Basically I see two choices. Have a filler strip made for above frig or have the contractor build up the floor to raise the frig.

Yes as noted above a small filler is the easiest solution- it can be flush with the cabinet boxes or flush with the doors. Sometimes the light rail mounding works well for this.

Two new DOORS for the upper solves the problem. Nobody will know. : ) Filler is cheaper, but if it will bug you? I vote two new doors. The "box" is a non issue.. You won't know unless they're OPEN.

So I looked up the specs on that fridge. its only 70” tall. Many modern fridges are 72 now. I’m guessing the cabinets were designed with that in mind.

When my kitchen was redone I reused my then 5 year old fridge, but I left enough space for a taller, wider new fridge. We had a filler piece made to attach under the above fridge cabinet. Last year, when the fridge was replaced, we removed the filler piece, but I lost the space where I stored my stepladder in the extra width as the new fridge was wider.

As already suggested, just use a filler to close up the opening. We do this all the time as my standard height for a free standing fridge is always 72". It will look fine.

Whenever I design a kitchen I want all the appliances chosen before finalizing a design that would have avoided this problem now IMO the easiest is new doors on the cabinets over the fridge they will look weird when open but okay the rest of the time.

This happened in my kitchen re-do. They had to order a new cabinet for over the refrigerator to make it "right".

It looks fine as is. The 1" is the minimum. I'd leave it. But that's me. I would not change out for new doors because that would drive me nuts to know they were overlapping. If it really bothers you, I'd add the filler. You never know when you will need to replace the refrigerator.

Just my thought. I'd never even think about it if I walked in your very pretty kitchen :)

Mine has a space of about 3 inches and I don't even notice it...maybe if I was 6 foot tall might bother me. I agree with minimommy.

Kids, a pair of new doors solves the issue. Like it never happened that the floor wasn't perfect. The doors don't "overlap" anything. No more visible behind them than your undies are here.

I voted for the filler piece. You can remove it later if needed.

Pippa - how cool.

It's funny, as it looks just like the top of that $$$ SZ fridge in my last house.

Thanks for sharing this, as I too have this annoying gap, maybe 3" or so. If I can avoid it, I'd rather not order a longer set of duplicate doors for the fridge cab. Also, I think a filler won't look very nice, as it will look exactly like what it is, a filler... So a DIY grille that looks like it's part of the fridge seems to me the best solution. And please post a pic of your installed vent grille.

I would definitely do a filler: fridges die far quicker than you'd think (lifespan is apparently 7 years now!), and if - as PPs said - 72" is the more common height, I assure you when the repair guy says the whoozit is blown, $700 to fix, and your food is quickly getting warm, you'll want to be able to just go online and order up a new fridge that fits the spot easily. Big orange and the blue BB stores deliver in a day or two (ask me how I know) and haul away.

Also: I have that gap (for the exact reason you do) - I put my most used cookbooks there, flat lying down with titles showing. I like the look but I have an old 1920s house so kinda goes with my old fashioned look. HTH!

This is just an aside, off the topic of filler..... So on frig death, isn't that just pathetic? How much energy saving/ecological improvement does an energy-minimizing frig have, when it bites the dust in under 10 years. My mother in law still has an extra frig in her upstairs room for her parents when they would come to stay. It has got to be over 50 years old and still going strong. Yes, I'm sure it uses more electricity but gee whiz.

Sorry, disposable large appliances just bug me :) Went through 3 washing machines in 15 years... and I don't overload or do 10 loads of washing a day. I was about ready to go back to a wringer washer.

I really would love to buy all retro appliances without computers that I can fix myself!

I have to ask about the 2” height difference from one side of the kitchen to the other. That is not insignificant. And it is well above a normal old home settling amount. What type of structural repair was done to fix the root cause of so much height difference? And why wasn’t that difference mitigated in the kitchen itself at that repair time?

The options are either a filler or doors above . Either will be fine.

J Design Group - Miami Interior Designers
225 Malaga Ave
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While I agree with Jan that two new doors will hide the gap, I also think the faux steel rods will give you much needed ventilation and the option to install a higher fridge when/if this one dies.
I must have bought the only long lasting refrigerators in the country. In my previous home, now rented out, our 2004 Kitchen Aid is still working. As are our LG washer and dryer.
The fridge in our new house here is 10 years old and I wish it would die but it’s fine. And fully built in.

We have a rather small opening for a fridge and we replaced the fridge with the French door type there were only 1-2 possible choices. Even adjusting the feet as much as possible the further in we pushed the fridge the tighter the clearance. We ended up having to sand a sixteenth inch or so from the upper cabinet box trim. So keep that in mind when resolving your “too much clearance” issue.