Should be. A big selling point when Thermador first came out with the columns was that you could hide them behind anything. If you wanted stainless, they shipped the panel in another box and it had to be installed. The Meile is a jazzed up Thermador -- stainless interior as I recall. Still true?

Thanks, lascatx. The stainless interior is in the Gaggenau, but the Miele is a jazzed up Thermador..

Miele is open for the day, so I called them and they said nope, can't do it.

Yesterday, two local appliance stores said it's possible - one says easy peasy and the other said doable, but tricky.

I don't want to build a kitchen around 54" of refrigeration only to find out I have to spend a lot more on a Miele freezer at MSRP. We're only shopping this because of the substantial discounts.

I understand. We planned a counter depth fridge here and it was a good buy on a returned built-in (came with the wrong handles). But in my case, we went for the brand new Thermador columns before we were done.

To be honest, I was questioning whether Miele would know the product as well. I wonder if someone from Thermador or BSH could tell you.

Is the guy selling the freezer a dealer or an individual? If a dealer, won't he be able to stand behind what he;s telling you and make it right with a new one if necessary? Also, has he done it before or is he willing to take off the stainless cover and verify that it will be the same?

I think Miele may be least knowledgeable. Thermador sells these units with the customizing as a premium. Meile probably sells them to match their other appliances -- not to be hidden behind custom panels.