a few add'l pics

It's not nearly the same situation but in my current remodel, I have a counter depth refrigerator installed and a portion of the sides stick out since it isn't an integrated model.

My cabinet maker is making a stained fitted piece that will attach to the sides that stick out and therefore I won't have unattractive black portion of the sides sticking out.

I had got this from a thread on the internet. It's not exactly your situation but I bet you can run a panel to the counter and then have him fabricate pieces to cover up the unattractive portions that still show through. The picture kind of shows you where the stained strips are attached.

KA Refrigerator Installation

We had our cabinet maker create 1/4"-plywood pieces in the same finish as the door panels, and then attached adhesive magnetic strips to the back of the pieces. They hold to the sides of the doors and freezer drawer and create the custom finished look that everyone is hoping to achieve. You just have to measure below the hinges and inside the gasket seal for a proper fit. (Approx: doors 43 x 2-1/4", drawers 23 x 2-1/4")

Oh I don't mean boxed in completely, I mean finished on the sides and top, roughly to the counter depth? Possibly raising the top up similar to the other cabinets in the corner? Our next fridge will be counter depth, not monster depth like this old one...

they should have continued the tile partly behind the fridge. do you have any extra tile? if so, just continue with the tile to hide those gaps, use a cabinet filler for the space from the countertop down, and paint the portion above the fridge (or continue your tile) w/a color that matches the surrounding area. obviously the fridge will need to be pulled away from the wall.

what you really need there is a counter depth fridge. that one looks too large for that spot.

tiling behind the fridge just so it won't show.

the other option is to get these panels and exchange the cabs above to some that come out further. as it is now, you won't be able to access those cabs above the fridge anyway. unless you're 6'6"

I'd just pull the fridge out, paint the wall behind, and slide it back in. You can live with it like that for now, until you buy a new counter-depth fridge. There's not really much else you can do.

I actually have that exact same Frigidaire refrigerator, and we have had ours about 12-14 years, so I'm thinking you'll probably be replacing yours sometime soon. (just like us!) For what it's worth, it has been an amazing fridge; no problems! (Although I probably just jinxed it!)

Yes I'm trying to get the panels for the side to have a more 'finished' look, bring the cabinets out on the top and up to match the height of the corner cabinets but the issue is how to run panels for the side down to the floor if they didn't allot for room in the top cabinets? They can't be attached to the cabinets at the width they are now... It looks like I have to get custom cabinets?

I was going to say the same thing as Beth H. I think it would look really nice if the backslash tile continued behind the fridge and maybe even a couple of inches into the space above the backslash. I think the lower part looks really nice with the black countertop against the black sides of the fridge.

I'm really hoping to have a more finished look vs running more tile. Is the built in/boxed look not "in" anymore? These are a couple I saved just for comparison and inspo!

steph, yes, that would be fine, if you can get the panel and the new cabs brought forward.

If you can't, just continue the tile behind the fridge a few more inches. that will solve the visual problem. paint the wall black from the countertop down, and the portion above,,,at least it will make it disappear. but for sure the tile needs to be continued if you don't do a panel.

is this the fridge you're keeping?

Hi Steph,

Ugh, I'm so sorry, I can tell by your inspiration pics that what you have is not what you were going for on any level.

Are these brand new cabinets? Did I miss something? Just installed?

Oh no, I purchased the house with these cabinets and have been working on updating it without ending up with a complete redo! Yes my inspo are strictly that, and far from what I can do but I'm looking for coming out with the cabinets (I guess to match the counter?), going up to match the height of the corner cabinets (adding a larger trim piece on the top) so I can actually reach the cabinets, and ideally adding some kind of 3/4" sheet on the side of the fridge (attached to the cabinets?) down to the floor which seems to be the hangup...it can only come to the counter apparently?

steph,,,try black paint first. it's the cheapest. see if that works. If you can't do the panels, then bring the tile behind the fridge along the same width as your splash. black paint on wall at very top. take another pic after you do that and lets see.

So paint black the height of the bottom cabinets, tile the middle area (continue the same width), paint black the height of the upper cabinets and across the top? Am I reading that correctly? Thank you!

Steph, what is the measurements of your fridge?

yes. that's what I would do. Use a matte deep black. if you can't do the side panels, you'll still have that swath where the tile should have continued. if you paint that, it will look weird. (you can try painting the entire thing first, and see if you like it).

but, I think once that middle section is tiled it will look better. (just take it an inch or so behind the fridge. you can even use a white construction adhesive on the backs of the tile and then just grout when dry. you may have to feather in the tile where you've stopped at the current edge. just remove a few of those and replace with full pieces so it doesn't look like you've stopped and started.)

So what have you done, and what was existing? How long have you lived there?

I'd hate to see you put a lot of money into this kitchen, if you have plans to tear it out and start over at some point in the future.

i'd paint the wall behind the fridge a grey from the tile that matches the fridge... no tile behind. i think it would make it a non-event. perfect, no. but til perfection happens. i honestly think that tile would draw your eye to it.

What kind of counters are those? Can you trim them? I think the reason your cabinet guy is telling you the panels will have to stop at the counters is because your counters extend past the end of the cabinets. If they were flush with the edge of the cabinet you would be able to extend the panel to the floor.

You probably already know this, but all of your inspiration pictures have counter depth fridges. Yours isn't counter depth, so you'll never get the exact look. That said, I had a similar situation in my last house and I added DIY fridge panels made from plywood. Instead of stopping the panel at cabinet depth, I extend it to (almost) the edge of the fridge leaving room for the fridge doors to open completely. (So if my old fridge were like yours, the panel would stop at the edge of the black side, leaving the stainless doors exposed.) Since ours was a DIY, we left the cabinet over the fridge in place and just built around it and had opening shelving in front of it for candy jars & cook books. The old cabinet was completely hidden, otherwise I would have removed it. The counters just butted up to my new fridge panel. It was a huge improvement.

Janie the measurements are 68 1/4"H x 35 5/8"w x 31 3/4"D

You want custom cabinetry , without the expense. It doesn't work that way! A custom cabinet builder would have used the appliance spec's to build the complete box around even that type of fridge. ( Not a built in model) At this point, you can't make the upper above the fridge deeper, you can't bring the legs to the floor and bringing them to the counter would look worse. Just live with it until you can get a built in and custom cabinets built. The side walls for the fridge should be at minimum 26" deep so the counter top can die into them, even with a counter depth. BTW- the cabinets are pretty and the house is great!

AnnKH, I added the tile backsplash (there wasn't one), updated all pulls, painted the walls (they were yellow), added new appliances (stove, dishwasher, hood). Was waiting for this monster fridge to bite the dust but it won't die and it is currently much larger than any counter depth JennAir I can buy (I have 4 kids) so that add'l space is nec still. The plan is to purchase a counter depth fridge in the short term even if this doesn't die but I didn't realize I wouldn't be able to update this fridge area without the fridge first. I assumed the standard counter depth fridges were interchangeable when it comes to framing it out...This is not my forever home so I'd like to avoid new cabinets if possible. :)

Becky do you have any pics? Or any links to what you used? If I can't do a permanent fix for a standard fit, maybe this would work as a temp fix.

I don't have pics on my work computer, but I'll look when I get home tonight.

Here's an example of what I think you want to do - only with a counter-depth refrigerator (not one of the higher end CD refrigerators like Liebherr or SubZero).

You need space b/w the end of the counters/cabinets and the refrigerator to accommodate a finished end panel + air clearance required on the sides. I doubt you have that much space. Have you measured exactly how much space you have?

In my case, I have 3/4" finished end panels plus the 1/8" required clearance on the side with a full-depth cabinet above. (The extra space b/w the top of the refrigerator and the cabinet is "growth" space -- for a taller refrigerator, if needed That's filler b/w them instead of leaving it open -- my preference.)

.

How big is your family? If you want the "built-in" look, you might consider getting a 33" counter-depth refrigerator and building it in. Then, put your current refrigerator in your basement or, if in the correct climate, the garage.

Yes, I did measure-I have plenty of room for the end panels until you hit the granite lip. Then I have less than 1" on each side. The granite counter is screwing it up and I'm not sure the workaround. Thus the builder suggesting it stop at the counter but I just can't wrap my head around that.

Also, my counter depth is only 26". I don't understand how a 33" is considered counter depth, unless my counters are unusually small (which wouldn't surprise me). That would stick out further than this one.

Here is how my cabinets were done for my counter-depth refrigerator.

On the "open" side, there are two panels that are done Shaker style; on the side abutting the countertop, it's just a fairly thin piece of plain cabinet board - totally flat.

You want a new kitchen. Don't keep spending money on things to try to "get the look" you want. You truly cannot get that look without new semi-custom or custom cabinets. Start saving your money!

Steph, 26" counter is normal. 33" fridge depth is full-sized, not counter depth.

I think Beuhl is suggesting a 33" wide counter-depth fridge, which would allow you some room for side panels.

If you can get the same color paneling & crown. You can make the existing box above cabinet deeper & reuse doors. or buy a matching deeper fridge depth cabinet.

It looks as though you may have just enough space for

Thank you all for the help!

It looks like you have room for (2 ) 3/4" panels on L & R of the ref, I would get the panels, preferably 30" deep and install the cabinet existing above the refrigerator flush with the panels, make sure the new panels do not protrude beyond the refrigerator doors so you can open the doors fully along with the crisper drawer. the panels should be no deeper than the case of the refrigerator but deep enough that you do only see the case of the refrigerator, only the stainless steel of the doors

if you have a Model # I can check what size panel you need

Thanks Anthony! The fridge model is #FRS26H5ASB8 (at least that is what in on the inside of the door!)...

Just a thought, any thoughts about raising just these 2 cabinets up maybe 4-6" as well as pulling them forward with a matching crown molding on top?

Car Collectors Dream Design on Close to One Acre in Windermere · More Info

similar to this look...but with the cabinets pulled forward over the fridge...

measure the refrigerator case ( without the doors and if it is more than 24 you have to get 30" panels and have them trim to fit the refrigerator case. other than that it should be fine as instructed earlier

Becky do you have any pics? Or any links to what you used? If I can't do a permanent fix for a standard fit, maybe this would work as a temp fix.

I couldn't find any photos. (Sorry, a lot of our stuff is in storage, while we are in temporary housing.) However, I did something very similar to what @artistsharonva drew and what @anthony is describing. I used plywood instead of cabinet refrigerator panels, so I also used some 1x2's to trim out the front. My cabinets weren't as nice as yours and already had the previous owners DIY paint job, so nice quality plywood worked in my situation. Had my cabinets been as nice as yours, I would have purchased matching panels from the cabinet company.

echo-ing others: Just paint the back wall and wait for a remodel. If you create a total box for that huge behemoth, you will be making that the focus of the kitchen.