Ok…we are starting the hunt for a new fridge. Needs to be counter depth.
We currently have a french door GE Profile which is a piece of junk. Part of it is actually rusting.
I’d like another French door…no ice/water in the door exterior. Ice maker in the freezer. The rub is…I want white.
My husband would like a side by side.
Suggestions?
I have the GE monogram, also with no ice maker in the door. Because it is counter depth, this frees up room. I truly enjoy it. No,problems, and it was made 2014. It looks like a built-in.
@bookworm does it come in white?
Our current GE is so bad that I’m not sure I can convince my husband to look at another. But I will check out the Monogram series.
Anyone know anything about Whirlpool?
I’m with you in wanting white appliances! The salesperson at Lowe’s laughed in my face when I said that was what I wanted but I didn’t care. Some white fridges say white but the sides are still black, which was frustrating! We ordered a KitchenAid - white, counter depth, ice maker in the freezer, water dispenser inside the fridge. I can’t vouch for anything other than it meets your requirements. It has been on order since October and isn’t expected until mid-January. Good Luck 
Here is the link for the one I got. It says stainless but when you go to it, you can see it comes in white.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/KitchenAid-20-cu-ft-Counter-depth-French-Door-Refrigerator-with-Ice-Maker-Stainless-Steel-ENERGY-STAR/50415262
Just had to replace our 4 year old Whirlpool (consensus as the most reliable refrigerator brand) French door as it died and was essentially not repairable. In the process, learned from the repairman that fridges with two evaporators (most French door fridges) have much higher failure rates than those with only a single evaporator. We made the choice to go back to a single evaporator side by side for better longevity.
Be aware that manufacturers have recently begun limiting refrigerator warranties to one year. It used to be that some provided a 5 year warranty for sealed system issues (the sealed refrigerant system) but most have done away with that. They are essentially forcing people to purchase extended warranties and all of the headaches that come with them. Sadly, these appliances are becoming more and more throw away…sealed system repairs are costly and often result in repeated failures, to the point that the repairmen simply recommend you buy a new fridge even though they could make a lot of money repeatedly repairing it for you. It’s discouraging for sure.
My sister has a side by side and the obvious flaw that she readily admits, is that anything that is super wide (think a large pizza box) cannot be put into the fridge.
We have a fridge-on-top, freezer-on-bottom, and love it. We go into the fridge far more often than the freezer, and having the fridge contents at eye-level is nice.
@pishicaca so really you are saying a side by side might be a better choice? That would make my husband happy!
What side by side did you get?
We currently have a Maytag french door , a Samsung french door, and a Whirlpool freezer on top (old style basic) with no icemaker.
The Maytag has been repaired 3-4 times in 10 years, mostly the icemaker, and the others have had no issues. It tends to ice up and takes 3-4 hrs with a hair dryer to melt the ice between the compartments. The 7 yr old Samsung has digital temp controls and has never been fixed. The icemaker still works. It does not have wheels and slides out, which is it’s only fault. The Whirlpool keeps plugging away.
None have ice/water through the door which takes away a lot of space. I would avoid pricey fridges (over $1500) because of short lifespans. The side by sides are probably the best value even if they are less convenient.
I would get another Samsung, but a 2 rather than a 3 door model (freezer on bottom).
Our gas company offers a service agreement plan for $30/mo which covers all of the major appliances and furnace, so we use that for repairs. Everything seems to cost $300-400 to fix these days.
I gave up trying to find out if the GE monogram came in white. Their ovens come in white, and all the fridges come “panel ready”.
I would never purchase a side-by-side. The freezer compartment is usually just too limiting (think pizza boxes, large turkeys, my favorite apple kringle!), etc. Anyone I know with the side by side did not like them.
We also prefer NO ice maker. They take up too much room, and are often the first item needing repair (after leaking and causing other damage). Definitely nothing in the door (more repairs, and I like the cleaner look of a solid surface). There’s only two of us, and the old-fashioned ice trays suffice. I don’t think any of the newer freezers come without an ice-maker, but we would simply not install.
I know you want white. Good luck! We wanted dimpled black. Very few black available, and no dimpled. And most come with a cheaper grey side which in our layout is quite visible. Definitely advise against the new black stainless. I love the look, but we noticed that it is only a surface coating, and see a lot of shiny scratches on samples at the big box stores.
We really like our side by side, gives lots of freezer space (shelves, drawer bins and door bins). But we have a wide model, with ability to store frozen pizza boxes. Many people hate side-by-sides, especially if they have a narrow models.
I hated our side by side. It did not die soon enough. Can’t fit anything in and can’t find anything in my opinion.
Got a Samsung french door now and love it. I have two ice makers–one upper in door and one in the freezer compartment. Feels like heaven. We live on ice. Couple of well placed turn tables and marked bins and we’re happy finding things.
I have bins marked salad, sandwich, “eat me first” in the fridge. Freezer space needs an archaeological dig periodically but pretty good. Yes, the ice makers take room but I have a second fridge so don’t worry too much. So far, so good.
Lowes was having a super sale on it that wasn’t even advertised. Every other fridge had a sale sign over a holiday period and I happened to overhear a rep say the price. The sale was from the manufacturer rather than Lowe’s and so the price wasn’t on a tag. My lesson was to find the fridge you want and then inquire on the price rather than relying on what is tagged.
I have the same (or similar) KitchenAid as @helpingmom40. It is the identical model as my SIL’s Bosch, I think. While i had a side by side previously, I find the freezer space in my French door limited. Before downsizing to a townhome, I had my side by side in the kitchen, and a top freezer in the basement. I miss having two fridges, especially the lost of freezer space during the pandemic!
Freezer space is not an issue for us. There are only two of us…plus we have a freezer in our basement that we plug In during high need times (like now).
@bookworm I don’t want a panel anything.
We will be going to a local appliance store, not one of the big box stores. We have dealt with this store before and they are excellent.
I ordered a KitchenAid built in refrigerator back in early July. We are still waiting. In the meantime we have a loaner from the appliance store. The loaner is an old freezer on top model which looks pretty funny in the spot in our kitchen. While small for the space it holds a lot.
Top freezer models are still available today; they are generally less expensive than other configurations, but are less convenient because the refrigerator portion is below eye level.
We got a new fridge as the lockdown started. It was an emergency situation and we didn’t research well enough.
Things to notice: The new one doesn’t have any kind of seal around the produce drawers so everything has to be kept in plastic / wax paper or it dries out. Shelves have limited adjustability so even a 1liter bottle only fits on the door, and forget a wine bottle.
Just things to look at as you shop.
We have a French door KitchenAid dual evaporator and it died after just two years. Even with a 5 year warranty that we paid $500 for - KitchenAid could not find anyone to service it. Paid over $3000 with the service plan and they gave us a $1900 rebate. The appliance store we went to said GE is much more reliable than KitchenAid/Whirlpool. I think all in all- appliances just aren’t built well these days and the technology doesn’t hold up!
My Dad has worked on appliances for probably 50 years, or close to it. He says all of it is junk compared to how things used to be built. He says that French door are more prone to issues, often expensive issues. Even if the issue is covered by the warranty, getting it fixed can be an issue, especially with an item that you really can’t afford to be without. I think he prefers GE, but says even they aren’t as good as they used to be. Bottom line seems to be to find something you like at the lowest price possible and count on having to replace it much sooner than in times past.
I bought the Kitchen Aid French door posted by @helpingmom40 up thread, in June. I couldn’t wait to get rid of the 18 year old side by side Kitchen Aid we had. It was still working but was time to go! I don’t miss it at all. I do think the side by side was slightly larger but I really like bottom freezer better. Also have 2nd fridge in basement.