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Are there any counter depth fridges that are wider than standard 36"?

Barbie
4 years ago

We are remodeling kitchen and realizing that we may need to get a counter depth refrigerator in order to keep the large island. We had already purchased the LG french door with 2 drawers which is 29.7 cu ft, but the depth is 36.63" which will not give us enough distance between the island. The counter depth standard 36" width refrigerators that we found are around 23.5 cu ft capacity- which seems small. Are there any refrigerators that are counter depth but larger in width to give us more capacity? Willing to pay more to make our dream island fit, but not in the $10k+ range. Are there any out there around the $5k range +/-. All help is greatly appreciated!

Comments (19)

  • eam44
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    If memory serves, Frigidaire makes an all fridge and an all freezer that are supposedly counter depth (maybe 23.5” deep) and I think about 33” wide each. I cannot speak to their reliability.



  • Barbie
    Original Author
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    @eam44 We have a counter depth in our vacation condo and it works fine for "vacation", but at home we have standard depth and it can fill up fast. We are 2 adults and 2 small children. A relative just bought a house that has a Frigidaire Gallery that is 64" inches wide and only 26 1/2 deep. I texted her tonight to get details, but I haven't been able to find anything similar online. I've been reading suggestions on this site all night and thinking maybe recessing the refrigerator into the wall might be an option (had not thought of that).

    Yes, I will definitely scan and upload the layout of our kitchen tomorrow so hopefully I can get more ideas and suggestions. It is now a u-shaped kitchen that is 18' wide. We removed wall to living room so now we were hoping to put large island in center. The depth is 15'3 inches to walls with a 13'5 inch wide opening to living room. We were hoping for large center island with at least seating for 4 people across (and possibly 2 stools on sides). Our current drawing showed an island width with countertops at 93" wide. That would have given us approx. 36" between cabinets and island I believe, but we forgot about the 36" depth of standard fridge.

  • Barbie
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    @eam44 - I've tried looking that refrigerator up online, but from what I've found so far it looks like it has been discontinued.

  • eam44
    4 years ago

    Hi Barbie - I don’t know if it has been discontinued, but it is on the Frigidaire web site. I believe Whirlpool might have something similar as well. Try googling “counter depth all fridge” and see what you get. There is another company... I’m blanking on the name.

  • PRO
    Flo Mangan
    4 years ago

    KitchenAid has 42” counterdepth. Not sure of current pricing.

  • User
    4 years ago

    Plenty of built ins.

  • Kristin S
    4 years ago

    Electrolux (same parent company as Frigidaire) also makes the all fridge all freezer combo you show. We had ours delivered last week, and they're still showing as available from our local appliance store. You can find which stores in your area carry them on the Electrolux website.

  • wdccruise
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    "Are there any out there around the $5k range +/-?" Nope.

  • WestCoast Hopeful
    4 years ago

    We have a counter depth kitchen aid french door with bottom freezer. We are a family of five and were petrified of how this would work. But it is awesome. We do keep some things not in fridge that we previously had in fridge like pop but who cares. It is in garage now and we grab as needed, which is not often. We had tons of stuff just sit in the back of the bigger fridge and now we use what we have and the fridge works great.


    Ours is; https://www.kitchenaid.ca/en_ca/major-appliances/refrigeration/freestanding-refrigerators/freestanding-french-door/p.22-cu.ft.-36-inch-width-counter-depth-french-door-refrigerator-with-interior-dispense.krfc302ess.html


    Works great for us.



  • PRO
    Flo Mangan
    4 years ago

    I have had 2 Kitchen aids built-ins. One side-by-side and one french door freezer on bottom. Two different houses. Both great. Not cheap but not most expensive either. Their newer models show show better freezer design which is good.

  • PRO
    Flo Mangan
    4 years ago

    Oh. The side-by-side was 48” wide so refrigerator side was adequate for us. The next french door was 42.

  • Barbie
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    Thank you so much everyone for the ideas. I love the look of the KitchenAid 42" & 48" refrigerators, but at $8,500-$9,300 I just don't think I'm willing to do that. I think we have decided to purchase a regular counter depth fridge for kitchen (approx $3,000-$3,500) and put the standard depth fridge we had already purchased ($3,000) in our rec room where we plan to build a bar that is just off the kitchen. We've also decided to extend the island an additional 42" from original plan so total island will now be 93" wide x 84" long with a rounded end for seating for 8. In my mind I was willing to spend around $5-6k for the upgraded fridge, but just couldn't justify $8k+. Our remodel started with an initial $150k budget and we're already at $170k and not finished yet, so trying to save wherever I can. Thanks again for all the input!

  • Kristin S
    4 years ago

    One place to save - build a smaller island. You generally don't want an island wider than 60"; if you really feel compelled to go wider, you can *maybe* go to 72". Beyond that it's just entirely wasted space; you can't reach the counter to use it, you can't use it for storage in the middle, you can't even reach it to clean the dust that will inevitable accumulate. And if you're hosting eight, let them sit at a real table with their feet on the floor rather than perched on a bar stool. Make your island 60"x93" or 60"x84" at most. You'll save in counter and cabinet costs and have a more functional kitchen. You could use the savings for a upgraded fridge, or you could just use them to get back down closer to your budget.

  • Buehl
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    "...36" between cabinets and island I believe..."

    I hope you're not saying it's 36" between the cabinets on the perimeter and the cabinets in the island. If so, you don't have a 36-inch aisle, you have a 33-inch aisle.

    What I hope you mean is that it's 36" between the items that stick out the farthest into the aisle on each side (other than the refrigerator, as you've already admitted you forgot about). Note that even that's 6" narrower than the minimum recommendation of 42" for a one-person (and always a one-person) work aisle (48" for two or more people working at the same time) -- assuming you're talking about a work aisle.

    The actual depth of a standard perimeter is 25.5" -- that includes the cabinet boxes (24" deep), doors/drawer fronts (1" deep), and counter overhangs (1.5" deep). The counter overhangs 1.5", so it covers the doors/drawer fronts. 24" + 1.5" = 25.5"

    The same counter overhang is on the non-seating sides of the island.

    Seating overhang should be a minimum of 15" of clear leg/knee space. If there are no workspaces or appliances behind the seats, there should be at least 44" behind the seats if you have a 15-inch seating overhang, more if the overhang is less than 15". If there are appliances or workspaces, then the aisle behind the seats should be 48" to 54", depending on how much thru-traffic there is.

  • WestCoast Hopeful
    4 years ago

    I fully agree with Kristin that the island, as you described it, sounds far bigger than needed. Do you have a floor plan of your kitchen? Would be good to see it all.

  • Lyndee Lee
    4 years ago

    That island size is too large for any practical use. On the practical side, I can't comfortably reach more than 30 inches so any island larger than 60 wide would require me to climb up on a step stool to clean. I would hate to be working on something and have a rolling pin roll into the middle of a 7 ft wide island especially when I have flour all over my hands.

    If the larger fridge sizes are too pricey for your taste, that island countertop price will be scary! A 7 x 8 ft piece of granite is going to weigh over a thousand pounds and just the risk of trying to transport and install that will limit your choice of fabricator.

  • Barbie
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    Thank you everyone for input. After reading everyone's comments I was very worried about distance between the cabinets. I called the builder and ordered a smaller cabinet for the island. We cut the island down an additional 6" so it will now be a 7' island (84" or 87" with the granite overhang). That will give 39" room around both sides (granite to granite) and 45" from range to island (u-shaped kitchen). I know that might be a little narrow for some, but I believe will work for us. We really wanted a large island to accommodate up to 8 people because that is where everyone always congregates in our family kitchens. I just tried to upload a pic of the floorplan/design, but it is a pdf file so it wouldn't let me upload. I will convert to jpeg file tomorrow when back at office and try again to upload. I think it will make better sense when seeing the full layout. We had originally planned a smaller island with a dining table parallel with the island going toward open living room (we removed wall), but the opening is only 13' 5" which made a rectangular dining table too tight. Again, I will upload layout tomorrow and appreciate all of the feedback.

  • Barbie
    Original Author
    4 years ago


    This is the layout of our kitchen.

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