Decorators love Counter depth fridges. Salespeople say no!!!

amother

Rose

Tue, Jan 08 2019, 10:50 pm

My kitchen isnt that big. Its about 9 feet by 10 feet, and cabinets are in a "U" shape in this squarish area.

Decorators I spoke to love Counter depth fridges. Salespeople tell me to think about it very carefully!!!

A decorator told me unless I want to "kill" the look of my kitchen I should only get a counter depth fridge.

When I speak to Appliances salespeople, they ALL say they know of women buying the counter dept fridges, only to use it for a week or two, sometimes a month, and then beg and plead for the store to take it back at a loss to them, because they see theyre short on storage space and its not worth the neater look. Then they buy the deeper fridges that protrude, that has much more storage space.

WWYD?

simba

Tue, Jan 08 2019, 10:52 pm

Look at dimensions of the actual cubit feet of the interiors and decide if you can live with less space for that clean look.

Mine protrudes and I still never have enough space. Go figure.

amother

Aqua

Tue, Jan 08 2019, 11:04 pm

OP, can you see if you can cut out the wall space behind the spot where the fridge will go? I had the same dilemma and my refrigerator is on the wall that's at the side of the house (on an external wall). My contracter removed the entire wall (sheetrock and studs) until the bricks were seen. He sealed the wall with a special sealer that takes no space up and we gained about an extra four inches or so to push our fridge in. I ordered my side fridge panels with about an inch deeper and now my fridge is nice and flushed. See if that's an option for you - I know a few people who did it.
I'm so happy to have a spacious big fridge while not giving up on design.

Rubber Ducky

Tue, Jan 08 2019, 11:08 pm

I agree with Amother Aqua above. You may be able to recess the fridge and gain 3" or more, visually turning a standard depth fridge into a counter depth one. I've done it with design clients and also in my own kitchen.

nchr

Tue, Jan 08 2019, 11:14 pm

If everyone was returning them they wouldn't still be manufactured. You have to decide what's appropriate for you. Our fridge is almost entirely empty as is.

reality mom

Tue, Jan 08 2019, 11:43 pm

amother wrote:

I did this! !
Best decision ever, and worth the expense if storage and esthetics are important to you. I gained four inches.

amother

Jade

Tue, Jan 08 2019, 11:43 pm

I had regular and now have counter depth for the last 5 years. I LOVE my counter depth. There is no where to park moldy or spoiling foods in the back. And my tiny kitchen feels better and bigger. That said I have an extra full size fridge in the basement for yom tov.

lfab

Wed, Jan 09 2019, 10:03 am

Personally, I would value the added space of a standard refrigerator over the cleaner look. While I like the neat look of counter depth I try to shop only once a week and we go through a lot of items that need to be refrigerated (milk, cheese, yogurt, fruits etc.) so feel like I need the extra space. If I had room for a second refrigerator in my basement, garage, etc. then I'd probably go for the cleaner look of the counter depth fridge (assuming the cost wasn't an issue). It completely depends what you value for the look or the space.

Chayalle

Wed, Jan 09 2019, 10:08 am

My fridge protrudes a few inches beyond the counters. I never even realized it till right now, reading your post. I do have a larger kitchen, though.

I've found that decorators have a look they are promoting, often at the expense of the actual users of the kitchen. They want that when people walk into the kitchen and look at it, the effect should be WOW, and guess who the decorator was....and that's worth more to them than the needs and functionality of the user.

My sister experienced this when she wanted to add on a milchig section to her kitchen, in a very large eating area. The designer was purely concerned with aesthetics, waving away every suggestion my sister made regarding her needs in favor of "the look".

Amarante

Wed, Jan 09 2019, 10:12 am

As others have posted, check the actual usable interior space. There is a lot less space lost than one might think if one gets a more functionally laid out interior.

I just remodeled and went with a counter depth. My Kitchenaid model is 72” high versus the standard 69” so I gained a bit of space.

I don’t notice any real difference but one real positive is that I don’t have items that hide in the back forgotten and spoiling - especially a stray little container or fruit which rolled to the back. I never have to take stuff out of the refrigerator to find something.

The big space hog is the automatic ice maker container which takes up a lot of room in the freezer.

I don’t know of anyone who has returned their counter depth refrigerators because the slight perceived loss of space is more than compensated for in terms of how much airier a kitchen looks.

Last edited by Amarante on Wed, Jan 09 2019, 10:45 am; edited 1 time in total

mommyhood

Wed, Jan 09 2019, 10:43 am

If you’re talking about a standard 36” fridge, counter depth is not enough space and I don’t have a big family. I have one that came with my house and I dream of replacing it but the island is close so it’s not happening until or if ever I do constructions