Spin off of slo's refrigerator poll..

[LoveSpringsteen]

We have a bottom freezer that pulls out with top fridge that has a door that opens out (not a French door). I love the bottom freezer and feel like I don’t have a problem seeing things in there at all as the drawer pulls out and I’m looking down at it. For me, it works better than a freezer on top. I also like having the fridge part more at my eye level.

 

[AppleDumpling]

I’m very happy with my side by side, although I know a lot of people hate them. Really is a personal preference. It works for us, fits what we need and I like being able to see everything. I don’t care for bottom freezer drawers.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Thanks for all these different thoughts and experiences. Very interesting, everyone's opinions.

 

[Minnesota!]

French doors/bottom freezer. I miss mine so much.

 

[loves to dive]

Right now we have a side by side and an upright freezer in the basement. I say right now because the water line broke for the third time (and slowly dripped for who knows how long down the wall and into the ceiling in the basement. We now only have a partial ceiling in the basement and need to replace the kitchen floor since it ran along the bottom of that before it busted out the basement ceiling). The line can't be fixed so eventually we will buy a new fridge. Ours is over 20 years old so I guess we got our money's worth. In the mean time it's Britta Filter Pitcher and ice trays for us. Had hubby filed insurance we could probably replaced it right away but he didn't and it's about 3 weeks later so I'm not sure he can or even if he will. (Don't get me started on that). Our dog has to have cataracts removed from both eyes and I have an upcoming gallbladder removal surgery so we aren't spending for a new one right now. When we get a new one, I have no idea what kind we will get, usually just what is available at the store at the time we are buying.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

Just wanted to say I appreciate the responses. My 36-year old fridge (that is still going strong) will hopefully someday bite the dust and I'll be able to get a new one. It's nice to read the pros/cons of each style.

My husband bought a dump of a house before I knew him in 1979. It came with a refrigerator that was from the 50’s. It looked like crap. I’m not kidding either, it was horrible looking, but still worked. Replacing it just wasn’t in the budget cause we were trying to remodel the house. We got married in 1981 and I had to put up with that ugly refrigerator until 2013 when he surprised me one day as we were shopping at Sears. (I always looked at the new ones just praying someday we’d get one.) I picked out a beautiful black LG with French doors and the freezer on the bottom that I just love. That old refrigerator was a NORGE and it was still working when we got rid of it. The guys that delivered the new one got quite the surprise when they hefted that old one up. Weighed a ton compared to the new one.

 

[maxaroni]

We have had all the configurations, currently have bottom freezer/french doors. I have to say it’s my favorite of all of the configurations. My mom, back in the late ‘60s, got a bottom freezer and loved it. Her reasoning is that she was going into the fridge far more often than the freezer and therefore, didn’t mind the bottom freezer. She held firm with that and loved it throughout the years. DH & I have had them all. I didn’t like the side by side for 2 reasons: the narrowness of the freezer & that both freezer & fridge had low shelving. We did get a 2nd fridge/freezer while we had that. We tend to agree with my moms reasoning, we are in the fridge far more often than the freezer. It works for us.

 

[lovesmurfs]

We always had a top freezer, and I never had a space/organization problem with it. We've got a pretty narrow side freezer now, and nearly every day I curse something about the freezer. It doesn't really lend itself to the way we use/store frozen foods.

 

[DLgal]

We have a side-by-side, but the freezer is very narrow and we hate it. We had to buy a freezer for the basement for our meat and other things. Upstairs we can only fit the stuff we absolutely need on hand for every day. I would love to have a fridge with a bottom freezer.

My one requirement when shopping a side by side fridge was that a standard frozen pizza box HAD to fit. I have been able to fit everything frozen I've ever purchased, including large items from Costco. The model I bought actually had a prop frozen pizza box inside the freezer!

 

[DLgal]

As long as it is counter depth I don’t have a preference.

The issue with that is those are always much smaller capacity.

I like how it looks, but not for me. Our fridge sticks out about 8" from the counters, because the ones that would be flush were TINY inside.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Marie's uncle recently purchased this one, shortly before he passed away. A counter depth, freezer on the bottom. It has drawers on the bottom that seem to keep everything pretty visible. The depth is not much, but seems like a kind of neat design. And not inexpensive.

https://www.abt.com/Liebherr-30-Sta...th-BioFresh-And-NoFrost-CBS1660/p/112941.html

 

[Genie+]

Is your refrigerator running? You better go catch it!!!

 

[kdonnel]

The issue with that is those are always much smaller capacity.

I like how it looks, but not for me. Our fridge sticks out about 8" from the counters, because the ones that would be flush were TINY inside.

If the frig is in the corner it can be ok. But when the frig is in the middle and that 8 inches is sticking out on both sides, I just don’t like the looks.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

If the frig is in the corner it can be ok. But when the frig is in the middle and that 8 inches is sticking out on both sides, I just don’t like the looks.

So thankful our fridge spot was built deep. There's still a decent amount of room behind our fridge in our spot and it's flush with the cabinets aside from being able to open the door. No way could 8 inch work in our house that's where the island area is plus I hate the look of a fridge sticking out when it's a built-in area for it.

This is an old photo of ours from right after we moved into our house and had the fridge delivered

 

[shh]

We have a side-by-side, but the freezer is very narrow and we hate it.

We must have the same fridge. I have to play Tetris every time I go shopping - and usually lose! So little room in there, nothing fits. It's beyond ridiculous, but I'm stuck because of my small kitchen limitations.

I really like the side by side model - just wish I could buy one of the larger capacity ones.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

My one requirement when shopping a side by side fridge was that a standard frozen pizza box HAD to fit. I have been able to fit everything frozen I've ever purchased, including large items from Costco. The model I bought actually had a prop frozen pizza box inside the freezer!

Our old fridge had died and this side-by-side was given to us nearly brand new. I never would have picked this out in a store because of the crappy freezer. We wound up spending money to buy a freezer anyway-I tried to advocate for a new fridge but the prices were so high for what we really needed that the chest freezer was a better buy.

 

[NAB]

French doors top freezer bottom . It has a separate deli drawer that can be freezer too. Love this door makes making lunches easy. can also put big fruit trays in there .

Bottom freezer is a plain because you have to dig to find stuff.

We have water in the door and ice but the ice part always a freezes up and stops giving ice. We just turn it off now and just use the water.

 

[kanerf]

French door/bottom freezer

That is what I have and I like it.

 

[Dan Murphy]

French doors/bottom freezer. I miss mine so much.

Is yours gone, MN?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Side by side, in the largest capacity offered, is the way.

We have the smallest side by side they make. It’s the only thing that fits in that space. It stinks for both the freezer and the refrigerator capacity. It’s the second side by side we’ve had. When we bought the house it had a top freezer style. I might go back to that next time.