Refrigerator Recommendations

jzmom

Thu, Dec 27 2012, 11:50 am

Looking to buy a new refrigerator - can you recommend what to get or advise what not to get. Side by side? Freezer on the bottom? water in the door? any advice appreciated.

thank you,

nylon

Thu, Dec 27 2012, 4:46 pm

I have a side by side. I would prefer a French door. Unless a side by side is very wide I find the shelves too narrow. (We have a 36" fridge, so it's not that narrow. A bottom freezer would probably be a French door for this width.) We have in-door water and ice. My 6yo is good with it but little kids sometimes play with the dispenser. I hate refilling ice trays so I like it, but it takes up space inside. The more expensive models tend to have it. Keep in mind you need a water line available for this.

The one thing I don't like about a French door is that the freezer is a pullout so things can get buried. It's easier to keep little kids out of the fridge though.

wwmom

Thu, Dec 27 2012, 5:06 pm

Maybe I am just old fashioned but I think the ones with the freezer on top and then fridge on bottom are the best. They seem to hold lots more food then the side by sides, which are too narrow for me. The french door ones are nice, but most people I know are very unhappy with the freezer part.

sky

Thu, Dec 27 2012, 7:55 pm

chocolate moose wrote:

I got a large freezer-only and separate fridge-only. We're really happy with them.

I love this idea. One day in my dream kitchen....

daisy

Thu, Dec 27 2012, 8:04 pm

I have a side by side with water/ice. We love the water/ice dispenser but it is slightly messy especially with kids. It's worth it, though.

I like the fridge side, but I don't love the freezer. The freezer is narrow and hard to fit things in. It does have shelves, though, which for me made it preferable to the freezer on the bottom option. I think I liked having the freezer on the top better. I guess there are pros and cons to all.

nylon

Thu, Dec 27 2012, 8:43 pm

I found that as my family got bigger, I wanted a separate deep freezer anyway (which is in our basement), so the freezer in my refrigerator was less important to me.

What size and width are you looking at? Big fridges are side by side or French door. Top freezer are typically 30" models, 20 cubic feet and under. If you're looking at the 36" (approx) range, there are no top freezer models as the door would be too big. It's French door or side by side.

cookielady

Thu, Dec 27 2012, 9:00 pm

I have a French door style and a large freezer in my storage room. I love the French door style. Water in the door, ice maker in freezer. The refrigerator shelves adjust so easily. It's easy to clean. I have had problems with the frame that supports the fruit bins cracking. Since I have extended coverage, I call and it gets replaced fairly quickly.

thanks

Thu, Dec 27 2012, 9:16 pm

I really do not like my French Door fridge, and miss my side-by-side (I had a very large one). I find it is really hard to find things. I fit tons in the door of my side by side, and it was so easy to see it all. In the french door, things are behind each other on the shelves. I thought the drawer freezer on the bottom wouldn't bother me because I have a separate freezer, but it is really hard to keep organize.

amother

Thu, Dec 27 2012, 10:00 pm

sky wrote:

chocolate moose wrote:

I got a large freezer-only and separate fridge-only. We're really happy with them.

I love this idea. One day in my dream kitchen....

I don't have my dream kitchen yet, but I do have a fridge-freezer like chocolate moose. I put the freezer in one of the bedrooms. I know it's not beautiful, but like I said, it's not my dream house.

gem

Thu, Dec 27 2012, 10:58 pm

I have the side-by-side style and love it. When I lived in the UK, I had a refrigerator with the freezer on the bottom. From this experience, I can say I have a strong preference for shelves in my freezer. The drawers are, as someone already mentioned very hard to organize. I found things were always getting lost below other things, and I had to take everything out to get to what was on the bottom. Really prefer the shelves.

When I got my refrigerator, I chose not to get the water in the door. We prefer our water at room temperature, so the water feature wasn't practical for us. The freezer has an ice maker, though, which is nice.

For me, though, the deciding factor was appearance, lol. I wanted a counter-depth refrigerator/freezer-- one that didn't stick out past my counters. The only company that offered this was Subzero. A little bit more expensive, but I'm really happy with it.