Do you play a full size cello? ;)

I don't know about the Liebherr, but the other day I was looking at a Thermador column, and I couldn't reach the top shelf. I'm 5'2".

Sometimes you can work around this. I know someone who uses the top shelf for storing wine bottles placed on their side (they don't drink every night) and then the next glass shelf from the top is placed fairly low for taller items.

We ended up going with the Liebherr for this reason. We looked at the Thermador Freedom and the Bosch Integra. I am 5'8 and it was a bit of a stretch for me to get to the top shelf, but I could. I was concerned that my youngest son, who is 5'1, would not be able to access the top shelf. The Liebherr is also tall, but the top shelf is more accessible than the others.

I would think that for someone who is 5'2, all of these built in refrigerators will be a bit difficult to easily access the higher shelves. You may want to consider a counter depth.

My Liebherr is just 10 days old and I am barely 5'3" on a good day. I really love this new refrigerator--I selected it with many thanks to the Liebherr users who posted such great comments on this website (thank you) after agonizing for more than 2 months over other refrigerators that did not meet any of our size and functionality requirements.

I have not used the very top shelf yet--but I could not reach the now-missing cabinets over the old refrigerator anyway. The 30" has so much useable space that I have not had to reach any higher than the bottle section on the top. Granted my old refrigerator was a SxS, but we have been able to pack the food well without resorting to the top yet.

The butter keeper is a bit more of an issue, but in light of how perfectly the refrigerator met all of our other needs, I can live with it. The dealer thought we could move it down to a lower spot, but the configeration of the shelves did not work. I expect a few butter accidents, but we have a non-breakable butter dish.
Good luck!

pluckymama the 36" Liebherr is a counterdepth freestanding model, it's not a built-in. Even the intergated model is not a built-in, although it fits flush to the counter.

I'm torn between the Liebherr and the new 72" Kitchenaid. There are positives and negatives to both:

Liebherr 36"
------------
+two compressors
+double freezer drawers
+bigger produce drawers
-hard to access top shelf and top door basket
-expensive

KitchenAid 72" tall 36" wide
----------------------------
+in door water dispenser
+easy to access top shelf and top door basket
+cheaper
-one compressor
-doors don't close easily
-not as well-built

Also, according to the Liebherr usage guide, that top shelf is the "deli" shelf, since there is no deli drawer, and the top door baskets are for butter and cheese.

I'm 5'3" and love my 30" Leibherr. I'm using the top shelf for pickles and things like that: they're all lined up at the front of the shelf, where I can reach them, but they're out of the way. Plus, I don't need them often and am determined to to let them accumulate anyway.
I've found the wine rack to be ideal to store bags of coffee (I don't usually have 6 bottles of wine in there at a time). Then I can slip small, low containers underneath, or stuff like deli meat, etc, packets of bacon.

I generally store cheese in a box on the shelf, not the door, so I'm using the lidded compartment in the door for eggs - an egg box fits in there nicely.

My family all though we were crazy getting such a tall fridge, but we're proving them wrong.

yoyomama, since the 36" model isn't out yet, it is hard for all of us to truly determine if it is right for us. I did get to see the Thermador and the Bosch. Even at my height, I was surprised at the reach for the top shelf. I thought to myself at the time, "who are they making these for" as the majority of women are not my height. I didn't have any problems reaching the Liebherr 30" or their 48" at the store.

If you can see one of the other Liebherr's and the reach is ok, the 36 inch will most likely be ok, too. If it isn't I'd look at other CD refrigerators, like the Jenn-Air, or the GE Profile as well as the KA you mentioned.

Believe me, I have debated each of my appliance decisions so I know what you are going through. I heard the Liebherr 36 inch should be in the stores mid August, so hopefully you'll get to see it before you have to make your decision. Good luck.

Glad to see this conversation come up as I saw and experienced the Bosch and had a small panic attack. I would have needed to drag out the step ladder to use that fridge and I began to wonder if the same would be true of the Liebherr.

I figured I could keep wine and mineral water on the highest shelf, but the balance of the fridge compartment is so filled with drawers, I wonder how much open space will be left. I do need lots of room for produce, so the big bins would be good for that.

I am getting a bit nervous about the continual pushing out of the delivery date. Late June, then July, now August...? There may come a point where I need to consider alternatives because the new 36" just won't be here in time. I may go back to the Sub-Zero just because I know it works for me. But even that may be a challenge re delivery dates.

Oooh, this is getting old...

My wife was turned off by the Thermador Columns due to being 5'2". She said why should I need a button to lower the top level.

The Miele also was higher than was comfortable. The new and old SubZero's were at the correct height so quess what we are looking at very closely....

Well, I guess there are short people, and then there are short people. At this height every inch counts. I can see how someone 5'3" would find the 30" Liebherr usable, but for someone 5'0" that's just pushing it. Maybe with tippy-toes you could reach the very bottom of the top shelf or something.

I'm assuming that the coldest part of the Leibherr refrigerator is the top shelf, which is why that is specified as the deli shelf. To not be able to use it as it's suposed to be used would be a little disappointing.

However, according to the specs the 36" Liebherr is almost 1" shorter than the 30" so maybe it'll be doable after all. I just hope the doors close with a tap instead of push needs by most other french door models.

My DH loved the Liebherr, at just under 5 ft I laughed at him!!! No way could I reach. It was the 30 inch we looked at.

Okay, I just got off the phone with Liebherr in Ontario. He had called Germany this am for me and the report is that the highest shelf sits at 67" and is 22" deep. My current fridge's overall height is 66", so access to things on top of my fridge approximates access to the top shelf in the 36 Liebherr. This is not good.

If one lowers the shelf, then you have a bunch of dead space above and less storage in the area that remains.

I am sad to say that I will probably be buying a Sub-Zero again because I know it works for me. Oh well... Maybe I'll come back in my next life 5'8". Yeah, and skinny, too!

I also talked to someone from Liebherr today, and he also told me it's 67" from floor to the top shelf, but he also said that it's 3" lower than the 30" model they have, so this might work out after all.