If you will use it (and it sounds likely), and you can make a workable layout with it (not shorting yourself on storage or counter workspace where you need it), then it's better to have what you want than try to add in something bigger later...or deal forever with something that's too small. My sister's kitchen is about that size and she has a 36" rangetop, dbl ovens, and a 36" fridge. Your range will take up less room than her rangetop plus separate ovens, so I don't think the larger fridge should be a problem. Of course, again, it all depends on your particular layout. I am one to advise not to skimp on refrigeration if you can fit it and afford it.

What is the configuration on the SZ. I have seen the 48" Liebherr's where they are wine on top on one side, all fridge on the other side, and freezer below the wine. We are a family of 4 and it definitely wouldn't be overkill for us, particularly if you won't have a wine fridge somewhere else (this is all assuming you drink wine!! :)

Your kitchen is about the same size as mine. We went with a 36" range (with griddle, I love it) and a 36" fridge. We'd have had enough space for a 48" fridge if we didn't have a 7' wall of windows.

I personally think you will grow into the fridge and depending on the layout of your kitchen, I don't think it will look too oversized.

If you downgrade to a 42" does that mean a side by side? if so, I would go for the 48" - I think they are stunning. I love them with the glass door.

We have a 13 x 15 kitchen with that same little walk way you described.

Because we have 4 necessary doors in our kitchen, it would have been major over kill for ours but it's hard for me to say not knowing your kitchen layout.

We have a 36" refrigerator and a 30" range. Here is a link to my finished kitchen (- the pot filler that lives above my range now). Scroll down to the bottom if you don't want to see my bath. You can see the scale of mine and see if this will help.

Then again, we used the same cherry cabinets and worked around them.
Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: My 13 x 15 kitchen

My concern is that you are installing a 48" counter depth fridge with just 18 cubic feet of space. A typical 36" french door fridge (not counter depth ) has about 24 or 25 cubic feet of space. I don't believe that 18 cubic feet will be enough space for two people who entertain or for a family of 3 or 4. Depending on your layout, you may want to rethink counter depth.

Our kitchen is around the same size. We have a 15.8 cf refrigerator for two of us, and it's plenty big. We cook a lot, and we shop about once a week. Unless we had a huge party, I can't see that we wouldn't have enough room for more in there. (We had a dozen people over for New Year's Eve, cooked food for all of them, and it wasn't a problem.)

Our previous fridge was a 36" CD with freezer on the bottom, and it was about 20 cf. We decided to get a smaller one when that one bit the dust because it was almost empty most of the time. The 18 cf for a 48" doesn't sound right.

Susanilz5, just to be clear, the SZ Pro 48 has 18.4 cu. ft. of fridge space, and 11.7 cu. ft. of freezer space, for a total of 30.1 cu. ft. I think when you are talking about a typical FD fridge of 25-25 cu. ft., you mean both fridge and freezer, right?

In any case, I have about the same size kitchen as the OP, and I regret my 36" fridge all the time cause I think it's a little small. Though I do not regret the counter-depth configuration one bit because nothing gets buried in the back. I should have gotten a 42" fridge. Having said that, I have read that you have to be careful when looking at the 42" counterdepth fridges, cause most of them have very little additional cu. ft. over the 36" ones. So I recommend to the OP either to go with a 48" fridge to be certain to have enough capacity, or if going with a 42", be very careful to examine the cu. ft.

I have to say though, that the Subzero Pro 48 costs, I believe, $14,000. There are several good 48" fridges out there that do not cost even close to that much, but it IS bling for your kitchen.

I also wanted to mention that I think you may find one DW to be inadequate if you are having 8 people over, and an expanding family. My sister has a family of 5, and complains about her DW not being enough. The DW's today have a lot of insulation for both energy conservation and noise reduction. But all that insulation means DW's today do not have the same capacity as DW's did 20 years ago. My sister wishes she had gotten the 30" DW plus a dish drawer, with the dish drawer just being used for her glasses. She said the glasses really take up a lot of room in the DW, and her kids, and guests, tend to use a glass, drink one drink, then the glass goes in the DW filling it up quickly.

HTH.

I host all the celebration dinners for both sides of our families - cooking for 30 people here isn't uncommon. (no potlucks) All with a 36" SZ and a 30" viking range top. I do have an 18" beverage refrigerator where the trash compactor used to be but with 30 guests, it's filled with beverages.
The key is starting with a clean refrigerator and a good plan. I can't imagine needing a 48" wide refrigerator for a planned future family unless you are planning of multiples like 'Jon and Kate plus Eight' - and even Kate has a regular size refrigerator and cooks from scratch organically.

Now, if you are talking bling, that is a whole other topic, and so last decade :+)

akchicago, your right, I wasn't thinking. Sorry I must have had a brain spasm:)

Thanks everyone for your input. A few bits of clarification on my original post.

The SZ pro48 is a 48" fridge/freezer combo, with 18.4 cu ft of fridge space, and 11.7 cu ft of freezer space. It is a gorgeous lookign fridge -- I love how it all fits together and feels so solid. We are definitely looking forward to being able to shop once a week -- Fresh veggies in our current fridge will not last a week before they become dried out and wilted.

It sounds like the 36" range and the 48" freezer/fridge combo isn't overkill for that amount of guests. We will definitely use the appliances...just afraid of the scale of the appliances in a relatively small room.

The kitchen plan has sufficient counterspace for us, and everything looks good to go, I think we're going to go for it. We will definitely upload pictures.

AKChicago -- we live in Chi-town too. Thanks for your advice. We owe you (and Rhome and everyone else) one. You are welcome over for dinner once we get the reno done :)