Help with IKEA sektion fridge panel.

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

Hi! We’re doing our kitchen in ikea bodbyn grey lower cabinets and white upper cabinets. My question is how do we handle the fridge panel? If we do the white, there will be a white stripe between the stainless fridge and the grey lower cabinets. If I do the grey to match the lower, there will be a grey line running through the upper cabinets. The two solutions I can think of are to either end the white panel at the countertop (which they’re measuring for next week) or to do grey doors just for the above fridge cabinet since it’s a stainless fridge with grey sides and use the grey panel. The fridge we’re using is a French door fridge, and the sides are grey. It isn’t cabinet depth. I do think we’ll have the panel 24 inches deep in case we ever upgrade to a counter depth fridge, rather than having it match the of our current fridge. Which option do you think we should go with? Any other suggestions?

Featured Answer

bbtrix

7 years ago

It would help to see your entire kitchen to try to visualize your full tuxedo effect. But, with only seeing the few cabinets you are showing and knowing you'll never be able to put a cabinet depth fridge in that location, I would take down the fridge cabinet and put blocking on the wall and remount the fridge cabinet so the side panels will hide the gray sides of your fridge. I would also do white, in fact, I would likely exchange the lowers to white on that run, but I'd have to know the entire kitchen configuration before recommending. IMHO, the gray cab and sides will emphasize the fridge sides and that it is jutting into the room. When you create the more built-in look by covering the sides with panels the fridge fades more into the background. Here is my full depth fridge in Ikea kitchen.

This is my daughters Bodbyn white and gray kitchen, but we did not do tuxedo but rather a gray peninsula specifically to avoid this issue.

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Comments (11)

Hillside House
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Therein lies the problem with tuxedo kitchens. ;)

Usually, tall cabinets (and they include fridges in this) just have to go one way or the other... either the upper color all the way down, or the lower color all the way up. Each of those brings its own set of problems, like how to transition different colors of toe kick and/or crown molding. I’m OCD enough that I couldn’t find a good way to make it work, and pictures online showing it aren’t super prevalent. I sort of think that’s because this really only works when the tall section is completely separated from the rest of the cabinetry, because it doesn’t transition well.

Good luck making your decision. :)
Bari Steinholz thanked Hillside House
Bari Steinholz
Original Author
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago

Thanks! I gave it some more thought and I think I’ll go with the grey since the side of the fridge is grey anyway and I’ll switch the cabinet door and molding above the fridge to the grey too. The other side of the fridge is the pantry, so the white uppers will just end right before the fridge. I threw one of the grey panels up on the fridge to get an idea.
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Patricia Colwell Consulting
7 years ago
I hope you have allowed space for your fridge doors to open all the way that spot looks tight to me.
Bari Steinholz thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
ci_lantro
7 years ago
I would use a white panel to match the upper cabinets. The eye level stuff is what's important.
Bari Steinholz thanked ci_lantro
User
7 years ago
Your tall elements should all be handled the same way. No gray fridge and white pantry. That’s just wrong. Pick one or the other for your talls.
Bari Steinholz thanked User
Bari Steinholz
Original Author
7 years ago
The Pantry is a closet style pantry with a regular bifold door, it’s not an ikea tall pantry. Does that change your thought?
User
7 years ago
Yes, that changes things. You need a different design. You won’t be able to open your fridge with it next to a deeper wall. You need fillers or cabinets between the fridge and the wall. Or to move the fridge some place else.
Bari Steinholz
Original Author
7 years ago
The fridge fits there and the door opens. The fridge is deeper than the pantry. our footprint is the same as our old kitchen and it worked in that space. It just may mean no counter depth fridge down the road for me.
Bari Steinholz
Original Author
7 years ago
For clarification, the picture I posted of the fridge is with the fridge currently in the great room because of the kitchen construction and only to show a grey panel above the fridge.
DIY2Much2Do
7 years ago
I would suggest that your end panel be at least 26", not 24". Since the adjacent counter will typically be about 25.5" deep, a 26" panel allows the counter to have a full, even surface to die into. With just a 24" panel, the counter overhang becomes a little floating projection with an exposed edge at the corner by the fridge.
Bari Steinholz thanked DIY2Much2Do