zoey - I had seen this truly integrated fridge at an upscale kitchen design studio that I fell in love with, it looked like a built in armoire.

It doesn't have any vent panels showing, no door frame edges showing, etc. I really liked the look. In fact I became pretty obsessed with it.

As far as we could tell there are only two manuf who make fridges that can do this: SubZ and Thermador. We went with the SubZ. Since we have inset doors, we ended up with a cabinetry rail between the fridge and freezer unit. Ours is not completely installed yet, but here are some pics that may help.

One key feature of the appliance is that the door hinge has to swing as to not interfere with the panel or the surrounding cab frame.

The panels should go on this week, I can post a 'finished' photo then if you like. I understand from the cab manufacturer and my GC that the panel install is 'tricky'. Hopefully all goes well!!

Ricklish,

Sorry to barge. Did you end up going with soapstone countertops?

WoW, Ricklish, now that is going to be one gorgeous refrigerator!! How often can you say that about a refrigerator? The cabintry above is just lovely...you designed this even way better than your insprirational photo. Really nice job and can't wait to see more photos. Thanks for sharing these.

Holy smokes, ricklish! That is one gorgeous refrigerator! I have a single SZ 736 going in my kitchen this week and I only hope is turns out looking HALF as good as yours!! Your brick backsplash is stunning!! Have you posted pictures somewhere else and I've just missed them? I'd LOVE to see more - even of the work in progress! Thanks for sharing the fridge pictures! My fridge has been sitting in my garage for four months and without a doubt it's the one things I'm the most excited about with this kitchen!! :-)

Bosch now makes a fully integrated frig. We are going with this one. It is about $800-1500 less (depending on where you buy from) than the subzero. What to look for if you want fully integrated with no frame or vent showing is to look at how the frig door is hinged.

Can you please let us know how the panel install goes? I purchased the Thermador integrated columns and am curious how "difficult" it actually is. Thanks

Can't wait to see your finished kitchen. Looks great so far!

sugarbreak - yes, we did end up with Mariana Reserve Clear soapstone - I cannot wait!!
{{!gwi}}
They templated a week ago today and we are just waiting on one small lower and upper cabinet that had to be re-built bc the KD measured wrong. Once the lower is done and installed, I'll get stoned!! LOL

mo_sgal & malhgold - I haven't really posted alot of pics yet, but I will soon. I know how much I've enjoyed looking at everyone else's kitchens, so I'm happy to share mine too!

And I'll be sure to report on how the install of the frig/freezer door panels goes - I know my GC is psyching himself up for it!!

Ricklish!
i'm so glad you went to bob at rocktops! your slab is actually a bookmatch to mine! haha, we'll have to compare veins in the installed pieces later.

Your slab looks great! Bob and his crew are amazing. I wonder if he knows how much business he has gotten from this site. lol

Well - here it is! It's all done except for the toe kick and the apron in front of it.

My GC said 'it wasn't so bad.' Took him about a day and a half. He said the install templates included with the doors would have been perfect for overlay doors. The problem with the inset doors was having enough room above the top of the doors to create the appropriate reveal without exposing the lower panel bracket. He did have the panels on and off repeatedly to get them aligned just so. I think they look great!

Here is the DW panel.
{{!gwi}}
Not what I was expecting (I thought the beading would wrap around the panel like it does on the other doors, but was told that it was virtually impossible to do with the beading around the inset panels without making the panel too heavy for the DW. We have learned to accept it as is.

Big day tomorrow, the replacement cabinets (for the ones that were a smidge too big) are due to arrive tomorrow with my GC. Then I'm getting stoned on Wednesday!! Thursday should be the remaining upper cabs and trim work and Friday is the final poly on the floors. Pics to follow!!

Of course, with all the (minor) delays we've had, I'm not holding my breath. But at this point, I'm cautiously optimistic that I could be vacating my temporary kitchen this weekend!! Yipee!!

zoey -- I know you asked specifically about the Sub Zero but because theyÂre "fully integrated" I thought it might be helpful (?) for you to see pictures of how we paneled our (separate) Thermador refrigerator and freezer columns. (They are each 30" wide.)

Our cabinetmaker hired the appliance-install guys to install the panels. HeÂs never worked before with the Thermador units and the appliance-install guys have. As it was, it took them (two strong young men) about three hours to do both of them this morning. But theyÂre perfect! (albeit not quite done: they still need their toekicks and furniture feet, but that won't be happening for a while, I suspect ...)

(My feelings wonÂt be hurt if you say "this isnÂt helpful at all" but maybe to malhgold it might be.)

freezer before panel:

freezer after panel:

refrigerator before panel:

refrigerator (from left) after panel:

refrigerator (from right) with panel:

refrigerator open: (yes, that is a cat on the counter!)

Ricklish, thank you for posting more pics. Absolutely stunning! You certainly accomplished your vision. Your dishwasher panel looks really nice... I guess I am not seeing what it should have been. Looks great this way! And I love, love the upper glass cabinets with the latches.

RMkitchen, I just want to reach in your pictures and caress that gorgeous marble. It is just so beautiful!! Thanks for showing the pics of the thermadors. They are so perfect in your kitchen and I love the design of the panel. Thaks for giving me another option to stew about!!

Kitty is just checking to see which frig holds his dinner!!!

Ricklish and RM - thanks so much for posting these!!!! They both look beautiful. The thermadors are being delivered on Friday. Now I just need a layout so I can get moving here. Both of your frig/freezers are the exact reason we wanted the Thermadors. Can't even tell that it's not just another cabinet. Can't wait to show DH. He was really sold on them!!

Thanks again!!

Ricklish, any pics of your soapstone installed?

Zoey, I just ordered the integrated Thermador for our new kitchen. I considered the SZ, also, but the Thermador door opens at a wider angle than the SZ. The shelves are a little bit narrower, but I couldn't take out the SZ bin without taking out the shelf right above it. I don't know if that is important to you, but just thought I would throw that in the mix. Wish it was installed so I could post some pics! Both of the integrated fridges that were posted look fantastic!