It can be done but honestly get a counter depth fridge they really do hold almost as much as a regular one and IMO just a better choice.

I'm interested in this discussion because I have been mulling around a somewhat similar idea.

Patricia--Counter depth really hold the same amount as regular depth? When I was shopping (when in-person shopping was still available) I'd open the counter depth fridges and they seemed so much smaller.

Counter depth don't hold as much but most refrigerators just have a row of 'dead' items in the back... If you want to do this it needs to be framed like any other door opening, so you will need someone to calculate the load etc. Put the outlets and water connections in the adjacent cabinets to maximize the space.

Example comparison of GE 33"-wide refrigerator depths, heights, and largest capacities with icemaker:

• Bottom freezer / 37.5" deep / ~70" high / 24.8 cf
• Three-door French door / 37.5" deep / ~70" high / 24.7 cf
• Top freezer / 34.5" deep / ~67" high / 21.9 cf
• Three-door, Counter-depth / 31" / ~70" high / 18.6 cf

I'd go with 2 counter depths. We were going to recess ours but it turned out there was major plumbing behind the wall so we didn't want to deal with it... our regular depth went into the garage and got a counter depth for the kitchen. We are a family of 4 and hardly use our garage fridge! It has mostly overflow drinks and frozen pizzas and other frozen stuff if I do a TJ haul. Fridge is more than big enough and we use a ton of space for veggie storage. Plus we did get a wine/beverage fridge with 2 sides so one side is wine and the other is the kids drinks.

Update - Ironically, my kitchen refrigerator started having problems. Repairman said $875 to fix it. It's 14 years old and we are planning to get all new appliances when we remodel so not going that route. Had already been looking at refrigerators and had one in mind for kitchen remodel that only comes in full size. We decided to buy a scratch and dent counter depth one (with very minor scratch on side) and put it in the kitchen (replacing the full size refrigerator). My thinking was that this would be a great test to see if a counter depth refrigerator would meet our needs while not having to necessarily make a full commitment to it because....we can move this new counter depth refrigerator into the utility room to replace the current counter depth refrigerator there when we do remodel. Utility room refrigerator is 22 years old. We've had no problems with it so when it comes time to remodel perhaps we can bless someone with it if it's still going strong. We bought it to have a second refrigerator at an appliance auction 22 years ago for $300! What a deal! Refrigerators are expensive these days!!!

I must say that I was skeptical of downsizing to counter depth but so far (had it for 2 days), I've not really noticed any difference except that the counter depth looks sooooo much nicer in my kitchen. Much less obtrusive into the kitchen space. I love that!!!

Thank you to everyone for all of your comments and suggestions. I'm thinking now that I don't need to worry about it so much and I'll just get another counter depth refrigerator for the kitchen when we remodel.

I too recessed a fridge into a now-unused doorway, and it looks great. I'm not used to counter depth fridges on the inside - they look out of proportion to me, like king sized beds. Obviously it's something to get used to, because I love the look of them from the outside. I'm glad you like what you decided on.

My refrigerator instructions said 2 inch space behind refrigerator for air. Also remember you will need to pull out the frig to clean under and behind it now and then.

I had done that with my frig when I renovated 15ish years ago(1 marriage and 4 homes ago.) We put in a header like if it was a doorway. It looked so much nicer pushed into the wall. The house is still standing. I'm probably 5 years out from being able to redo my current kitchen, but I'm back here dreaming about it now that I'm back to being an owner vs renter and I'll probably do something similar with this reno.