<p>We have a new house with a Liebherr fridge - actually a large side-by-side, though they have many configurations. Love it!</p>
<p>I dont like the looks of the side by side or the french doors. Too cluttered- and too narrow.
However, I love my wire bottom freezer drawers. Good lighting- much better than LED which I thought was too dim in the floor models. Having the fridge at eye level is the best.</p>
<p>We also had them pick up our chest freezer & are just amazed at how fast the new freezer works. Before it took my ice packs a day to refreeze, now it takes less than two hours ( and this is set at 4):)</p>
<p>I wouldn’t trust a kitchen DESIGNER after watching far too many HGTV shows where style, not function, seems to rule in choosing appliances. The OP doesn’t need, s/he wants, a built in refrigerator. The cost of doing the minor changes would be less and the reliability better by choosing a free standing unit that certainly would fit the space.</p>
<p>I researched refrigerators a few years ago when our KitchenAid 25 cubic foot top freezer refrigerator needed minor repairs- but it made it to 20 years and we sold the house. Currently living with a fairly new side-by-side that came with this house. Will research again in the future. Durability has declined, as have warranties, compared to back when. Also recall that built in models had more problems than freestanding ones.</p>
<p>Roshke, thank you for your message. CC won’t allow me to respond as I don’t have enough posts!</p>
<p>emmom–check out searsoutlet.com </p>
<p>If there is one near you, you can pick up. They also deliver–even from far away. They have new and reconditioned. The prices are good. We just bought a dishwasher from the local sears outlet and are very happy with it. It was a return, we believe because it had a rub mark on edge of the door. I was beyond thrilled because it was the exact model I wanted which had been discontinued and the same company wasn’t making DW’s in that color/model anymore. They gave us full warranty so we are very happy.</p>
<p>Emmom, I get your dilemma about built in vs freestanding.
Our “New” kitchen is now 9 yrs old and the DW with custom cabinet front died.
We loved that seamless look but we’re unwilling to spend to recreate it.
Our wonderful Bosch functions perfectly and looks just fine. Just a thought.</p>