You need to be able to fully open the door or you can't remove the shelves to clean the fridge. You'll have to re-think your plan unfortunately.

You could move the fridge to the left by one bank of cabinets. You will still have a small counter to the right of your cooktop. Then add a full height cabinet to the right of the fridge. No counter there but you could have drawers below a cupboard.

It's always tricky putting a fridge next to the wall because of clearance unless you have a sub zero or something similar. Looking at the specs for your fridge the width is 33", however with the doors open 90° you need a width of 40-3/8" including handles, obviously this is not a problem on the left but on the right even if you had the extra 3.5" you wouldn't be able to remove the vegetable bin on the right hand side. The clearance you need is 14". My solution would be to put a narrow broom closet or pantry to the right of the fridge.

i'm with @Allison Glen Designs

What did you end up doing for the refrigerator? I am having this exact problem right now. I have only a 36" width to work with and want to put a French door fridge.

I have only 32 inches and sourced a bottom mount with pull out freezer drawers that also allows for removal of shelving etc for cleaning. Mine opens to a wall. Fisher&Paykel is the brand. I couldn't manage French Doors. Maybe they have a model to fit your 36 inch opening.

Can you put the fridge where the dishwasher is and move the dishwasher to the other side of the sink?

Old post.

Use the two panels on the sides, they are usually 1 1/2" that will leave you with 33" for your fridge and you will be 1 1/2" away from the wall so the door can open freely... the only thing you will have to do if cut the panel and set the upper cabinet on top, instead of running panels on the side of it.

Good luck.

I'm having this same exact problem; anyone with a fridge solution? Cabinets are already in.

Me too!

In your situations do you have a panel on one side of the cabinet side of the ref?

Revisiting an old post with new questions. I have a Jennair three door refrigerator with panels built in on both sides. The panel and trim on the right, wall side measures two inches. That allows me the pull out the vegetable bin almost all the way, but not to remove it. This is only a very minor inconvenience. I can still wash the bin while it is in the refrigerator. If I need to clean under it or retrieve a fallen object, it is easy to remove the drawer on the left, pull out the vegetable bin as far as it will go, and reach behind. I think at least a two inch clearance on the side is mandatory.

Flopsycat1, we are having this same problem. We have 42" from the wall to the next cabinet. There now is a 36" Kitchenaid french door. We can only open the left door to about 80 degrees, preventing the deli drawer and fruit door from coming out all the way. Not to mention the fridge door hits the wall every time it is opened. We are now looking for another refrigerator, built-in preferably, to resolve the issue. Any suggestions? Do you know the model number of your Jennair three door? Is it a french door? Or a single fridge with 2 freezer compartments? Thanks!

We are looking at the same thing, 37.5" of space between wall and window, and not a lot of room to open up the one door of the fridge. I just saw a post recently showing a way you could add shelving in between the studs of the drywall. A lot of work I know to make this work, but if there was space for the handle to go into the wall, it could solve my problem. You could put shelves above and below where the handle would go.

Can someone please tell me what the length of the back wall is - I have 13.25 feet on my back wall and 11.25 feet on the wall where the sink and dishwasher will be. I currently have a u shaped kitchen but like this format better as I can make a bigger island with some seating. looking forward to your responses. thank you in advance

Lee Negri - we just recently converted our 10x10 u shape kitchen and added a peninsula - our back wall is almost identical to the op's original drawing. We didn't have as much space so we opted for a peninsula rather than an island but I thought I would post pictures for you to see. We love it! I love not having corner cabinets and having an open prep space - even though it is compact! Good luck with your Reno!

Last picture is the before shot!

I've found myself in a full renovations and if nothing else I was very clear on one thing - the refrigerator could NOT be next to the wall. My floor plan is like cwurch just instead of a peninsula I have an island. But the kitchen designer has "concerns" about the refrigerator being 36" deep and it interrupting the flow of cabinets and has recommended a counter-depth refrigerator. I admit it looks cleaner but can't commit to the extra cost and loss of refrigerator space.

@cwurch what depth is your refrigerator?

I'm not at my computer so I can't tell you exactly what the depth is but it is counter depth - it's a Fisher Paykel from New Zealand. I didn't want to loose the space either but we have a second fridge in the basement for extra storage.

This is an old post, but a perennial problem: what fridge fits against a wall? In our search, we found two that worked: the Subzero and the Liebherr. Both are pricey, but the Liebherr was about $2000 less expensive. It has great reviews. There are two versions of the Liebherr. The CBS2062 and the CS2062. the "B" stands for "bio", as in "bio storage cabinet". You can google it. But the upshot regarding the space issue is that the CBS2062 allows you to pull out *and remove* all drawers with the door at 90degrees. The CS2062 allows you to pull out all drawers with doors at 90degrees, but in order to remove them, you must first remove one of the shelves in the fridge. With both Liebherr options you can probably get away with 2" or less of space between the edge of the fridge and the wall (we have 5.25" in our plans...we'll see how it comes out).

https://www.appliancesconnection.com/whirlpool-wrx735sdbm.html

whirpool with hinges which does not affect the 36 inch.

Are the hinges on the whirlpool "pivot" hinges? Most current refrigerators have hinges that make the doors bow our and cause the wall problem. Pivot hinges would seem to be a solution but so far I haven't found any out there. If the whirlpool you mention has that type of hinge that would work next to a wall perhaps?

Can push part of the wall back where fridge is hitting wall

Not if its a block wall and part of the outside wall of the house. Here is computer drawing of a solution from the cabinet maker - refrigerator has a 2x4 in back so the sides come out past the offending wall, but the cabinet above and the wall next to the fridge come out more and give it a built in look, although it is not counter depth (even a counter depth would not work in this situation - you would just lose more storage space. Design flaw by the architect!!

I designed my own kitchen from a gut to the studs. My fridge is at the end of a run, next to a wall, and the "space" is 45 inches wide and 32 inches deep. I built an offset wall for the cabinets just because of this issue. WHY builders are allowed to provide so little fridge space is beyond my understanding.

I don't understand it either. Mine is just a standard 36 inch refrigerator, nothing fancy. You would think this would have been figured out a long time ago!

for anyone with same issues, some refrigerators--LG makes one, have no handles that stick out. That would help a lot and save 4-5 inches. I have the same issue but my handle would hit a sliding glass door and I have deep concrete walls so that luckily created a space for handles.

Samsung has models with handles that are built into the doors (see RF22K9381SR which ranks an 81 in consumer reports).

My fridge butts up to a wall like that and I hate it. I can't remove the veggie drawers and with the door in the way, I feel like I can't see all the way to the back of the fridge. I can't explain why, but its difficult to get out anything that's on the back of the bottom shelf. We lose things in the fridge all the time and I'm certain it's due to the dang door not being able to fully open before hitting the wall.

We recently bought a side by side refrigerator. It is in a place where doors open completely but when I open the door it does not open as far as the old one did...bummer! I imagine it is the hinge placement but am not liking it....The old frig was a GE and new one is a Whirlpool.

I'm having the same problem with a new LG French door refrigerator.

To my surprise, I found my frig has inset "handles" on the door's top and bottom...as well as the handles on the front of the frig doors. The handles (on the front) stick out so far that the door (on the right side) cannot open completely. So I would like to remove these handles but then I'm left with unsightly screw holes. After much research, it seems some refrigerator manufacturers provide a part called Screw Hole Button to covers these unsightly holes. Just this morning I sent emails to three of the "authorized" part distributors for LG and am awaiting reply. I'll follow up when get answers.

That picture is EXACTLY how my current kitchen looks, and the fridge is a living nightmare. In order to pull out the drawers all the way, I have to pull the fridge past the wall in front of the hall that leads to our pantry and dining room. I can't clean the fridge properly without doing that, but we can't knock the wall down because it would ruin our pantry. If you can help it, DON'T put your fridge next to a wall.

We are in this boat. Too late to change design!! Everything is in. We bought the fridge with no handles, but door opens and hits bay window trim, which will inevitably dent door. Plus, can't open door enough to pull drawer out to clean. Any ideas?

We are having the same problem, Lori Hurley. Did you ever resolve the issue?

We have the same problem ,but didnt think it would affect a french door refrigerator. Unfortunately our cabinets are ordered and the only way not to loose counter space is to stay with a two door Upper and/orlower freezer and refrigerator. LG makes a nice one with the bottom freezer(new for us),and open the door to the counter vs. the wall . Currently we have our doors facing that way already.

I have the exact same issue. The same layout as in the photo. When will a fridge engineer design a fridge that will allow the door to open by a wall, and able to remove the shelves without having the door fully extended? Does anyone know of a fridge that fits in this space? I have 36" space, but have a 33" single door fridge in there now. I need a new fridge, and my wife wants the French style doors with the bottom pull-out freezer. Thanks!

Bernie, look for Ref with zero Clearance hinges like Fisher & Paykel Smart Refrigerator model RS36A72J1 etc

Nancy, We basically purchased a tiny clear rubber bumper that we stuck onto the trim, to avoid denting the door. It's barely noticeable. So, it's not ideal but hasn't ended up being a big issue. We just can't take the drawer out to clean, so we do our best and without removing it... :(

This is the identical layout of my kitchen, but with ONE exception..my wall on right will be gone..looking for french door fridge with good reviews..considered GE but now that GE was bought out(and no longer on blue chip stock) wondering if the company has taken a quality nosedive..

Kitchen Aid and Jen Air Refrigerators both have Zero Clearance Hinges. That is what you are looking for. Zero Clearance Hinge – A hinge that allows unobstructed access for pullout shelves or drawer when a door is open to 90 degrees or more. This means that the door will not protrude into the area of the cabinet opening when open.

Could n t you move the wall over. Its only 6-8 feet. According to the drawing. Would be easier if it was 10' . That's what I would

I have a possible new nightmare trying to avoid. Jenn air refrigerator with French doors and bottom freezer, a French door double oven is set to be installed next to it using only the spacers provided by each manufacturer. this design allows refrigerator door to hit oven and oven door to hit refrigerator. The kitchen isn't demoed yet so i hope to avoid this conflict. Anyone had this problem?

Does anyone know if GE makes a slim handle? I am hoping slim handles will give me a little extra room to open my french door refrigerator more easily because the wall is in the way

We have the same problem. We gave away the old SubZero that was in the 36 inch hole.

Now we have to buy a $12,000 if we are going to remedy the situation.

UGH.

We just bought a single door fridge, that is 33 inches, but now I am doubting that too.

Thank you!

Opening the fridge door 90* is not good, periodically you need to pull out the shelves and bins for cleaning and the door needs to open wide enough to get them out.

I really like a single door fridge with bottom drawer for a couple of reasons:

1. you get lots more interior space in the door racks (no split in the middle)

2. it's a clean look.

However it is a little awkward if the door hinges on the left and the wall is on the right, or vice versa if the door hinges on the right and the wall is on the left, because you kind of get stuck in a corner; but it's better than the door swinging into the wall and you can't open the crisper.

As with most things, there are pros and cons :)

Alison

I have the same problem. I bought a 4 door kitchen aid and was very excited until I tried to pull the right freezer doors out. The rubber gasket on the freezer is a 1/2” thicker than the fridge! I’m trying to figure out if removing a floor board will solve my problem but it will be right up against the left wall. There’s plenty of ventilation on every side but the left (hard to explain why this is the case) and I don’t know if that’s good enough. Reading through this thread it’s sounding like it’s not.

I am having a kitchen remodel and I have been reading about this issue. I was looking at a solution similar to what cwurch provided above. Thank you for the photos. In the photo of the narrow cabinet next to the refrigerator, can you tell me how wide that cabinet is. This is the best solution that I have found so far.