No, because it's a bad and dust collecting space for wine, even cheap wine.

The real answer is to do a shorter cabinet above to line up with the short above the pantry, and have a STAINLESS clad panel made, to give the appearance of a taller fridge.

Next Best? Same concept, Have a cabinet face panel made to mimic the drawer on the pantry. In other words, plan to store nothing up there in the 12 inches. If you NEED to store anything? Use a "touch" open close, and the same panel front, and it's a space for......whatever odd thing you want to tuck in there.

Your very BEST answer was left in the planning phase. An 84" Sub zero, or Monogram fridge with trim kit , built in, and match fridge front to the rest. Why? Because you have no cabinetry immediately left of the fridge and though we don't "clad" apps as much as we used to, you have a quite traditional cabinet face. ( raised panel) This whole wall could have appeared "seamless", albeit a far more expensive appliance involved.

Symmetry is planned, and a cabinet maker, is the technician, not the KD, in a semi custom, or custom kitchen...

Note: I realize it's very tempting, but a fridge is just that, and not a bulletin board : )

That's an added bonus when you clad. The temptation disappears.

Interior Design Work · More Info

Interior Design Work · More Info

The bulletin board is my husbands doing. I constantly tell him not to put stuff on the fridge but he has selective hearing! Thanks for your advice. I greatly appreciate it. Spending sleepless night trying to solve this issue. I thought the cabinet guy seemed to know what he was designing but I guess not. You are right they are just technicians and not designers. A lesson I learned from this project,

By the way Beautiful kitchen ‘

Jan is this what you were thinking to fix my issue? I photoshopped a panel to the fridge cabinet.

Yes, anything is better than wine bottles! A stainless clad panel isn't hard to do, either, Presto."taller" fridge.

Honestly, that IS the issue - one of bad proportions, right? The symmetry is the other.

Te third is why a skilled KD is always the optimal at the onset of planning.

Do you have a website in mind to find a stainless clad panel? What stainless clad panel size do you recommend? My top pantry cabinet is 24 inches and my LG refrigerator is 72 inches high and I believe 36 inches wide and ceiling height is 9 ft.

By the way what does “IS” stand for?

"is" in capital letters.

Doh I think staying up late is causing me to read things differently . I thought it was an acronym 😳 Thanks for clarifying.

In most pics I see of refrigerators next to pantries, the upper doors do not line up. I wouldnt worry about it.

I get what Jan is saying to make it look even, but that dead panel above the fridge is turning the most reachable space above the fridge in to dead space. If you are planning to use that space as storage, I’d take function over form and leave it how you have. Like Emily said, it’s pretty common. Beautiful cabinets, by the way

It is NOT "common" to have that proportion above the fridge at a standard height of 72 inches. It's out of scale. The cabinet above is TOP heavy, in relation to fridge height. It doesn't look good. Fill the space with a stainless clad "filler" panel and call it a day. Lesson learned. If when funds allow? Ditch the fridge for 84 inches. . : ) Or not.

I vote for leaving it as is to avoid change fees. Here is a helpful thread on current non-built-in refrigerator heights if you want to plan for the future: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5900182/35-75-w-fridge-in-36-w-space-ok-or-ask-for-fillers

I don't see how the stainless clad filler is going to look right. Since it's not a built-in fridge, it stands proud of the above cabinet by at least an inch or more. So if you line the clad panel flush with the edge of the cabinet then you have a weird stainless panel for no apparent reason, recessed above your refrigerator. If you make the clad panel flush with the front of the fridge, that looks even stranger. Am I missing something?

IMO that cabinet is out of proportion to the pantry cabinet which IMO is all wrong too both those cabinets are wrong in design for sure. BTW that would be the worst possible place for wine storage maybe just a few cookbooks. IMO your KD screwed up with this space for sure/

Have you checked the specs for fridge clearance? You cannot turn a freestanding fridge into a built-in because you like the look! Heat will build up behind the fridge, shorten its life and likely void the warranty.

Jan, would it work to add a horizontal shelf within the box and replace the cabinet doors with two sets of doors? The bottom would become a place to store baking sheets and trays. Maybe the bottom could be a lift door, so there would only be one panel.

Oh. And I love my open shelves and small wine rack he also built. I wipe the shelves out from time to time, but really not a huge dust/dirt problem.

Could you have the doors remade on the pantry cabinet so there is one door on each side of the pantry instead of two? The install the cabinet above the fridge as planned, making sure you leave the proper clearance for ventilation

The problem with any of your scenarios is the pantry closet itself. It’s broken up into three distinct parts...drawers, tall doors, and small doors. It’s too busy, and out of proportion. You’d be better served with two doors...tall under less tall. Get pullouts for the lower sections, if you must, but keep the look uniform. Like this...click to enlarge:

Now, imagine if this pantry had two drawers on the bottoms, as yours is depicted. They would totally change the proportion of the doors. It would be too busy, and unappealing aesthetically.

Ditch the drawers. Increase the size of the top doors...which will make them easier to reach and open than the stubby doors in your design, and will give a more pleasing look.

A big NO to shortening the doors on top of the fridge, and adding a fake looking panel to try to make the fridge look built in. You won’t be fooling anyone, and it makes the appearance worse. Keep those doors as they appear in the original design.

Why would you go to that expense of a re do on pantry, , when the issue is one of fridge PROPORTION, making the fridge appear a midget and worsened with a gap? gap. ? Put the xmas cookie cutters up there, and buy a light folding stool. My heavens. Find another spot for trays :)

That's why a best fix is a stainless clad panel .........until the real Sub zero could come along. : ) Go look at those. So you faked it, big DEAL. No different than a chimney style hood with an "extender. ". to reach what obviously is 9 feet of elevation...and a cabinet/app plan that didn't consider that long and hard enough.

I sort of agree with some of the opinions here ....but one important issue here for me is ....how visible is this spot from the rest of the house?.....if everyone can see it from every where ....it should be prettier...if it isnt warm on top of the fridge the wine x’s look the prettiest..and who cares what if it gets dusty ...no one can see it..and it is a tiny little hole for dust to get into anyway....and any doors or closures will be a pain to get into...lastly if it is not very visible it is very useful for serving trays and baskets if you use those things and they can be decorative as well

It is making me dizzy...but cabinets are beautiful..