I have a sxs and I don't like it. I feel like I can't see what's in it because everything has to be behind something else. There is storage on the door, but stuff there just seems to be forgotten, I don't know why. The freezer seems too big in proportion to the available fridge space.

I kind of have to turn sideways to reach into the back of the fridge. I'd never get another.

I also don't like the water/ice through the door.

I love the refrigerator part of my french door fridge, the bottom freezer.... not so much.

There are a couple of SxS refrigerators that don't have the freezer compartment taken over by the in door water/ice, but they are harder to find and more expensive then the dispenser refrigerators.

It almost seems like a crap shoot. There are good and bad in both models. If my refrigerator died today, I would be tempted to try a SxS model.

I should say that we will have a large freezer chest in the basement and spare fridge with the bottom drawer, so we could store large platters, turkeys, frozen pizzas down there.

We also tend to use our freezer a lot and fridge more for fresh produce, deli, milk, fruits etc. We do have the other freezer but it is in the basement so I would rather not run down there everyday. We store a ton of frozen meats, veggies, etc in the freezer. I also would not want something to fall on me or my daughter if we open the freezer I have read about that happening.
We would not get a model with ice/water threw the door.

I have a cabinet-depth side by side and really love it. I like that in both the frig and freezer the things I use most frequently can be stored in the top half and are easy to see and reach.

Glad to get some positives on this. I do feel like it is a crapshot, better fridge or better freezer organization.
I do tend to think that the french doors look a bit more upscale, but maybe b/c that is a newer style. I found a DCS side by side that I really like how it looks and our range wil be DCS. It is here: http://www.amazon.com/Rx215ujx1-21-5-Side-side-Refrigerator/dp/B00571A2R8

Depends. I am a former appliance salesman (Best Buy for 5 years) and the customers who had SXS fridges said they didn't have space to load a big ham or turkey in the freezer. And they couldn't store an extra large pizza or a cheese platter in the refrigerator.

I had very few customers complain about the French Door style.

A design feature unique to French Door fridges is that their refrigerator doors are narrow, which helps if you have a kitchen island directly across from the refrigerator space. Bottom freezer style fridges often won't open fully.

But whatever you choose, make sure it matches with the rest of your kitchen appliances. Each manufacturer has subtle differences in finish, sheen (especially with stainless steel), so if you mix brands you may find that your kitchen doesn't tie together the way you'd like.

And you can often get package deals if you buy multiple appliances of the same brand.

Happy shopping!

I have a side by side. Previously I had a bottom freezer standard door, but I've never had a french door refrigerator before. I like that I only have to open a single door to see all of the fridge or all of the freezer. I also like the shorter doors in my narrow aisle. While I often have large baking dishes in the fridge (with leftovers), I rarely have large platters, so the wide is just perfect for me. I have plenty of drawers for the plethora of vegetables and fruit I usually have in the fridge. The freezer can get a little tight, but I tend to freeze a lot of things. Now, admittedly we only have two people in the household, but I do buy a ton of fresh fruits and vegetables (I'm a vegetarian) and I never run out of room. I find it easy to locate items in both the fridge and freezer. Much easier than the cavern of a bottom freezer I had before.

I've had a bottom freezer for the past 14 years and I just ordered a SxS this week! I had the same debate between the french door and sxs. I am very tired of stooping to get anything from the freezer and the lack of organization in the bottom freezer. I also have a large chest freezer in the garage but wanted ready access to things like frozen fruit for smoothies in the house. I wanted a counter depth and I guess it boiled down to available space for the models we could afford. The sxs had more refrigerator capacity than the french door...even though the french door had it more easily accessible. It was a crap shoot ...I'll tell you what I think in a week or so when I get used to it!

I have a SxS and would love for it to stop working so I could replace it with a French Door fridge. On the SxS I find both sides are too narrow for some items.

As far as finding the single draw freezer hard to organize have you looked at models with two feezer draws?

As as example:

http://www.lg.com/us/refrigerators/lg-LMX25986ST-french-4-door-refrigerator

I have a French door fridge, with no water/ice in the door (I have a Kitchenaid ice maker - love it!) On my fridge, instead of the freezer being a drawer, it has a door which makes it MUCH easier to access. BUT, the freezer space is pretty small. I have a spare beverage fridge that just has a standard top freezer that I use.

I vote side by side. My biggest problem with the FD models is that with most brands you had to open the refrigerator doors to get anything larger than a ice pop out of the freezer. We only found 3 models where the freezer drawer opened far enough beyond the refrigerator doors. I also thought I would lose things in the bottom freezer similar to how you lose things in a chest freezer. I really didn't like the idea of having to bend over to retrieve my frozen foods especially as I get older.

I hear people talk about fitting large trays in their FD fridge and you can't do that with a SxS. Really, how often are you trying to fit large trays in the fridge? We have a counter depth 24.5 cuft SxS now and had a full size SxS in the last house. I never had any problem getting large trays to fit in my full size side by side. With the counter depth model, I have to make sure the depth of the tray works, but really, again no problems. No problem fitting frozen pizzas or 15lb turkeys in the freezer either. I also like being able to open the door and see everything all at once. An analogy that comes to mind in this debate over freezer design/placement has to do with pantries--if you had a choice in designing your pantry, would you choose a large deep drawer or a tall bank of shelves? Most (if not all of us) would choose the shelves over the drawer. A freezer is not really any different other than the food items are frozen instead of room temp.

Just some food for thought...

I had a SxS and often couldn't fit things in there. I ended up putting a second refrigerator in the basement to handle the overflow and party food. I love my french door a lot more (and I've had it 6 years now). The freezer space isn't huge, but I've found that if I stack many items (like frozen waffles) vertically that I can see everything better. I put smaller items like frozen vegetables in the pull-out drawer above. I can pack a lot in my freezer when I try. By the way, I have never had to open the refrigerator doors to get something out of the freezer.

Have you looked at a regular bottom freezer? Some of them look pretty nice. I'm going to stick with french door for my new kitchen because I don't have the clearance for a large door.

Also, many of the newest refrigerator models have more interior space because they are putting in different insulation. Make sure you compare the space inside the different models.

I hated my SxS. I don't use the word hate often, but there it is. I routinely cussed at my SxS. It was my #1 worst decision with our kitchen remodel that I finally fixed last Mother's Day. You can read about our new french door frig here.

I oftentimes will bake things that need a quick chill in the freezer before baking. I don't know how many times I let out an, "Arrrgghh!" upon remembering that my stupid SxS couldn't fit even a half tray. Only my absolute smallest baking sheet(a small jelly roll pan could just fit with the door of the freezer opened all the way and held in the full open position.) and none of my cookie sheets could fit in the darn thing.

The narrow SxS frig compartment was just as much of a pain. Along with not being able to handle larger trays, I was constantly dropping things off the front of the shelves. The narrower width meant that there was less side to side room to move things when digging to the back of the frig. Stuff would invariably drop off the front, denting the bottom of the frig interior, busting a toe, or busting open and ending up everywhere.

It was my experience in shopping for FD fridges that there are a multitude of ways that the bottom freezers can be organized. Some models may have only one large bottom section, but most have at least 2 drawers with those drawers usually having some compartmentalization available. Ours divides into four sections which I have easily organized into gluten-free breakfast & lunch options for DS1, fruits(easy smoothies) and veggies, seafood & soups, and puff pastry, pie dough, and ice cream. I keep meat in a basement freezer. There is plenty of room on top of the top drawer to lay a cookie sheet for a pre-bake chill.

We are looking forward to our new FD Electrolux Icon fridge for the same reasons as many have aleady shared. I can't stand sxs narrowness of both fridge and freezer compartments! We are keeping the sxs for entertaining overflow, but it will be relegated to the garage next to the tall freezer column, which handles most of our freezer needs. The Icon freezer will house smaller items, snacks, and my homemade cooking stocks! :)

I love my SxS. Had a french door and hated it! Opening both doors for access was a pain and the doors were always closing on me while I stood at the refrigerator trying to find something within. I will not ever go back to FD. Nini and I both have Kitchenaid. She got the french door and hates it too. My previous was a KA french door. This is a KA SXS and I'm in love.

Wow thanks for all the opinions. I can see how some of you would really hate the SxS especially if you bake and such. I do not really bake but we use the freezer a lot more. I hate having to dig amongst frozen meat, popsicles, waffles, and ice cream. It kind of grosses me out to have out meat touching the bag of frozen fruit, but I will admit that we are not that organized and our FD model does not have the greatest freezer set up.
I do not have large trays that often, but will have another fridge if need be. I am going to look today at the newer FD to see if the freezer organization has gotten better.
I am so glad you all chimed in as the reason's some of you hate them would not apply to me, but I can definitely see myself searching in the narrow fridge and dropping something on my feet (ouch). I also can for see needing wider freezer space, but we do have the large one in the basement.
Either way we need to get more organized with the new fridge, we are also use to a standard size (the previous owners were smart enough to build out the fridge space so it looks like a counter depth) our new condo does not have this option.

Currently have a 5 year old LG SxS. It is fine. I can fit a regular size frozen pizza. They are all different, my neighbor has an GE SxS, and can't fit pizza in her freezer. It all depends on the measurements.

I like the look of the FD, and am trying to decide between the 2 for the next home, but am leaning towards another SxS, as long as it fits pizza!

Love my FD and would never change. The freezer has a sliding shelf/basket on top. I can easily see every thing and am much more organized then before the FD. I would imagine that without the sliding (wire) it would not work very well.

Put me in the SxS camp. I've had two counterdepth SxS's in two different kitchens and loved both of them. Inherited a bottom freezer fridge when we moved and it was a nightmare. Like you mentioned, there was no good way to organize the food. I literally had to get on my knees to get food out.

When you shop take in empty boxes and pails of the foods you buy and see how they fit. Every model is different. As for party trays, I measured my fridge to make sure the trays I ordered fit ahead of time. I think in one case I did have to sub in two smaller trays for one jumbo tray but it was not exactly an inconvenience.

We had a side by side for 10 years and it went kapoot on us last year so ended up buying Kenmore french door fridge. I like it sooo much better. Even though have to stoop for freezer there is SO MUCH MORE FREEZER SPACE. My teenage boy loves frozen pizza and I could never fit a frozen di giorno pizza box in sxs freezer. Now I can buy more than one and still have room for so much more. Our freezer comes with shallow drawer on top inside of main pullout frezzer drawer. I find this helps with organization.

We have a sxs.

When do you all need such large platters? We entertain a lot and don't use such large platters.

FD= less bending! Another vote for "love the FD," but no, the freezer would not be adequate if it were our only one (nor would a SS freezer). Our solution is to not overstuff the freezer drawer. We have had a Samsung FD for almost a year. Love the shallow depth of the doors (makes walkways feel wider). Love, love, love the shallow deli drawer that goes all the way across the width of the fridge (easy access to cheese is a priority for me, what can I say?). Best of all: being able to stand (not bend) to see everything in the fridge. The stand vs. bend thing is important for us because we open the fridge 15+ times per day and the freezer maybe 2+ times. On this model, the pull-out freezer has a handy top pull-out tray with the icemaker bucket on it, and the tray is the perfect height for glasses, as is the shelf on the inside of the door (yes, a frosty glass is also a priority in our household!). The larger freezer bin has dividers, and we don't stuff it full but rather just keep a few bags of produce, a box of veggie burgers, one or two pizzas and extra butter. Enough for a couple weeks of our usual cooking. Easy to see everything without digging through. We don't need to open the fridge doors to have good access to everything in the freezer, as others have experienced.

Yes, if it were our only freezer it would not be big enough at all, because we freeze A LOT of garden produce every year, and each fall we put up dozens of jars of freezer jam and BBQ sauce, etc. We make-ahead meals and freeze them for work days. We buy frozen pizzas, veggie burgers/sausages, etc., in bulk when they go on sale. Friends give us several whole fish each season. We go crabbing. Every year I hoard Girl Scout Thin Mints like they may never be produced again. No way could any kitchen fridge/freezer handle all that, so we just use the kitchen freezer for a few weeks of the stuff we use a lot. When the upstairs freezer runs low on a particular fruit or veg, or if we want something special, it's a quick trip to the basement with the "shopping basket" to restock!

I curse at my 2-year-old SxS and will be getting rid of it as soon as our reno is complete! The SxS doesn't fit anything in the freezer or the fridge. I buy lots of frozen meat at Costco...even if I split it up, it gets stuck in the freezer section. I plan on getting a counter-depth FD and put a chest freezer and a small fridge in the basement. I need large platters (for antipasti whenever the family comes over!) and also for a sheet cake. I have yet to buy or make a sheet cake with my kids because there is nowhere to put it! My sister had a SxS and hated it for the same reasons...then got a FD and now she complains about the freezer unorganization. I guess there is no perfect fridge - weigh the pros and cons and decide what's most important for you! Good luck :-)

We had a 22 cf SxS since 1995. October 2011 we bought a 22 cf counter depth French Door. I wouldn't trade the FD ever! I love it! The freezer holds more than my SxS freezer held. And it has 3 separate spaces in it (plus the ice maker), so everything is organized and reachable and easy to find. I love the fridge. I have filtered water through the inside of the fridge so I don't lose any door space. Mine is a Jenn Air (the Kitchen Aid is identical). Can't say enough good things about it!

Water inside the fridge:

Look at a french door with two freezer drawers that open independently. We LOVE ours. It is big, so we don't usually have to open both upper doors to access the refrigerator contents. The two freezer drawers make it super easy to find and organize frozen food.
LOVE it.
Sandra

Every year I hoard Girl Scout Thin Mints like they may never be produced again.

I laughed so hard when I read that. You are not the only one. Not only do I have a stash in my downstairs freezer, but I keep a box stashed in the center console of my van from November through mid-March.

Laxsupermom: Mmmm...car-warmed Thin Mints. My hands and steering wheel drip with chocolate just thinking about it...;)

We had a FD fridge before the remodel, and I hated that thing. I almost always had to open both doors to get things out of the fridge, and it drove me nuts. If I lived alone, it might have been fine because the eggs would have stayed where I left them, but with other family members using the fridge here, stuff got moved around, and I almost always had to open both doors to find what I wanted. I also really disliked getting down on my knees to paw through the drawer to find the bag of frozen stuff that I wanted. Ours had a top and bottom section to the drawer, but it wasn't enough to allow much organizing. There may be better options out there now for the freezer, though!

I've seen some really narrow SxS refrigerators that would make me worry about fitting things in, especially in the freezer section. We ended up going with a 48" counter-depth model, just so the freezer would be wide enough. It is so much better than the old one. I would not want to go back. It is wonderful not having to get on my hands and knees and put gloves on to paw through the freezer drawer! I do think the counter-depth part really helps with the organization, though, as does having the bigger overall size, so things don't have to be crammed in there like we're expecting famine.

In your situation, with an extra refrigerator/freezer available, I would absolutely go for a SxS. It sounds like the drawbacks of a regular SxS would be more than offset by the advantages for you--much easier access to small bags of fruit and veggies.

If you do decide to go for a non-SxS, I would encourage you to think about whether the FD will be best for you or if opening two doors to find what you want would be problematic. I know it works great for a lot of people, but I also know several have had the same issues with it that I have.

We had a SS before the FD we have now. Large items like frozen pizza wouldn't fit in the SS freezer, and I hated practically standing on my head to get into the bottom shelves of both the freezer and refridgerator sections of it. It was hard to see what was in there since the light didn't reach all the way to the bottom.

We now have an LG 4 door FD (two freezer doors) and I like it a lot. There is room enough in the freezer for a reasonable size turkey, and since the doors slide out, you look down on what's in there rather than having to bend down all the way to figure out what's on the shelves. I stack boxed freezer goods if possible on their sides so I can tell see what's in there, and generally keep meats in one area, veggies in another, etc., so it stays fairly organized. And yes, occasionally it's nice to have a wide area to store something in the fridge. I can open only one door at a time on the fridge, so that's obviously something that may not be the same on all brands.

Since there seems to be people in both camps, you may want to think about exactly how you use your fridge/freezer, then go look at them and take some time to see how each would work in your situation. Imagine them full of food and where you would store frequently used items, large items, etc. That way you can make the best choice for you.

I switched out a single door w/freezer on the bottom for a FD and love the FD. The freezer has a full width roll basket/tray on the top which is nice. The freezer door also tilts forward and/or pulls straight out. I only pull it straight out. After a while you get used to what you have on each side of the refrigerator so you don't need to open both doors..ie-milk, veggie crisper, cheese tray etc always on the Rt; juices, fruit crisper etc always on the Lt.
I did keep my single door in the garage for sodas, beer, juices etc and the overflow freezer is nice.
I do have friends with sxs's that hate them. They say they can't even get a turkey or large pizza in the freezer.

Love my Elux french door fridge!
It does have one shelf and a place to store pizza etc on the door itself. We store our blue ice in the mini rack.
I hated my SxS and couldn't wait to get rid of it.
As Peony mentions - you learn what is on each side and don't have to open both sides.
I would look for a FD with a "flapper" vs a gasket. The gaskets leak in time.

Gemini, my jennAir has a flapper.

Perfect!
Elux has a flapper.
Last time I looked LG did not but maybe they changed their models.

Thanks everyone definitely some food for thought. I will say that our handle on our FD freezer is loose b/c of how full it gets and how much we use it. Our fridge part has never been close to overflowing. I do love the french door fridge part. It's the freezer part driving me crazy.

I went to look at them today, big mistake of taking my 2.5 year old. She loved how her sneakers made a noise and echoed when she ran around, which led her to becoming a maniac and sprinting around the large warehouse and screaming every time I picked her up b/c she wanted to make the noise. So embarrassing, she is usually fairly well behaved. So we had to cut the trip short as I carried my screaming child out, again so embarrassing.
They did have the DCS range and refrigerator out. I ordered the DCS a while back when they had a great deal going so it was nice to see in person. The stainless is definitely a bit different so it probably makes sense to order the fridge in the same stainless (nothing like ordering appliances based on appearance). The have a sxs in our budget, the FD exceeds it. It is one of the few SxS that does not have water/ice in the door (what I prefer). Pretty sure we are going to do that. It was so nice to hear how many people hated the sxs because a lot of the reasons will not pertain to us or can be solved thought still will miss the FD fridge.
My kid is still young so we don't really eat that much frozen pizza, when she gets bigger she can make a trip to the basement to pull it out of the freezer, LOL. As for tray storage/sheet cakes we will just have go into the basement and use the fridge down there. It seems like there is no perfect solution (other than a 48" one haha).
If we hate it, it easy enough to switch out in a few years....

ratrem, no reason to be so embarrassed by your wee wild one. People with kids understand because they've been there. And some childless people, like me, find that kind of behavior endearing and amusing. Oh to be so young, easily entertained, and carefree. But then, that's easy for me to say when you're the one who has to deal with a very unhappy little camper.

deb52899, thanks for posting those photos. I grew up with a top freezer and now have a sxs. For the life of me, I couldn't ever figure out why someone would want to bend down and have to dig around a FD freezer for the ice cream. What a pain! No one's getting any younger, either! But now I see how it works. Thanks again.

I have the same one as Deb58299 (kitchen aid model though) and I love it! The freezer is the best I ever had- easy to organize and holds tons!

We have a French door with two freezer drawers (LG). Love it. The old side by side will not be missed much.

Love my electrolux french door refrigerator. It looks great and works great. Full size that we recessed to look like counter depth/built in.

If you have a chance to go back, take a few things you want to put in your new fridge and see how they fit. I took some washed-out milk jugs since my kids go through a lot of milk. It was very enlightening because it is not just the measurements, but how the shelves could be moved and what they would fit.

I like our French door refrigerator, but I have a second freezer in the garage and that seems to be your hold up. With a side-by-side, I don't quite know how you would put a cookie sheet with a raw turkey in the fridge to thaw with a side-by-side. That is the one instance I am not sure what the work-around would be.

KA FD - Recent buyer of 32". The FD better suit a tight space (a major consideration). So far, interior much better layout than previous WP/single door/bottom freezer. Key advantages that have been listed as cons in other posts and consumer reports: split shelves actually facilitate best use of the space (like our 20 yr old WP, we didn't use one shelf); freezer drawers are easier to organize;far superior lighting; superior controls; door action is very good; quiet (there were complaints about this but we can barely hear it running); door storage is better than expected; love the water dispenser; Ice is slower than the WP, but meets our needs. The lower slide out deli drawer is a great feature.

We love it, but stay tuned for followups.

rtwilliams: what a BEAUTIFUL kitchen! Did you post pics somewhere on here, I'd love to see more!

OP: I had a sxs for 10 years and I like it fine other than the occasional times when I needed to fit a large platter in there. I liked the freezer access MUCH better than my current FD, which I've also had for about 10 years. The freezer in this thing is a jumbled mess and I don't seem to be able to keep it from that. I liked the sxs freezer because every type of item could have it's own shelf area. If I can find a way to sneak a 36" wide fridge in my remodel, I'm real close to going back to a sxs over another big bottom freezer job.