We wanted the look of the counter depth frig w/o the $$$. We will have an appliance wall 7' wide with a depth of 30".

Yes we'll have to waste the 6" behind the wall oven but only for the 30" - which we felt we could spare. Previously we were going to use the area for a pantry which we could have utilized the full 30" depth but ultimately the overall layout works better to "waste" that 1.75 cubic feet from the kitchen to keep the recessed look.

Can you post your layout to see if you can do anything like that?

CurlyElle questions like this depend on your layout. There is no set answer.

Fwiw...I hate my CD French door fridge...it is tiny! If you go CD for the looks ( which I guess I would still do) definitely put in a fridge drawer or have a secondary fridge somewhere or something!

It does depend on the floor plan. You may also be able to recess it partly back into the wall and not sacrifice the whole depth to 30" cabinets.

I prefer counterdepth for reasons other than looks. Ever since I switched to counterdepth (and I have true counterdepth of 24") things do not get lost. Among other things, I have to clean out my father's fridge (87) and occasionally clean out one of my client's fridges for her (don't ask) and I always find something (or many things) shoved into the back of these deep fridges that was forgotten and there is a newer jar or whatever opened in front, and sometimes I find a microbiology experiment.

If anything with a counterdepth I would have an extra freezer somewhere, but I could see having a drinks fridge too. Not necessarily in the kitchen.

I just bought a counter depth for my new kitchen. I had a large french door before which decided to break down right as my renovation started. Anyway...the CD is MUCH MUCH smaller but I knew I had to sacrifice for the extra few inches in my kitchen. I do plan on buying a freezer/fridge for the garage. I used to be able to store an entire case of beer in my last fridge, my husband has a 6 pack in our CD and it is taking up alot of space!! I also use 2.5 gallon jugs of spring water which takes up alot of space too.... So yes it is smaller but Im happy not having my old mamouth fridge sticking out into our walkway.

btw: counter-depth is not built-in. If you want built-in, you have to pay for it.

We bought a french-door counter depth a few months ago and love it. It is smaller, but that's an advantage for me - I don't forget about what I have in the fridge and waste far less food. It also really improves the look of the kitchen; it looks more open. People who have come by have commented that our kitchen looks bigger.

For us, it was definitely worth the extra money and reduced fridge space. We do have a small freezer in the garage and a wine fridge, BTW. (We had those with our old fridge, as well.)

I wish I bought the counter depth French Door refrigerator since I am very petite and can't reach all the way back in the refrigerator and I hate it sticking out in the kitchen. So my vote is it is worth the extra money.

We went with a full depth refrigerator, and had the cabinets built out to 30". Happy with the decision except that the refrigerator is next to the ovens, and I can't push the refrigerator all the way in without having the possibility of the refrigerator door hitting the oven handle. So I have the refrigerator pulled out about two inches. 28" inch cabinet depth would have worked well, and allowed a couple more inches of floor space in front.

You can just see the cabinets on the right.

Obviously I could have put some space between the refrigerator and ovens. That would have allowed the refrigerator to be pushed in, and sit more flush, with the 30" cabinets.

We have a full depth fridge and I still wish we had more room in it, so I would have been really sorry with a CD one.

I moved my standard size french door fridge to the basement for the overflow (two teen sons = Lots of milk, OJ and bread!) and installed a CD french door in the remodel. So happy with the extra flow room, and I do find that there is so much less waste. (nothing shoved in the back!) I wouldn't recommend it if it was your only fridge and you have a large family or do big shopping orders.

I have a CD S/S fridge now and I like it. The regular size lookes all out of proportion with our kitchen now. I agree that things don't get lost in the back. I do have another fridge in the basement though. I'm planning on getting a CD FD fridge for the new remodel....but again I will have an extra fridge and an upright freezer in the basement.

I never gave much thought to the loss of space when I chose a CD fridge. The important thing for me was that I didn't want the fridge in my new kitchen to stick out an extra 6-7 inches. We did not have the option of building the cabinet depth out, but that is a great way to tackle the problem.

We purchased a full size fridge when we finished our basement, but before that, I don't think I really missed the space. I do agree that a CD makes you be more diligent about not letting things sit too long if you don't need them.

I never gave much thought to the loss of space when I chose a CD fridge. The important thing for me was that I didn't want the fridge in my new kitchen to stick out an extra 6-7 inches. We did not have the option of building the cabinet depth out, but that is a great way to tackle the problem.

We purchased a full size fridge when we finished our basement, but before that, I don't think I really missed the space. I do agree that a CD makes you be more diligent about not letting things sit too long if you don't need them.

We bought a regular depth fridge and were able to recess it into the back wall. Is that an option for you? I think it's a great way to get a nice look without the extra cost of CD and without losing the interior space in fridge.

We had a "regular depth" side by side in the old kitchen and have a counter-depth side by side in the new kitchen. I don't see a noticeable difference in space. If you get the counter-depth, try to find the taller one...that extra few inches is helpful. Ours is 72" I think, vs some that are 69".

Having had a built-in SubZero in a previous house, our counter-depth (KitchenAid) model is just as good, at a much lower cost. I love the fact that it looks as much like a built-in fridge as possible.

Any fridge I've ever owned, regardless of size, I have managed to cram absolutely full to overflowing. So, my CD one isn't really any more congested than my previous full depth one, but it looks a lot better in my kitchen.

As far as the "not losing stuff at the back" concept, I'm not seeing it in my household. I'd have to have a 6" deep fridge for my DH and son to be able to find the ketchup, mustard, butter, etc.....

cooksnsews--How right you are!!

Wow, thank you to everyone!! We go through an insane amount of fresh produce so standard depth seems most practical; I'll explore options of building out the cabinets to match.

Thank you, than you, thank you!

As Daicey suggested, would creating a space in the wall behind it work in your situation? It would be a matter of adjusting the studs to get an extra few inches of space to recess a regular sized refrigerator in. Might be a less expensive option than having to build out all of the cabinets on that refrigerator wall. That is what I am hoping to do as I don't think I would want to sacrifice the space of a full-sized 'frig for a counter-depth and not sure I want a wall full of deep cabinets either.