabinet over a 36" counter-depth fridge but my cabinets go the the ceiling and I have panels on both sides.

It might be just me but I think it would look odd if the cabinet jutted out beneath the soffit.

Seeing the added pic now with the soffit, with the access panel in the wing wall, that might be a plumbing cleanout cover. Google "cleanout cover" and you'll get an image of a round plate that screws into the cap. Another type is "access panel" and images of a lid that pops off to get your hands inside.

Agree that soffit really does kill that corner if it had a deep cabinet sticking out. I see it's a small kitchen, so your cost may not be a whole lot more to figure out something about all the soffits.

So, yeah: the corner is unusual. There's a bulkhead there running one direction; and the kitchen soffit - same height - just branches off of it:

I don't know if the majority of the kitchen soffit is functional; I assume that the bulkhead without cabinets under it is.

Anyway, I'm still digesting the options for the refrigerator's corner. I agree that trying to install a deep upper refrigerator cabinet under the current bulkhead/soffit meet up corner is a no go. Mechanical questions aside, I think it would look strange to have the cabinet half under and half floating.

I've been thinking that it might work to build out the bulkhead and soffit in that corner so that they have the same width and depth of the planned upper cabinet. Then the cabinet would fit under it. It wouldn't be much of a cabinet - 12" high with some margin - but it'd have some use and I could cover the sides of the refrigerator.

If that fails or is too weird, I could do what the original builder did: mount a 12" deep cabinet over top of the refrigerator and don't try to build the fridge in any further. Or eliminate the upper cabinet entirely, and don't build the refrigerator in.

Anyway, if I can work out an idea of what might / won't work, then I'll have a good question to run by a contractor for review and correction.

The panel might be a clean out cover. It's not round; it's a rectangle. But it is screwed to the wall.

The fridge in the corner isn't a good thing and especially since it's blocking the access panel.

I would suggest you post a floor plan of your kitchen and surrounding areas. The kitchen part needs to have all windows, doors, walls, etc measured out exactly and I'm thinking we can help you layout a better floor plan.

What is your proposed floor plan?

Do you have a picture of the access panel? Before you do anything, find out for certain what that access panel is for and whether it can be moved, even just a few inches (you may be able to move it "forward" and have it open in the other room instead of the Kitchen -- but it all depends on what it's for.)

In the meantime, post a 2D/flat layout showing all measurements in the Kitchen. By "fully-measured", I mean a layout with the widths of each wall/window/door/doorway and the distances between each wall/window/door/doorway labeled. If something cannot be moved or changed, label it precisely on your layout (see post in sample) and tell us why it cannot be moved/changed -- we may have some ideas for you. See the sample in the Featured Answer of the "New to Kitchens? Read Me First!" thread.

A sketch of the entire floor also helps. It lets us see how the Kitchen relates to the rest of the home. It doesn't have to be to-scale, but it should accurately show how the rooms relate to each other and should include all interior & exterior doors. In addition, it will help us see how traffic flows in, around, and through the Kitchen. Label the front entry and family entry. The family entry is usually a garage or side entry, but it might not be. It's helpful to know which door you use to bring in groceries.

My first thought, if the panel isn't an issue and/or can be moved, is to:

• Reduce your sink to 30"W and get a single-bowl sink,
• Line up the sink with the right edge of the window,
• Move the DW and cabinet over that 6",
• Get a 3/4" finished end panel for the right side of the refrigerator, and
• Add a broom closet b/w the refrigerator and wall (It just needs 6" or 7" -- see the info below).
• You appear to have a few inches b/w the wall and refrigerator now, so you should have enough space for the end panel + broom closet.

4'' Broom Closet from Ikeafans)

• https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2467902/4-broom-closet-from-ikeafans
• Scroll down toward the end for missing pictures and instructions

If "centering" is an issue for you (i.e., you cannot handle a sink looking off-center), then center the faucet on the window. With undermount sinks, the sink itself isn't obvious, but the faucet is. Centering the faucet makes it appear as if the sink is centered on the window.

Buehl and Cpartist: OK. I've posted the basic dimensions for my kitchen area. I've also mapped my current base cabinet sizes to it.

The thread is here: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6326403/layout-suggestions

This sounds like a Design Delimma or Home Decorating topic. Seems like our forum mods are lax on proper use of topics, in sub catagories. I could very well ask what type of fire place insert should I get, and place it in furniture.