Hi Gramma,
I went with the 29 cu. ft. Samsung RFG299AARS. I believe there are 3 29 ft models in the Samsung FD lineup - the 299, 298 (Lowes exclusive with a dual ice-maker I believe) and the 297. I caved in to the LCD on the 299 'cause I'm kind of a gadget geek - that's the price my wife paid for me doing the entire kitchen design, purchase and remodel labor...
I have not lugged the fridge into place yet so I can't really give any personal review. However, friends of ours have had the Samsung RFG298 in their kitchen for 2 years and love it (active 5-member family). That was one thing that broke the tie for me - I was also looking at LG, Kenmore and Electrolux.
I think you really have to look at how you use the fridge and how the shelf layout/design will work for you. I can't imagine you will have an issue with quantity of space with either the LG or Sammy 29 ft fridge, but it's those little niggling details that'll get ya'.

Good luck, Dean

I have the Samsung 297 - got it a couple of weeks before Christmas. I was also going back and forth b/w the Samsung and LG. I did like that the icemaker in the LG was in the door. However, I decided against the LG because I did not like the interior of the LG, mainly the drawers. If I remember correctly, there were three drawers across the middle, plus the full width drawer. The three middle drawers were just too narrow for my needs, especially the one right in the middle. I felt like if I had large things, like a head of lettuce, it would barely fit in one of those drawers, and if it did, it would take up most of the room. I'd rather have two bigger drawers, plus the third full-width drawer.

To address your concern about the water dispenser, I too was concerned after reading several reviews about people having issues filling water bottles. The only time I've ever had a problem with it is when trying to fill a bottle that is longer than the indented space and then it doesn't really work. For filling drinking glasses, even my taller ones, it is not an issue. We can also fill regular sized water bottles (the plastic kind throw away kind) or any other refillable/reusable bottle that is under 9" tall. Anything taller, especially anything taller with a small opening, is too difficult to fill. What happens is that you need to be able to get the opening up and under the spout and with the taller bottles, you can't really manage that.

I have four kids and their main beverage is water. While it would be nice to not have an exterior dispenser, it really wouldn't have been practical for me to not have the exterior or my kids would be opening my fridge all day long to get water. While we've had a few spills here and there, for the most part, it really hasn't been an issue. And I say that having had the same concerns as you prior to buying this fridge.

I'm not sure what you mean about the right hand door shelves looking short. I truly love all the shelf space on both doors. I can fit two gallons of milk on the lower right shelf though we don't drink that much milk, so we have one gallon usually and can also fit a 1/2 gallon of OJ plus smaller items. Right now, on the bottom right, I have a gallon of milk, two cartons of chicken stock, and a small carton of heavy cream. The upper shelf is very deep and contains all of my salad dressings, marinades and things like teriyaki or soy sauce. I can keep a whole pound of butter, my butter dish AND a small tub of butter in the top compartment. On the left door, I have about 5-6 different kinds of mustard, a huge thing of ketchup, one jar of mayo, and then in the smaller areas in the two "shelves" above, I have smaller items like olives, sundried tomatoes, wasabi paste, capers, etc.

Even with the icemaker in the top left area of the fridge, I have a ton of storage space for my family of six. In fact, my fridge is rarely totally full. Having had a smaller side by side prior to this, it really seems luxurious. I love the retracting shelves too, great for when you have a tall item to store so you don't have to remove shelves to reposition.

That's just my two cents. I looked at fridges for months before finally making a decision but I am very happy with what we chose.

BTW, I found out recently that Samsung makes the GE Profile fridges - they are nearly identical on the inside but have a higher price tag than the Samsung. Just thought I'd mention that!

Hope that helps!

FunFarm and FourKids4us,

Thank you both very much! Your answers were totally useful.
I am back to leaning toward the Samsung now, just waiting for the next sale, since it won't be installed until late April or so - totally gutting kitchen, new wood floors, carpentry work needed, etc.

FourKids - thanks especially for the detail, it was really really helpful. We are a retired twosome most of the time, and a houseful in the summer - live on a pond on Cape Cod, so have visits from our 5 kids and 5 grandkids often. Hence the large fridge. We will just make ice in our old fridge down cellar when the need gets intense.

BTW, my comment about short shelves on right hand door referred to the LG - one of the reasons I didn't want to go with that model. Really all that was influencing me was that we really liked the exterior dispenser design better on that unit. In everything else, the Samsung won hands down.