EXPENSIVE cubic footage. But in some of today's modern topless kitchens, it's the only game in town to get the look without any tall stuff interrupting the horizontal lines.

We have a subzero undercounter fridge/freezer drawer combo. We use it for ice cream and drinks only. I wouldn't plan on storing too much in there. It would not be particularly convenient for keeping a lot of stuff in (too much moving around to access things) plus they really don't hold much...

I have two sets of Uline refrigerator units in my kitchen, plus a beverage fridge in my cleanup/buffet/drinks area. I have another cheap fridge in my utility room if I need to put big pots or trays in a bigger space. I use almost no frozen food so the upper freezer of this cheap fridge is more than enough.
I wanted loads of counter space, and couldn't have it if I had a standing refrigerator in the kitchen. For me, it is simply great. They hold quite a lot, and I like that they are right there--grab a cutting board and you can have the mayo, and the mustard and the meat and the vegetables just at your hand. I also have them filled with specific items so everyone in the household knows that dairy--yogurts, butters, cheeses, milk and so on are in the set "over there" and the meats and vegetables are "over here." These units, plus the beverage fridge that holds waters, sodas and the like keep the traffic a bit diffused--easy to work with multiple people in the kitchen.
I'm not sure it is enough for a large family but for me, it works.

Duplicate, sorry.

This post was edited by vedazu on Wed, Mar 5, 14 at 23:02

We have KitchenAid drawer frigs. Love them. It's in the bar right outside our galley kitchen. Store sodas and beers. They are expensive but we'll do them again at the next house. Drawer frigs and built-in ice maker make for so much function.

I also have two sets of the Sub-Zeros, one 2 drawer fridge, and one 2 drawer freezer. They are the bottom sections of T-700s. I really like them both. They are quiet, very well lit, easy to program, make ice very well, and keep produce better than any other units I've owned. By only opening one fourth of my unit at a time, I find the compressor runs much less, too. The drawers glide so easily that you don't need a big expensive (unsightly) drawer pull. You can order without the icemaker if you don't want it.

The only drawback is the non-standard 27" width, but they have a nice long warranty. I did leave future expansion room next to them if needed in the long, long term. YMMV, but I think they are worth the money in my situation.

I saw a house with a drawer frig in the 2nd floor master bedroom (in a chest of drawers next to the bed)-- they used it for pints of gourmet ice cream! Obviously, no one wants to wander downstairs to the kitchen in the middle of the night when an ice cream craving hits -- brilliant! ;)

Thanks for your thoughts! I wish they were less expensive, as I think we would definitely need four (two sets?). I don't mind keeping less food, and rearranging if necessary- right now our fridge is never full and it seems like a waste of space. We might keep our old fridge in the basement for large items/holiday though perhaps that is not very energy efficient!