My fridge is about 30" deep (without doors). Add in 1" of clearance to the back wall & you have 31". So I think I would order the 32" wide panel and have it scribed to meet the wall (which may not be plumb).

I thought about the deeper cabinet above but my cabinet maker talked me out of it, said I'd never use the space back there (and if I did, I'd need a very big step ladder to reach what fell). I went with the 24" cabinet & it is supported by the side panels & possibly the ceiling as well (I was not home when it was installed). I think it's just the side panels but who knows. It is flush with the face of the side panels for the fridge.

Do you know what model fridge you have?

32” and adjust.

Definitely do 32" and scribe to the wall. Your contractor should be able to install a 2x4 (or something similar) behind the over the fridge cabinet to bring it all flush. At least that's what mine did.

Thanks everyone! 32" panel and 24" cabinet it is. I appreciate your help :)

Make sure you order the right panel with a flush side - otherwise you will have issues with the reveal of the panel and the cabinet next to it. Your kitchen designer SHOULD know this. The panels are easy to cut down. Just be sure to confirm the air gap needed behind the ref. Many are 2" now-a-days.

Thanks, Debbi! I'm not exactly sure what you mean, but here are the options from KM:

Does this look like the right panel? I plan to go with DREP3.84 for the left and DREP1 1/2.84 for the right.

Thanks for your help :)

Here is a visual - your kitchen designer should be explaining this to you

what is the height of you wall cabinets?

If your kitchen is going to 84" tall then the panel is ok.

If you are using 36" cabinets to to up to 90" tall then order the 90" Panel.

If you are using 39" cabinets to to up to 90" tall then order the 93" Panel.

If you are using 42" cabinets to to up to 96" tall then order the 96" Panel.

Thanks, Debbi. I did not know about that lip on the panel - I'm not having much luck with KDs (I hired a "professional" CKD and spent $500 and they were not as helpful as I was hoping at all, and I really don't want to spend anymore for design at this point since I have finally figured out what I want now, just finalizing details at this point - hence I am back to working with a retail KD at Lowe's, though they don't seem to know much either.) So to clarify, I just need to have my contractor modify the panel to make it flush?

Note: there will be a 1" filler placed next to the 27" upper cabinet so that the door can open as close to 90 deg as possible. I debated putting a filler in the lower cabinet as well (for symmetry if I go with a 27" base cabinet). But since I am going with drawers, I didn't think I needed the filler and was planning to go with a 28" drawer base cabinet instead (hoping I can use the KM change width option). If I can make the panel flush, I can still go with the 28 instead of 27. Thanks for the info!

As for the height of the wall cabinets - there is a soffit (with air duct) just above the fridge giving me a height of 84" only in that area - elsewhere is a height of 96". I"m not worried about determining the height of the REP, I was just interested in the depth of the panel for standard depth fridge. Thanks!

Filler is TOP AND BOTTOM.

I agree - I would do the filler top and bottom. If you are doing a 1 " filler at the bottom then technically you can get away with not flushing the panel out ONLY if the panel will be 1" deeper than the countertop ( so at least 26 1/2" ). Otherwise you will get a crazy countertop cut that looks bad. The panel gets flushed by the cabinet company - it is a modification - not done by the contractor...

The bottom picture shows standard cabinet construction. The top picture is what you need on the end of the panel that is next to the base cabinets. If your designer does not know this, tell her nicely to contact her cabinet rep or trainer and get some info...

Good luck! If you get a copy of your floor plan you may want to post it to make sure everything is functioning ok...

@marsbars9 how did this go for you? I’m planning to adopt a similar approach to make my standard depth fridge look flush and built-in.

Can you please share pics and any lessons learnt or experiences I should be mindful of?