Did your cab maker say why he couldn't build the panel deeper to cover the sides? Our cab maker did just that in our last kit. Also most of the refrigerators do have black sides.

I think I was not clear. I knew that the case of the frig was going to be black & that part he can build the cabinet surround to cover. The part that he says he can't address is the side trim of the door itself. He says if he tries to put any kind of wood panel there it will get in the way of the door opening properly.

That was a problem I saw when I was ordering my refrigerator. I wanted a panel ready, but when I saw that the sides of the doors would show, I ended up getting a SS Jenn Air. Some of the panel readys I think come with a white or black case. Being you have a white kitchen, maybe you could get it with the white case.

I don't remember where I saved this picture from, so if it is a GW member, I hope it is ok that I am posting it here...
We are having a Jenn Air CD FD paneled, I saved this pic to show our Cabinet maker. It shows a side angle with a strip of wood. I am pretty sure this is a Jenn Air, but KA is basically the same, I believe they are made by the same company. I don't know if it helps but perhaps you can show it to your cabinet person and it will give him an inspiration. You might also call KA and see if they have any information that might help. Good Luck, I'll be anxious to hear what you come up with.

What is your model?

I am not sure, but some of the panel ready refrigerator by KitchenAid are available with White trim (or metallic) was there a reason you ordered one with black trim for a white kitchen?

Also at that price point, is there a reason you chose a panel-ready refrigerator rather than a fully integrated refrigerator? A fully integrated refrigerator does not have panels held in by trim. The panels clip onto the door and the door is completely flush with the cabinetry.

I am not being critical. I am just trying to understand the situation. Perhaps you can return the refrigerator and get the one that has the white trim pieces.

....

(paint might do the trick, and it'd be a better match than whitewhite)

good luck! Fridges are a pain!

I do know ours was built just out to the door itself. The door was beyond the cabs.

Thanks,

Luckymom- I will send this pic to my cabinet maker & see if he has any ideas. Have you discussed w/yours? I'd really love to hear what others do.

As I mentioned above, I have called Kitchenaid- they do not have any available trim part to cover the black & the model is only available in black, not white. It is one of their newest models which is one of the reasons no one had it to see in the store.

My CG thinks he has a friend who can fabricate a stainless steel strip to attach to it. Anyone done this?

Granite guy, who happened to be here suggested to take it to car body shop & see if they could paint the trim portion.

Thoughts??

How about ordering some veneer from your cabinet company and sticking that on? Honestly, this would be a deal breaker for me and I would return it if I possibly could.

Frigo Designs may be able to make trim pieces for your refrigerator. However, they are not inexpensive.

You could try either a stainless laminate (only .035" thick) or a wood veneer laminate (1/42" thick) that could perhaps be finished or painted to match your cabinets.

Here is a link that might be useful: Outwater catalogue

Thanks all,

Circuspeanut- the veneer was just was I was hoping to do. Any ideas how to attach it or make it stick to the trim piece??

Again, my thanks for helping to resolve this. We've now determined that at this point we do need to keep the fridge. Among other things we were having issues with other fridges potentially hitting the handle of the adjacent oven & this one restricts the swing just sufficiently so that should not be an issue. I don't want to trade one problem for another.

SO, finding the best solution to covering the black trim is what we've got to do at this point.

Thanks again!

thanks so much for starting this thread I am going to look into the veneer also If I read right it has a sticky backing.
Circuspeanut you are a genus.

Hey, very glad to help. The Outwater catalog is a treasure trove, but it wasn't really my find -- someone on one of the Gardenweb forums linked to it a while back. :-)

I believe the veneer comes with adhesive and without. (Page a bit back and forth in the catalog to find the various kinds and sizes.) You could buy a separate adhesive, but I'm thinking that the pre-glued stuff should work pretty well over smooth black plastic trim.

Definitely swing back here when you're done to show how it all turned out!

Thanks Circuspeanut,

Will send the info to cabinetmaker & hope he can figure out something & will definitely post pics back to this thread when we've got it done.

Thanks again!

I was just wondering if you had come to a solution for this yet. I would really like to purchase this fridge for my kitchen and would also like to panel it in. We are going with a cream cabinet and I don't want the 2" thick black strip either. I would love to hear how yours turned out. Thanks

Any updates on this? I know it has been a while, but this refrigerator is still around and I would love to see your solution. I am concerned about exact same thing.
Thanks

I just discovered I have the same problem. My cabinet maker should have made the cove for the fridge wider and deeper. Looks like I may be painting the sides too.