I switched to a bottom-freezer w/the french door style almost 2 years ago and LOVE it! Would NEVER go back to a side-by-side. My Kenmore has a pull-out drawer to help organize things. Good luck!

Depends on whether you have more stuff to put in the fridge or the freezer. I have some frozen stuff but not a lot. To me it's more important to be able to fit a big platter in the fridge. Plus I want to keep the kids out of the fridge section. So I infinitely prefer my new freezer on the bottom.

I much prefer my freezer on the bottom... I'm in and out of the fridge part all the time, and it's all at eye level, or close to it... when I do need to go into the freezer, my drawer is divided into two shallower bins inside... neither are terribly deep so things don't tend to get lost... and there really isn't a 'back' for them to get lost in either.

I no longer have to squat down for the vegetable/fruit drawers or for things on the back of the bottom shelf of the fridge... plus... there isn't that dirty looking through the door dispenser area to deal with

Sometimes I think I must be the last person on the planet who does NOT want my freezer on the bottom. I'm sure I poke around in the freezer at least as often as I do the same in my crispers. I do not need my veggies at belly-button height. Regardless of how any fridge is configured, there will always be stuff at the very bottom and at the very top.

My questions to you would be. Do you have kids that you want to access the refrigerator? Do you store anywhere from a moderate to alot of frozen food? Do you store more than a gallon of milk, 1/2 juice and any other tall containers? I currently, have a FD, with a bottom freezer and I have exchanged for a side by side. First, my kids miss the water and ice being on the outside. It allows them to be self-sufficient (including my 2 year old). Second, the botton freezer does not hold alot. I have three boys, and I tend to cook fresh meals. But, I have a hard time freezing some frozen waffles, vegetables, fish sticks and frozen fruit. I don't even have a gallon of ice cream in there. I have that in the refrig. in the garage. We have milk delivered in 1/2 gallon carton size. I cannot store all my milk and juice in the doors as well as all my condiments, dressings etc. The only thing I will miss is the large deli tray. But for now, only my 9 year old can access the water inside the FD. So, no I am not in love with the FD, because it doesn't function for our family needs. Good luck

I liked the looks of freezer on the bottom and french doors, but after using it at my dad's I decided against it. I have a bad back and bending down to get into that freezer drawer was a pain. I did a quick inventory of mine and saw that nothing was wider than an ice cream carton, and I never put wide trays in my fridge, so I'm getting a counter-depth side-by-side. My two kids are teens and have no problem accessing food. And boy, do they access all the food! With a separate beverage fridge I think the SxS will be fine.

Depends: do you store more fresh food or frozen? We chose Kitchen Aid with french doors and freezer on the bottom. I need more storage space for fresh food, platters, bottles, etc.

Count me in on the sxs camp. I don't like the water & ice thru the door because they get so nasty but I DO use alot of ice. I would not like having to bend over, slide open the freezer and pull out the shelf just to get ice. When I was shopping pretty much knew I would end up with whirlpool made unit, they have the large ice bin on the door. We found a kitchenaid counter depth without the dispenser. We love it!

I have struggled with the same question. But I have decided I really want the ice and water dispenser and the style doesn't matter.
So, I am looking for a counter depth with an ice and water in the door. Can anyone recommend a specific SXS or FD? Thank you.

Going from a cheap top freezer, we seriously looked at all the gorgeous bottom freezers. However, I rarely have to refrigerate large sheet pans, and we store a ton of stuff in the freezer. Plus, my DH is 6"5' and every time we played with one of the bottom freezers at the store we couldn't picture how he'd use the freezer daily without lining up a good chiropractor first. We ended up with a sxs, and couldn't be happier. We love how well-organized our frozen foods are now and both sides are wide enough enough to store our daily foodstuffs. There *is* a difference in width and storage space among the different side by sides, so (just like with the d/w) I'd go to the store armed with your pizza box or whatever to make sure you don't encounter problems later.

Hest88,

Is yours a CD or built-in or regular size?

We went from a 36" sxs that we chose for our last house and really felt was too narrow after using and swearing we would never buy another to deciding (after looking at all the configurations) to buy another -- but a 48" this time. We were sure we were going to buy a bottom freezer. But looking at the actual units it just looked like everything would be such a jumble and not remotely fit all our stuff. Plus the only 2 request that my kids made on the whole kitchen were island seating and in door water/ice.

We moved from a 36" SxS to a French Door Bottom Freezer and love it. The French Door is so much more convenient and easier to access items.

We also dislike having the water / ice in the door like we had in the SxS (wastes space / more prone to breaking). The internal water and ice in the French Door are much better for our needs - the ice in particular. very easy to access

I just moved from a 31" SxS to a 36" counter depth FD bottom freezer. I had had a SxS practically forever, and was used to it, but the 31" that I inherited with this condo was pretty cramped.

But I am having difficulty adjusting to the new frig, particularly the freezer. At the same time I bought this I also bought medium sized upright freezer for by basement. Even so I haven't figured out how to organize the upstairs freezer to fit the stuff I want to keep in it.

I am also finding the two doors of the FD a bit annoying. I chose this over a single door for reasons of space, but think I would prefer a single door.

I'm sure a lot of this is just a matter of having learned how to make the most of the old frig, and not yet having learned how to do so with the new one. I'm guessing I will eventually like this one as much as the last.

I never had an ice maker before. I like having it and so not having to fill and empty ice cube trays. I find that getting ice out of the drawer to be no more or less convenient than it was getting ice out of the bin in my old frig.

The frig was my most difficult appliance choice. It seemed that there were no good ones that met my needs and space. I ended up with a JennAir, which is really an Amana/Maytag (and now Whirlpool.) This came with a lot of negatives. But, knock on wood, so far it has been fine.

If I had no constraints on space or price I think I would probably have separate frig and freezer, each perhaps 30". But that wasn't my world.

I hate my sxs. It doesn't hold very much. I am looking to buy a small upright freezer to hold more things.

Mominthedubc, we have a counter-depth. We actually ended up with this Kitchenaid because it's a few inches taller than the some other frigs, and because the ice maker is in the door. I don't know in practical terms if either makes a real difference space-wise but it made me feel better. ;-)

Here is a link that might be useful: KitchenAid KSCS25FTMS

I think it really depends on your needs as a family, and what kind of storage you are looking for.

In my first house we bought a freezer on bottom unit. It was around the time they were first coming onto the market so it still had the traditional doors. The freezer had a shelf and a pull out basket. I LOVED that fridge! I could fit so much into it and could find things easily.

That fridge is now in the garage in our new house. We needed something bigger so I gave in and indulged dh in a SxS 2yrs ago. I HATE, HATE, HATE it for our needs.

We are a family of 6 and eat a LOT of fresh produce and I didn't like bending over all the time to access the food down there and searching for what I'm looking for. It's deep and narrow (25.4 cu. ft. size) and things tend to get lost in the back and become science experiments.

We are remodeling the kitchen and I'm getting a new freezer on bottom unit again (We are selling the 2yr old SxS, can't stand the thing).

I told dh I'd consider another SxS when they start putting THREE produce bins on the top shelves. I rarely use that bottle of BBQ sauce, the jar of pickles, the mayo, opened jar of spaghetti sauce...etc. but we access our produce drawers several times a day so I want them at arms reach.

It really does depend on your perishable food storage needs and accessibility.

Chrissiemw - I agree about HATE HATE HATE the sxs. We had one in our last house because of where the fridge was (no room for a full-size door to open). When we bought this condo 12 yrs ago, there was another sxs - horrible, too small,and two small produce drawers. FINALLY -- Our new CD FD has not only the 2 produce drawers but that wonderful big third drawer which, in our house, gets the produce overflow. It is a blessing, as is not having to bend all the time to get to it all.

As for organizing the freezer: huh? I love just throwing everything in and seeing what I have. The narrow sxs freezer was not only not organized, I couldn't see anything beyond what was in the front of the shelf. I LOVE my bottom freezer!

I think the 48 SxS are OK for sizing. I used to hate the normal 35-36in SxS

We replaced our bottom freezer with a sxs CD fridge - kept the old fridge in the garage. I couldn't be happier. I hated the way the freezer was not organized, and now I have lots of space for all my stuff. I am still figuring out how best to stash goodies in the fridge, for sure, and I know I will find more tricks as I go along.

But for me, the garage-kept regular fridge is great for when I need wide space (and the freezer is for big ice packs and bread!) and the sxs works wonderfully for the kids and for us. Counter depth is amazing as well and may help with the "lost stuff" syndrome.

Good luck!

As someone else has said, it is really personal and worth identifying how you use/want to use the fridge.

Hest88, thank you so much for that info. Are you happy with this fridge? If anyone has a cabinet depth with ice and water in the door that they like, would you please let me know? Thanks!

I had a side by side in two of my homes and hated them. I only got them because of the look. I now have the regular depth FD (we recessed the wall) also did not want to loose space with the counter depth. I LOVE the French door. Not only does it look nice I can fit just about anything in it. My side by sides could not put a turkey in, or anything large. Would never go back to a side by side.

Mominthedubc, we're generally happy with it.

Pros: keeps the temperature pretty well, and so far the freezer has seemed pretty roomy. Plus, the frig side seems pretty wide for our needs. I have a big stock pot I use each year for brining our Thanksgiving turkey, and that seems to fit fine. I also love the water gauge (which is one of the features that swayed me over to this model) that tells me how many ounces of water I've dispensed. Great when I need semi-precise amounts of water but don't want to pull out my measuring cup. So, for general use it totally suits our needs.

Cons: The ice machine is always shedding ice cubes into the freezer. Not continuously or copiously, but a couple a day isn't uncommon. The frig hum also seems louder than I expected, but then we have a teeny house so everything seems magnified--especially at night! I have no clue how it compares to other frigs in its price range, though. Also, this is the first frig we've had with water in the door, so again I have no real gauge, but the water filter has lasted only about five months and we probably only average about 20-25 oz of water a day. At $75-$100 a filter it's an expense filter to be aware of.

My mother had a freezer on the bottom refrigerator in the 1950's and we liked it much better than the freezer on the top units that were popular; she didn't have to bend over to reach the milk. My husband and I had a 25 cubic foot side-by-side in the 1970's when they were all the rage and which we really liked; the freezer was wide enough to be useful. After a move, we had a 19 cubic foot side-by-side, which was miniscule by comparison, and we hated it. ... We now have one of the early Kenmore freezer-on-the-bottom units and are happy again. Everything fits, is easy to see, and is accessible. We do have a second fridge in the first floor laundry room, mainly for keeping beverages cold and last summer's blueberries frozen. Talk about coming full circle!

Be sure to measure the interior usable space, especially the width, relative to what you want to keep in it. (For example, frozen pizzas usually don't fit in the side-by-side models.) You may want to try fitting some empty containers from items you use regulary into different models to see how they fit, it's surprising how little many refrigerators hold compared with their cubic foot ratings.

Freezer on the bottom is such a better configuration.

One more opinion -- or I should say echo of an opinion.I have my first sxs and it will be my last. I really don't like the narrowness of it. Too much perfectly good stuff has gone to food heaven sitting hidden at the back of one of those long narrow shelves.

If I could do it again, I'd get freezer on the bottom. I don't know about FDs, but definitely FOTB.

I would love to have the French Door rather than a SxS but we also want the water and ice (crushed in the door). We also need a Cabinet Depth ( or Built-in, as a last resort, money wise). I can't seem to find this, does anyone have one or know of a brand?

I had a SxS and I didn't mind it at all. Actually, I still have it - it has been the "beer 'fridge" in our garage for the past 13 years because there isn't a hole in our present kitchen big enough for it.

We're currently planning a kitchen reno, and will proceed as soon as I can find a good GC. I'm undecided whether to put the SxS into the kitchen or stick with the top-freezer model that is currently in there. With two working fridges, it seems such a waste to get a brand new one just to match the range and DW. I'm sure one or the other will die soon enough. We also have a ca. 1950s fridge in a ca. 1960s wet bar in our basement. And a chest freezer in the garage.

I'm really scared by the old adage that "One is a necessity, two is a spare, three is a collection!"

I know I am going to be totally alone in this, but, I vote for the currently unfashionable top freezer after having all three in my life. I was raised with a bottom freezer (pull out)and I can't tell you how many times I had to pull EVERYTHING out of the freezer to get the last bag of frozen peas on the bottom of the drawer. Or the problem where opening the freezer dragged ice cubes across the top and the slid behind the drawer where you could not then shut the freezer without retrieving them. This refrigerator was made in the 40s (is still running- OMG) and from the posts here I can see that the problems mentioned have not been addressed at all.

I currently own a 36" side by side which i HATE, sure I only have to pull everything off of one shelf to find something way at the back, but then putting everything back in such a narrow space is a pain. My husband calls it "freezer tetris." I end up buying things I already have because I have no idea they are buried in the back.

However, all of my apartments had top freezers- and now that I have seen all of the options I would opt for one of those if they came large enough- or separate units altogether. You can see the edges of everything in the freezer and know what/where everything is, and bending down to get things from the fridge is no different than for a sXs, and offers the extra width that is such a problem for sXs.

If i truly had my druthers and were forced to combine it all into one machine I would have a top freezer, a middle regular drawer & door bin fridge and a totally separate bottom fridge drawer for produce. Since I go through that the fastest and nothing would get lost at the bottom (since it is not for long term storage) and it would not matter that it is a jumble of disorganized bags/shapes since that is what produce is no matter where you put it.

Can anyone recommend a good CD FD OR a good CD sxs? (Yay, I'm learning the lingo, ha ha).

I have lived with the 48" sxs SubZero for the last 15 years and I am going with the same thing in the lake house that we are currently building. I just can't picture myself crawling into the bottom freezer to dig things out.

Art....

How has the reliability been in the Sub? What Model? I'm looking to get the new BI-48S ice inside only. Any inside or outside news on SZ

I guess, it's a matter a choice, liking and preference more than anything else. We had an old sxs but my spouse was so much impressed with the new stainless, french door one that well, now we replaced the old sxs with the new french door one. Seems to be working great so far but then again, we cook much more fresh food than using freezer ones and so there are days when we don't have to open the freezer at all.

If you don't want an external water/ice dispenser, the price difference between the sxs and french door ones is not that excessive but I guess you need to have the patience and the knack to sense good deals at stores. Just do your homework and you would be able to easily beat any advertised store prices buy 25%-30% easily after tax.

The depth of the french door ones seems to be a bit more than the sxs ones and so take that into consideration as well. When we were remodeling our kitchen, I missed out on that one but fortunately, the contractor was able to work it out.

Canuck99,

My old Sub is a 590, ice and water in the door. Once I had to have the condenser worked on and once the drain was clogged and was dumping a bit of water into the fridge. Not too bad for 15 years. It's still running great. The new Sub is a 632 w/o the ice and water in the door. At our lake property we don't drink the water and I am having a separate icemaker. I went with the 6 series to save money over the newer line and I bought a floor model which saved about $1200.

Art....

Thanks for the info. We are still in the process of the kitchen work. I could get a floor model 632 and have the kitchen complete or wait 3-4 months for the new SZ. So I elected to get the new design. If I'm going to have it in my main kitchen for 20+ yrs get the lastest and hopefully greatest....

I was sure I didn't want another side by side but when I tried out the bottom freezers at the store I realized I didn't like not having any freezer space at eye level. And the pullout bottom drawer reminded me of the deep freeze we had when I was a kid - where you had to dig around and pull things out to find what you were looking for. Granted some bottom freezers have different configurations to try to address this. I ended up getting a 42" built-in SxS which is much larger than my old SxS and I'm quite happy with it.

I am about to begin a redo and have gone back and forth on this one. I am now leaning towards the 42" sxs although it is more than I would like to spend. My thoughts:
Bottom Freezer- I just do not like the thought of bending down and pulling out that drawer constantly that I will have to rummage through.
French Door- same issue as above- although I do like the ability to have the wide shelves above..still that does not sway me enough.
SxS- I think I am sold. 42" gives me the added room that makes me feel more comfortable. I can put the things that I use most at the easiest level to access in both the fridge and freezer. Now I just have to figure how to pay for it.

Still have not settled on which one- Sub Zero, Thermador, Kitchen Aid, Jenn Air. I THINK there is a Monogram as well.
Comments on this are welcome.

I finally decided on the sub zero 42 inch SXS.

Cppc...

New BI-42S or the existing 42 inch?

Canuck99, If the new model is available by end of August or
first of Sept, I will go with it, otherwise the present model.

I'm hoping and have been told first of Sept or Aug depending on the model. Lots of specs and brohures on the Zub web site so it must be close.

I love the look of the FD bottom freezer and we need ice and water in the door plus Counter depth. There are limited options but KA and Samsung are coming out with new models from what I have read.
The issue is the freezer space is only 5 cubic feet on the new KA model. The sxs is 9...Is the space that easy to use where you can make up for the loss of cubic feet.
Anyone that has any experience with both I would love to hear your thoughts. I have had a sxs for 12 years and DH wants the KA sxs since it is 24.5 Cubic feet. The FD CD will only be 19.8...seems too small.