Option A. Because SxS refrigerators are awful. Rollouts in the lower pantry and sheet pan/ tray storage above.

Except a 15" wide cabinet won't have much usable storage after it gets fitted. Maybe shrink the drawer cabinets by the cooker a bit in order to fit a wider pantry? Can't read the dimensions so that may not be feasible.

Assuming full on custom cabinets given the SubZero? So you could make each drawer base 1.5" smaller and gain 3" to add to the pantry...

Option A - I also intensely dislike SxS refrigerators. Storage, especially on the freezer side is awful!

I'd make the 15" cab next to the refrigerator an 18" pullout pantry (shelves attached to the doors and pull out when the door are pulled out).

Unless...is the 15" cab a pantry or utility cabinet? If it's a utility, then 15" is fine. Consider pegboard to hang broom, etc., if it's a utility cabinet.

Option B would be my choice. I do not enjoy interacting with a French doors on anything. Also, French door refrigerators do not seal as tightly as columns orside-by-side’s do. This is true even on a subzero, which is saying something given how well their door seals work. As for space, sure, the smaller side-by-side models can be tight in the freezer area, but you are looking at a 54 inch wide unit. I had thought that 48 inch was the widest but if you can get a side-by-side in a 54 inch wide unit, your freezer is 24 inches wide, which should be plenty. And it should easily hold even the widest pizza if that were an issue for you.

Refrigerator style and function is a personal preference so you should do what works for you. The French door style with the drawer at the bottom (I had this previously), to me is just like the old style having the freezer box at the top, just a big hole. For me, I like stuff organized in the freezer and the shelves in a side/side let me do just that. To each their own.

I prefer drawer freezers but i keep very little frozen. I also like some dry storage by the fridge so A would be my preference.

Funny - I like the fridge part of French door fridges but H A T E the freezer part, since it's often just one or two pullout bins and they're impossible to organize. I would pick B, as long as the freezer side is wide enough to be useful. Think, frozen-pizza-box-wide...

B because of the width of the freezer. If the freezer were narrower A.

Just curious, why is there a wall hung cabinet shown over the right hand side of the sink in plan b? It looks awkward.

I vote for the French door design because I just switched out an old side-by-side for one. I happen to like the lower freezer with 2 drawers. I think the volume of freezer items might make a difference in how convenient it seems. Mine isn’t totally crowded and I prefer the organization of the drawers to the slimmer shelves of a side-by side.

Side by side ..classic because it just works! had a french style sold it after 6 months of use.

You are talking a 12" difference in size. What do you need? I think you could also do a 48" ref and configure a 12" pullout pantry along side of it. There definitely are options.

This is an appliance that has to function for you and your family. Get the one that works best for you and adjust everything else to make that work.

Well if you have space for that gigantic SxS I would do that. It looks massive in the drawing but as long as it’s not stainless it should look nice. I’ve had SxS and FD and I actually prefer SxS if it’s large enough that the freezer section is useable. I like FD other than the freezer drawer that you have to dig through to find what you’re looking for. I much prefer the visibility of the SxS freezer.

Thank you! It’s a complicated decision! I do like FD as they give more fridge space, but don’t like the bottom freezer.., the bigger issue with the FD is that those doors open into a doorway into a mudroom., hence the 15” buffer cabinet.
I love the sleek integrated modern look of the designer series,.. however I’m not sure I need a 24” freezer. But the 18” seemed so small. I have small kids so our needs will only grow, it’s hard to predict what we will need. We have the space for a 54” but I keep coming back to, is it too big for the space related to our fridge/freezer need.
Thank again for all the responses! Very helpful.

I recommend the widest freezer you can fit in the space. We have 30" side by side columns and I've never once regretted the width (or anything about them, for that matter). EVERYTHING fits!

In this situation, if I had a place for a second refrigerator (garage/ basement), I would go with a 36" wide single door/ bottom freezer refrigerator. That will get you 6" more for the pantry cabinet and a more user friendly fridge. (One hand opens the door with the other hand holding the item to place inside, one or two less steps since you don't have to always be standing in front of the fridge...)

You may be able to do just fine with only one refrigerator or find that you need more space and add the second fridge at a later date.

Bottom freezer drawers are a vast improvement over the old freezer on top models that I'm not getting the complaints about things getting lost in them. Well, maybe--since stuff isn't tumbling out of them and smacking your feet. If anything, stuff in the refrigerator portion is less likely to get lost because everything is easier to see. The freezer drawers pull out so you can see everything from above. Anyway, I love my bottom freezer drawer!

I am actually doing a version of your A in my new build - the cabinet to the left was to be a utility cabinet but we just switched out to house a brio water system (no ice or water in fridge) so I can bring in bottled water, we raised the utility cabinet up to make space for the brio. Primary reason for no water or ice in fridge is that we are on well and while the water will be processed (softener etc) I want super clean water to drink .... I also have a large freezer in my mechanical room so I dont need a huge fridge/freezer in my kitchen space. Maybe consider the split door of the tall cabinet to align with the uppers over the fridge as well?

Wow I had no idea that SZ made a 54" wide fridge! I love side by side refrigerators since you can have both refrigerated and frozen foods at eye level. And I don't like to store a lot in the freezer, since I kind of forget about the stuff in it. I live in an area with lots of fresh food stores super close, so I don't need to stock up on fresh or frozen foods for weeks at a time. And we're empty nesters so we don't need that much food anyway.

But the best advice is to think about YOUR needs and your space to make the best decision. How big is the kitchen overall? I ask because having the fridge, sink and range on one wall wouldn't be my choice, unless the kitchen space was limited and I had no other options. If it is indeed a small kitchen, then that 54" fridge may be overpowering.

It’s about 17ft by 10..5ft.

It seems to be large enough to have a work triangle--can you post a floor plan?

Windows will be in corner, the only place we can put them. Kitchen currently has no windows

I'm not loving the layout you have. What else are you planning to have in the kitchen? I'd much prefer to see a galley layout, with cabinets and counters on both long walls. I'd place the sink and refrigerator on one wall, and the range and ovens on the other. That would make for a more efficient layout.

Ive been switching it around in my head for a year. The range on the shorter wall doesn’t give you too much room for counter space on either side of range. I opted for sink under windows instead of island.

I thibk the only thing I can do is put sink in island. Or switch upper cabinets with the fridge

Thank you for your help!!

How can you possibly have an island in a closed kitchen that's only 10 feet wide? Looking at your floor plan, I'd put the sink on the short wall with the window and the refrigerator and range on the long wall. Then you'd have an L-shaped kitchen with a good work triangle.

But looking at the perspective rendering it seems as if there's another room on the other side of the island. Can you clarify and show how this kitchen relates to the adjoining rooms? And also it's difficult to read, especially the dimensions.

Go with the smaller ref. Now that we can see your floor plan. You have a huge mudroom right next door, you can put a chest freezer in there or even a second ref.

Good luck!

Oh, just disregard my last comments--the floor plan was so small I couldn't read it. Now I see that the small room is the mud room and the adjoining room the kitchen.