Refrigerator Opinions, Please

[Green Tea]

I think it is time to replace. I currently have a side by side, but know the French Door model seems to be the it thing right now. It seems as though it would be cumbersome. How do you all like that style? Brands? I have an Electrolux dishwasher which I love. Any reason not to stay with that brand for a fridge? I'm open to mist any suggestion except Frigidare. And I want stainless, but it must have a stainless side, not black or grey vinyl.

 

[LJRJR]

I have a GE stainless steel french door with the freezer on the bottom. I love the way it is set up. Mine is counter depth. My only regret is that I did not get a larger model. It is very easy to clean, all the shelves come out to wash. I chose to get the model with just a water dispenser inside. I was afraid that the ice cube dispenser on the outside would become a "toy" to my two young sons.

 

[Debbie7452]

Don't buy the French Door model because it is in style. I know some people might love them but when I was out shopping for a frig I tried them out and the freezer part seems really hard to deal with. You have to stack things on top of each other and lean over to dig around. My SIL has one and I just don't like the set up.

However, I am a big freezer user and other families might not be so to each their own, I guess. I got a Whirlpool side by side (traditional) stainless model. Mine does have a black side which faces out and can be seen, but I prefer it that way...less fingerprints to deal with! I looked forever, before I decided on this one. It wasn't my "dream" model but we were constrained by price and we have been happy with it. I got ice and water in the door for the first time....oh, the luxury! love it...

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I am more interested in refrigerators that have the best efficiency rating and fit into the space I have available than the actual style of refrigerator I buy.

 

[clutter]

Don't buy the French Door model because it is in style. I know some people might love them but when I was out shopping for a frig I tried them out and the freezer part seems really hard to deal with. You have to stack things on top of each other and lean over to dig around. My SIL has one and I just don't like the set up.

However, I am a big freezer user and other families might not be so to each their own, I guess. I got a Whirlpool side by side (traditional) stainless model. Mine does have a black side which faces out and can be seen, but I prefer it that way...less fingerprints to deal with! I looked forever, before I decided on this one. It wasn't my "dream" model but we were constrained by price and we have been happy with it. I got ice and water in the door for the first time....oh, the luxury! love it...

I'm with Debbie. After 8 years with a side-by-side, I now have the old freezer on the top model. When we renovate the kitchen in Jan, I'm going back to the side-by-side, much to dd13's chagrin. I spend too much time looking for stuff in the freezer, and I find that the vertical format is easier. Sure, I might love the freezer on the bottom, but I really don't think so, and I don't want to invest the $$ and decide I hate it. I know I love the side-by-side (and the water/ice in the door!).

 

[Disney Doll]

I LOATHE my side-by-side. I cannot wait til the darn thing breaks and I can get a refrigerator on top/freezer on bottom model. Of course, THIS will be the fridge that lasts for 25 years!

Neither side of the side-by-side is wide enough. The freezer is too skinnyfor anything of any size. The fridge is too skinny to fit a large-ish size container or platter in. Thank God when we got this one I kept my old one with the fridge on bottom/freezer on top so I had a place to keep stuff when we had a picnic or party.

 

[Green Tea]

I like my side by side, and it doesn't seem like others are feeling the French love either. It is a big purchase to decide after the fact I hate the set up! The available space is an issue. Measurements will play a role in the end, for sure. But keep the suggestions and opinions coming. It is very helpful to see what others have found in their searches.

 

[golfgal]

We are in the refrigerator portion of our fridge 10-20+ times/day, in the freezer portion maybe 2-3 times/day. My next fridge will be a french door with freezer on the bottom. The stuff you use the most is at eye level, the shelves are wider so getting in larger pans is easier, most french door models have pull out shelves and compartments now so the freezer issue isn't major-that and we have an upright for most of our freezer stuff anyway.

 

[Sorsha]

I have a french door with the freezer on the bottom and I love it BUT I also own a seperate upright freezer out in the garage. I use that for most of my freezer goods. I only use the freezer attached to the fridge for incidentals... the kids' breakfast things (eggo's, etc), ice cream bars, bags of chicken nuggets, etc... things I use daily and want to be able to get to quickly. If I had to use that freezer for everything I would HATE it. It is very difficult to get to and very hard to organize... things just get tossed in there and then I have to paw through it to find what I want. However, since I have the seperate full-sized freezer for all my freezer goods, that's a non-issue for me.

On the other hand, I LOVE the fridge part of the french-door refrigerator. I love having everything up at eye-level instead of down at my feet (vs having the freezer on top on a traditional fridge) and I love being able to open both doors and have such a wide open space to store wide things like pizza boxes and sheet pans.

I do find, however, that I don't have quite as much in-the-door storage as I was used to in my old fridge, but that is because I chose a model with a through-the-door ice maker, and that used up a lot of my door space. The ice maker is SO convenient though - it is well worth the loss of space.

 

[Squirlz]

We bought an LG side by side two years ago and came to dislike it. It just wasn't space efficient. We were always digging to find what we wanted.

So we just got an LG French door with a two-door freezer. It is very nice. Same volume as the old one, but when we took everything out of the crowded side by and put it in the frenchie there was so much more room! Plus you could see everything...nothing hidden in the back.

The only drawback is the in-door icemaker makes these little tiny cubes, and only ten at a time. We go through lots of ice so we keep trays in the freezer as well. Also the old fridge will be in the rec room in the new garage pumping out ice and keeping the barley pop cold!

 

[ThePetLady7]

I LOATHE my side-by-side. I cannot wait til the darn thing breaks and I can get a refrigerator on top/freezer on bottom model. Of course, THIS will be the fridge that lasts for 25 years!

Neither side of the side-by-side is wide enough. The freezer is too skinnyfor anything of any size. The fridge is too skinny to fit a large-ish size container or platter in. Thank God when we got this one I kept my old one with the fridge on bottom/freezer on top so I had a place to keep stuff when we had a picnic or party.

This.

I can put pizza boxes or sheet cakes in my fridge. The freezer takes some getting used to, but once you figure out the best way to arrange things for you, it is no big deal.

 

[ChrizJen]

I have the stainless Maytag Ice2o French Door with the freezer on the bottom, and I LOVE it!!

I've never been a huge fan of traditional side by sides, as I think that the space in them is so limited!! All of the shelves are so narrow!! I can store one of those HUGE meat/veggie trays you get at Sams in my fridge with room to spare (Or a large pizza box).
And I think the freezer on the bottom must be the best idea ever! It just makes practical sense to me that you shouldn't have to stoop over to get the stuff you use the most. Save the stooping for the stuff that's used less!!

It's super roomy, the shelves are all adjustable and easily removed for cleaning, and the freezer has 2 smaller sliding drawers within the large drawer that roll back and forth, allowing for two levels of storage. That way you can keep the things you use the most in the top drawers, and store the other stuff underneath. (it's monday and I'm really tired, so that probably makes no sense unless you have this same fridge and know what I'm talking about... )

 

[LindaG4458]

I have a GE stainless steel french door with the freezer on the bottom. I love the way it is set up. Mine is counter depth. My only regret is that I did not get a larger model. It is very easy to clean, all the shelves come out to wash. I chose to get the model with just a water dispenser inside. I was afraid that the ice cube dispenser on the outside would become a "toy" to my two young sons.

We have a similar model (with only the water dispenser inside) although it is not stainless. Another thing to keep in mind about the ice dispenser through the door: it is a SECOND ice maker (along with the one in the freezer) and takes up most of the upper left shelf inside the fridge. It really cuts down on the usable space inside. Think about which you need more: an on-the-door dispenser or space inside the fridge. We went for the space.

I see above that others do not have a second ice maker in the freezer. This is what the salesman told us when we bought. Maybe he was wrong. If so, disregard the above.

 

[Hoodie]

I have the french doors, freezer on bottom as well. I'm not nuts about the French doors since i never know which side I should open, but LOVE the bottom freezer.

Of course, I should qualify that I hate side by sides. I really don't know how people fit anything into them.

 

[Sorsha]

We have a similar model (with only the water dispenser inside) although it is not stainless. Another thing to keep in mind about the ice dispenser through the door: it is a SECOND ice maker (along with the one in the freezer) and takes up most of the upper left shelf inside the fridge. It really cuts down on the usable space inside. Think about which you need more: an on-the-door dispenser or space inside the fridge. We went for the space.

I see above that others do not have a second ice maker in the freezer. This is what the salesman told us when we bought. Maybe he was wrong. If so, disregard the above.

Yeah, we have an LG, and ours has an Ice Maker/Water Dispenser only in the door. It takes up no space in the fridge or freezer compartment. It does, however, use up the entire side of one door. That's a lot of door space I lost. Totally worth it, I love my ice and water dispenser, but still a lot of space I had to compensate elsewhere for.

 

[tiggger1]

we have the Kenmore trio with the ice in the bottom and the water inside, so we dont lose any space with having the water in the door.

I love it

 

[Katy Belle]

We just moved and had to purchase a new refrigerator. I subscribed to Consumer Reports and researched like crazy Even with that, it is HARD to decide. I wanted BIG because I have 3 sons, ages 10,13,15.

I ended up with a Samsung 29cu ft. French Door, freezer on the bottom, water and ice in the door. I've only had it about a month, but I LOVE it. Really. Love. It is "stainless look", called platnum, or titanium, or something like that. It does have the gray sides, vinyl I guess , but mine is blocked by walls on both sides. The stainless is really hard to keep clean, this isn't. It doesnt show fingerprints.

When you look at Consumer Reports you learn that you lose about 40% of useable space with a side-by-side. I've always HATED them. I can never find anything in them.

I would consider myself a big freeze user and so far it hasn't been a problem finding stuff. It is sort of a drawer within a drawer, so bread and stuff like that go in the top drawer. Meat, veggies, etc. go in the bottom. There is a special slot for a frozen pizza.

It is awesome. I love it.

Good luck! It is such a hard decision!
Katy