Well my kitchen is circa 1976 and the fridge is not framed in. I do not plan to frame a fridge in when I redo the kitchen. My fridge is at the end of a galley run and I use the side of the fridge as a message board- I hang the calendar there and have a bin of pens as well as the kid's artwork and school notices. Also, I just don't want to pay for a huge wood (painted in my case) wall. My friends had their fridge die and needed to get a new one. They had a very hard time finding one to fit in their space and the one they got the feet had to be taken off and it still gouged the edges as they had to shove it in. I don't want to deal with that in the future.

I chose not to frame mine in. I know it gives a more built in look but I want the ability to get a different fridge size in the future. For this reason, I also did not have any cabinet built for above my fridge.

I framed in my fridge when I remodeled last summer. Mine is at the end of a U leg which faces the dining room, so I built cabinets next to the fridge that opened toward the dining room.

Enclosing the fridge allowed me to put a cabinet with full-depth pull-outs (like drawers on their sides) over the fridge, and I adore that space.

Enclosing the fridge was tops on my list in my remodel. I hated the exposed sides and dirt gathering top on my last fridge. And I love the added storage space in the full depth cabinet above the fridge now. Having to buy the same size fridge when this one goes out doesn't bother me ... that's one less choice I'll have to make when the time comes.

my fridge is framed in. I love the look and think it finishes up the space so nicely.

not dated at all, imho ;-)

I love non-built-in retro fridges, but mine is designed to have panels on sides (sides aren't stainless like front is) and I'll be doing that.

I prefer framed in. I have designed it with a bit of extra space on the sides and top for clients who are concerned about future replacement, and also for circulation which is required by some refrigerator models.

If refrigerators came more commonly with the sides and front in exactly the same color and finish, I would suppose I would temper my answer by saying it really depended upon its placement in the kitchen. But most new refrigerators seem to be different on the sides, and I think it looks unfinished to have that hanging out in most locations in the kitchen.

Mine's built-in and fully paneled (and framed in the sense that we put a sort of "picture frame" 3" wide around the whole thing. I love it. In our previous home we had a full-size non-built-in that we built an enclosure for.

Mine is integrated (built in and flush paneled on a plane with the rest of the cabinets), and so is my freezer.

Our stainless french door fridge is not framed in, in our 1965 kitchen. Our remodel will not include new cabinets, so we won't frame it in. I do love the finished look of framed in refrigerators, but I'm not upset about the compromise. In our neighborhood it's not a problem to have an exposed fridge. Also I think I'd be a bit worried about restricting our size options in the future (this is our second new fridge in 8 years.)

The side is prominent, at the end of a cabinet run, so I'm working on ideas to do something creative on the side; a message board, or some kind of simple artwork panel to dress it up, if it bothers me.

Mine is integrated with matching panels.

Our is not framed in, but more by accident than purpose. However, it does not bother me not having it framed in.

Mine is framed in. I think it gives it a more finished look.

Mine is framed in. I had the space built a little bigger so I would be able to accommodate a large fridge later (my current one is only 33" wide). It's trimmed out all around so you can't tell it's a bigger space than the current fridge. When we change later, we just need to remove the trim pieces.

We are mid-way through our reno. The old kitchen did not have the fridge framed in and was a very odd size. We had to search and search for a fridge that would fit in the space and had to pay quite a premium for it. The new kitchen will have the fridge in the same place. It will not be framed in as in studs and drywall framed in but we will have a full depth cabinet above it with full height finished panels on each side. We researched the most popular width fridges and made sure we planned in plenty of space to accommodate whatever size we want in the future.

Mine is framed in with a matching door front...I don't like stainless and where necessary, my appliances are black, but I really didn't want a black fridge. The cabinet above is where we put a TV that DH uses every a.m. to watch the news at breakfast...

yep:

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Framed...I, too, checked common fridge sizes and made sure the frame was large enough to accommodate most.

In my primary home, the fridge is integrated and panelled. In the 1902 summer home we are renovating, we bought a retro fridge in turquoise, and she will stand alone on her own wall between two doorways. Of course, the whole kitchen is unfitted.

Mine looks like kitch4me above. It's framed in by drywall on one side (wall next to hallway leading to DR), and cabinets fitted around top and other side. Depending upon the location of your refrigerator, "built-in" doesn't have to mean with expensive panels and trim pieces. It can just be drywall.

Rather than dated, I believe the opposite is true -- most of the modern refrigerators are expected to be in some sort of niche, cabinet or other area. That is why almost none of the stainless versions actually have finished sides. Believe, I've been looking at new fridges for our 2nd home, which is exposed.

Here's the primary kitchen -- in a cabinet with supplementary trim. And the opening is actually built larger than the fridge, to allow good air flow and future upsizing.

Integrated 42" wide w/matching panel doors. Same w/dishdrawers. the only 'standout'appliance is the built in oven/microwave -- which I hate for other reasons!

My SS FD fridge is framed in, with a 2 door cabinet above. IMHO, it just looks more "finished". If you can't do it, then fine. But if you can...

This post was edited by Caya26 on Sat, Apr 12, 14 at 23:50

We re-did our cabinets and framed ours in because my husband didn't like the big gray "monolith" in the kitchen. The sides of our SS fridge are a blah painted gray color. We now have a nice deep cabinet over the fridge instead of the 12" deep one that was there before and pretty useless. The old one had drywall on one side and cabinets and counters on the other. Now it has cabinets and counter on one side and tall deep cabinets on the other (we moved it over and framed it in). It's sized so it should fit another standard fridge when this one dies.

That being said, a freestanding fridge might be a better choice depending on how it looks, the style of your kitchen, and your personal preference.