we went with the electrolux Icon units and trim kit. has the look of the built in at a fraction of the cost. you just need to plan for this in your build as it takes space. not the highest quality units however and lack features found on many newer refrigerators.

I’ve had our GE kitchen appliances for 19 years and just recently had to repair the oven and now the dishwasher broke down. Four years ago we purchased new Samsung washer/dryer and within a year we already had a problem with the washer.

Our current kitchen appliances are white so we pondered, do we buy another GE white dishwasher to match the stove, microwave, frig or buy all new? Since I’ve never liked how the appliances are a “cool white” while our countertops are “soft white” I decided to begin pricing new kitchen appliances.

As far as the refrigerator goes, my preference is for a free-standing, counter depth, French door, fingerprint resistant stainless steel type and American made.

My concern is the right size refridgerator for my small 3BR house. I remodeled my kitchen in 2011 but had to get a new fridge in 2009. I'm single my fridge (3rd one) is the biggest i had yet-- about 19 or 21cf. I hope enclosure for it will please the next homeowner. Most of my friends have huge units

I have heard such bad feedback from several Samsung appliance owners about repairs early on.

built in for sure. there's nothing nicer than a refrigerator custom designed to match and/or born w/ your Cabinetry. there's also many ways to camouflage it such as adding corner shelving. I'm,an artist so you can,imagine my creative imagination =)

The built in design would be a great choice! Beautiful and functional.

I've never understood the concept that kitchen appliances are so offensive to look at, in of all places, a kitchen, that they need to be hidden and replaced with an overload of cabinetry. I guess cabinet makers came up with that one. I'll take the stand alone please.

I understand it within the context of open style kitchens, smack bang in the living room and dining room, when you tend to have your kitchen cabinets match the DR/LR furniture, and the kitchen floors match the flooring throughout the area as well.

Hence why I much, much prefer a separate kitchen, with a door into it from the hallway and a door out into the dining room, with ceramic floors and bright (preferably white) cabinets. That's what we've always had and what we'll always have.

" I understand it within the context of open style kitchens, smack bang in the living room and dining room, when you tend to have your kitchen cabinets match the DR/LR furniture, and the kitchen floors match the flooring throughout the area as well. "

Even then, I don't understand it. It's not as if anyone will mistake it for the living room or dining room. In fact, it's then that it makes even less sense to me, because I see using flooring and decor changes as a way to differentiate areas/rooms when there are no walls.

Well that doesn't seem to be the trend, they want to have the kitchen blend in ... I don't get it myself, but then I'm not your average home dweller.

^^Agree 100%.

" but then I'm not your average home dweller. "

Yup, neither am I :)

My built in was put in by the original owners and is the perfect refrigerator - it's front has the custom cabinet face and is not even noticed. It was installed in 1995 and still functions beautifully - well worth the price.

building right now and considering a built in. the builder on sells kitchen aid. never had a built in, but planning on adding. any comments on that manufacturer?

mine is a kitchen aid and is over 23 years old - great product

I like them because there is no crevices around them to gather dust or for things to get underneath.

I grew up in a very clean house: (I did a science experment in Jr. High where I took bacterial swabs from surfaces and grew the bacteria on tomato soup as a culture medium. The swabs from my mother's kitchen floor did not grow anything.)

But even then, under the fridge was a thin layer of dust and dried water and dirt/detergent and crumbs because it was not easily accessible for cleaning.

Plus we have a cat who shoves things under the fridge and stove and then lies down like a car mechanic trying to fish it out

This is why I like cooktops and wall ovens rather than ranges too, No crevices. I get that it's a bit obsessive about the cleaning. I don't care if it looks like a fridge or not even if it's built in. But I don't get the attitude that built ins seem to belong to spoiled brats who pretent they don't have kitchens or don't use them.

Now the cleanliness idea is the first one that would make me even consider built in. Very good point. I hate crevices that can't be reached, although I deal with it i the laundry room.

For all of you that are exclaiming the virtues of a built in refrigerator, why not tell us what you spent on it? Sadly. most of us have to consider price when buying one. An acquaintance of ours recently let it slip that his new 48" built-in VIKING side by side cost over $11,500, and we had to chuckle (he can barely boil water, yet "had" to have this item in his kitchen). Now don't all jump on me for saying this...because if you have the disposable income to include this in your kitchen budget, fine...more power to you. But cost is probably the number on reason most people do not have one.

My first one was between $5000 and 6000 in 2003 or 2004, a SubZero 27" 700 series, still present in the apartment which is for sale again.

I have not purchased another built in yet, but my kitchen, which is only 75 square feet now and will be expanded to about 95 square feet is probably going to get a 30" wide built in of some sort, and will probably cost between $6000 and 7500/

Honestly it is a big expenditure, but it is one of the considerations I took into account when I bought this house. I bought less house than I could afford, both size wise and price wise because I was aiming for higher quality overall in the renovation and I could not afford to have a larger more expensive house and do the same.

Someone said above that they arent the average homeowner. Neither am I. The average homeowner tends to buy the largest house they can with the largest price tag they can manage, and I didn't want to do that.

thanks Lucy for sharing your experience with kitchen aid. most of the comments are about cost. um mostly interested in comments about kitchen aid, any issues to look out for, your experience WITH a built in.

Hmmm... To me "average homeowner" is more somebody who goes for trends, such as open plan kitchen/DR/LR, kitchen cabinets that match the wood in the furniture, wood floors in the kitchen to match the rest of the flooring, color walls that get repainted every few years just because new colors are "in", maybe using wallpaper touted as being back into style, window curtains that drag on the floor. None of that is me. Sorry if I may appear to have insulted anybody, not my intention. But I am who I am and like what I like, trends be damned.

I am not sure the trend chaser is the average homeowner either. Maybe the average person who spends time on design forums and watching design TV, but I know plenty of people who do neither.

hmm...and here i always thought i was average

" To me "average homeowner" is more somebody who goes for trends, such as open plan kitchen/DR/LR, kitchen cabinets that match the wood in the furniture, wood floors in the kitchen to match the rest of the flooring, color walls that get repainted every few years just because new colors are "in", maybe using wallpaper touted as being back into style, window curtains that drag on the floor. "

And that is exactly NOT what I consider to be an "average homeowner". Funny what different perceptions we have.

Where I live most people, as soon as they move into a new home, they prepare to renovate it (if it's an older home) or enhance it (if it's a brand new home). Most of the time all these projects follow some trend, of which open space kitchen/DR/LR are prominent, as is painting walls in different colors.

We just updated our kitchen this summer. When we were trying to decide what to do, everybody: our grown kids, friends, kitchen specialists - all told us to break down walls and turn this into an open plan kitchen/DR/LR/FR. I resisted all this so in the end we simply changed our 80's cabinet doors and counters, and replaced the old range hood (which was gross) and the dishwasher (which was broken) and the lighting. This or that friend or family member advised us to paint walls in different colors - nope, white they stayed. And so on.

"Where I live most people, as soon as they move into a new home, they prepare to renovate it (if it's an older home) or enhance it (if it's a brand new home). "

Honestly I know practically no one that does that. They buy a home and it's all they can do to afford the mortgage for several years!!

I live in a Montreal suburb, where houses are way cheaper than in much, much pricier markets like Toronto or Vancouver. Realtors like to give the impression that it's a hot market but it's not true. Banks are fairly conservative in the amount of mortgage they allow based on the applicants' income and other assets and liabilities, and performing the means test with a much higher mortgage rate (e.g. 6%) than what will in fact be offered (e.g. 3%).

Webado, even in Toronto, home sellers are advised not to make any cosmetic changes to their houses before they sell --- the common rule of thumb is that new home buyers will want to immediately redecorate. Not necessarily renovate, but certainly make cosmetic changes like new paint, floors, and counter tops.

Yes, and then compare a $800K 900 sq ft house from a Toronto or Vancouver suburb with a $500K 2000 sq ft house in a Montreal suburb. You can renovate/update/upgrade the latter house for maybe $20K-$30K but a lot more is needed for the former house and would hardly make a difference.

I think "average" homemaker depends on the economic status of the buyer.

I live in Los Angeles and in the most affluent areas, homeowners will completely remodel newly purchased homes because they aren't exactly what they want and like.

This is far less common in middle class neighborhoods where most people live with whatever it is with some cosmetic changes but since they have a budget it really is on a triage basis. They will do what is necessary that will be difficult after one has moved in - i.e. refinish wood floors or repaint. Or they will make minor cosmetic changes but they aren't gutting functional kitchens just because they currently aren't on trend.

Of course, there are people who deliberately look for fixer uppers and the prices reflect that. In my condo building, for example, there are some units which were never updated from the original 1965 stuff and people buy them and do an expensive gut remodel but the sales price reflects the renovation.

However "middle class" people in general don't want to remodel new stuff because they assume they are paying for the new stuff and so they either pass on it if it really is not something they can live with or just grit their teeth and compromise.

Clearly we all live in very different neighborhoods and circumstances.

I bought my house in 1998; it was 4 years old. I removed wallpaper, painted, and tiled the hall bathroom in 2007. That was the first time I did any sort of changes to my house. I did the same thing in my tiny master bath, in 2014. In early 2017, I started the huge kitchen/laundry/stairs/FROG update that I just completed last month. No remodeling - just updates - removing wallpaper, painting cabinets/trim/doors/walls, new counter-tops, new island, 2 new appliances and flooring. And I just had a new roof put on last week.

Honestly I would not have bought a house that I would not have been happy living in as-is, for a while, at least until I reached a point where 1) I was tired of the look and wanted a change and 2) I could afford to make them. Perhaps this is a minority perspective here on this forum, but that is pretty much "normal" for my friends and family.

" Honestly I would not have bought a house that I would not have been happy living in as-is, for a while, "

Me too - for the hassle of changing moreso than the cost. But I've been told my attitude is different than most around here.

Man the hassle is the worst, for sure. I mean as long as I can afford it, the money wouldn’t bother me. But I hate a mess. I hate putting up with the mess in the house, all the picking out colors and finishes and crap, all that, dealing with the constant string of incompetent so-called professionals (Lord knows I have had more than my share of them). Not something I would ever choose to do lightly.

The biggest advantage to a built-in is the shallow-depth. And I am not talking about the depth of the appliance exterior, but rather the shelving depth. I have always had free-standing refridgerators but recently had a couple of clients who had built-ins. I was shocked at how super-easy it was to reach every single item in the fridge or freezer. I just recently purchased the biggest Samsung side-by-side, french-door top with two lower drawers and it is the biggest joke ever. The shelves are useless (they even have gaps in the back so you can knock an open soda from the top shelf and be pretty sure you will coat the entire fridge--no problems. There's no condiment storage. It would be highly impractical to make a free-standing unit with 15" shelf depth. Kitchen Aide's attempt to do this involved two super-thick doors that required so much room, you were still better off with a built-in. We replace our free-standing every 2-3 years, but most built-ins I have seen have been there for years and still run great despite being neglected and not serviced ever. Plus, it is so hard to get a top-of-the-line middle tier refridgerator ($2500 or less) without a built-in ice-maker. I prefer clear ice so what a waste. What these manufacturers would be smart to do would be to create a "convertible" fridge that allowed you to install a free-standing fridge as a built-in by removing the covers and adding new covers designed to work with that unit from the manufacturer. Then you would have the best of both worlds without having to rely on a third-party system to fake it.

"The biggest advantage to a built-in is the shallow-depth. "

That is a huge disadvantage to others.

"We replace our free-standing every 2-3 years "

Holy crap. What in the heck are you buying that it lasts only that long? I have purchased 3 refrigerators ever, over 35 years. The 3rd one is now about 12 years old, and has absolutely zero issues.

@chris-yeah that's me: I don't understand how being able to reach every item in a fridge could possibly be considered a disadvantage. I acknowledge that some people have different opinions, but that is one that makes no sense to me. To get to the back of my 28.8cu. ft. refrigerator, I have to open both doors, pull out half of the items on the shelf to get to the item I want--if it's there... there's no way to know until you go to all that trouble. I do this every day. It's such a pain.

Also, it's just a pattern for us. We have moved several times and negotiated new appliances in the new home. Or perhaps when we can leverage a discount on multiple appliances by joining with a customer. There are some great deals you can get when you upgrade all of the appliances in a kitchen and add an extra fridge in the budget.

" don't understand how being able to reach every item in a fridge could possibly be considered a disadvantage. "

Well, that was not what I said.

I quoted your comment "The biggest advantage to a built-in is the shallow-depth."

And for me, that means I cannot fit the large pans and baking items that I need room for. I need a side-by-side refrigerator as I need the freezer room. Therefore I need a larger depth on the refrigerator side, for my baking. (Also on the freezer side as sometimes I have to sit pans in the freezer).

They don't work for me. I prefer a regular depth refrigerator, hands down.

And I have lived in my house for 20 years, No plans to move, ever. Different situations.

I enjoy the freedom of fridge choice that comes with a free standing fridge do to no size or door restrictions

I said this before. If you buy an expensive built in refrigerator, yet you cannot put a 'fridge pack of beer or soda in it, it just doesn't seem right. We used to call this form over function, Sure, it might look pretty (and of course, cost more), but there is another thought. You can always put less in your refrigerator if it is too big, or the shelves are "too" deep to get to that seldom used jar of something. But one tray of party appetizers, a leftover pizza box, or a large sheet cake, even once or twice a year that will not fit in mine-- tells me that I will never buy "counter depth anything" again--built in or not.

You can put a 'fridge pack' of soda or beer in a counter depth fridge, it just won't have stuff getting lost behind it. I have had 2 counter depth fridges now and they beat the pants off of anything else I have had. I hate getting on the floor to look for stuff in a bottom freezer. I also had a regular side by side that wouldn't fit much of anything in the freezer. Top freezer fridges prioritize the stuff in the freezer, so what does one do? A side by side that is wide enough to make both sides usable. My Electrolux twins have tons of space, more than I need for storage, so it is nice to have room to put a pan of something in the fridge or freezer during food prep.

In my kitchen the widest fridge that can fit is not wide enough for a side-by-side fridge/freezer combo. Having that fridge with top freezer reduced to counter depth would mean it would be a very small capacity fridge overall, so I prefer it stick out 4 inches or so. This doesn't interfere with access, and my kitchen is a separate room anyway, not a showpiece. Even a regular side-by-side fridge/freezer (e.g. same footprint as my current fridge with top freezer) would be no good to me, neither side being wide enough to hold many items. We had one years ago, got rid of it once it broke down.

My next fridge, if and when I need to get a new one, will be the same size as what I have today, but with the freezer on the bottom. We have always had a second fridge with top freezer in the garage anway, for storing bigger items, e.g. a case of beer or juice boxes or 4l milk bags, large packages of frozen foods, etc. These things get transferred to the kitchen fridge as needed.

I really want a built in fridge, but I'll have to remodel the kitchen first. We have a 36" side by side, which I hate, but it's the only one that would work with our kitchen island in the way of wider doors opening.

" We have always had a second fridge with top freezer in the garage anway, "

That ^^ right there makes ALL the difference in the world in what one might choose in the kitchen. For those like me, that have no such option and only have ONE refrigerator, we have to choose the ONE that works best for our needs.

My mom has two refrigerators AND an upright freezer!! But just the one newish fridge in the kitchen - the other units are in the garage.. She doesn't ever have a concern as to what will fit in her kitchen fridge. But even she does not like the counter-depth models.

We are a two-person household. We designed for a freestanding fridge at the end of a counter run to allow a larger family space for a larger refrigerator.

As a two-person household, We designed for a freestanding fridge at the end of a cabinet run. This allows a larger household space for a larger fridge..

I'm a fan of sub zero. Yes they are much more expensive than a free standing fridge but I think they are great refrigerators and worth the money. We have had a few free standing fridges, in the past and they were fine, but to me it's like comparing a luxury car to a standard car. They both work just the luxury car is better. If you are redoing a kitchen and spending a lot of money for custom cabinetry I think spending the extra dollars on the built-in sub zero is worth it.

My home is a 1958 model & the LR-DR-Kitchen are really all one room with an L-shaped brick wall half way across the width somewhat separating the LR from the kitchen with the DR opposite the brick wall. A wall oven in the brick wall is original & beautiful, stainless steel & copper, & even if it didn't work perfectly I would leave it as a piece of art. You can see the range top (SS) & hood (SS) when you open the front door. I didn't realize stainless steel was available in the 50's until I bought this house. The non-original item is the Kitchen Aid refrigerator (also SS) we brought with us. I am not offended by the appearance of the refrigerator, but it needs to be replaced per our repairman. So doing my refrigerator research, I found what so many are talking about - the standard, the counter depth & the built-in models. I think it is all about the look you are going for, your space allowance, your personal needs & how much your are willing to spend. Leaning towards a standard right now as you get more for your money, but I could change my mind. It's a wonderful world we live in full of so many beautiful choices.

My small galley kitchen: very happy to spend for sub-zero; 3.5 more inches are mine to use! I live in post WWII near aeronautic business. My ‘laundry room” is also in kitchen! S-Ave is important, even the allusion of space. BTW the sub-zero is the bomb!

*space

We bought a Liebherr counter depth free standing refrigerator. We have had two, the first one had an issue but was fixed on warranty and sold with the house. The next one has been great sans the ice maker which was fixed under warranty 6 years ago. I love this refrigerator it is not as deep but much taller which makes up for the space. It is supper quite and plan on buying another one for our new house.