i couldn't do it. even with two people i'd hate opening FOUR different drawers to find something ...unless you have a map. and i don't know what your situation is but i see this as a killer for resale.

for a fraction of the $, get $200 fridges and try out first. Buying drawers is a lot more money. There are many small fridges (less than 36"h) in that price range. In Manhattan there are many kitchens with one or two of these. In terms of fridge up till now Danvirsse you haven't written what you or this house has been doing so far.

Take a look at the total cubic feet of storage you'd have. Then hit an appliance store and check out a comparably sized traditional refrigerator. Could you comfortably live with a refrigerator that size? Also give consideration to whether you could store a large roast, a turkey, or a full sized cookie sheet inside of it. Good luck with your decision!

I think you would get more utility out of a tall narrow fridge than a bank of drawers that would take up at least 48"-60" of undercounter run, depending upon manufacturer. You could get a 24" wide tall fridge like a Leibherr that gave you the same freezer space and more fridge space at around the same price point.

I do have drawer freezers and like them a lot, so I am not anti drawer, per se.

A lot will depend on your budget, as you're easily talking 30K worth of refrigeration there. I can see doing this as a sort of mis en place type situation, where you have multiples of the same item in different locations because of function. Such as you need milk located close to the snack zone, and one in a fridge located close to the cooking zone, and possibly one in a fridge located close to a baking zone. But, you're talking a lot of specialization of tasks and a large kitchen to be able to successfully do this.

I like Pal's suggestion of at least one small major refrigerator supplemented with drawers elsewhere. When you do a fully integrated model, it's not like they yell REFRIGERATOR like a bulky full sized non integrated one will. What about adjacent pantry or laundry areas? You can put supplemental less costly refrigeration in those locations that will help to de-load the main fridge and it will help to stretch the in kitchen refrigeration so that you may not need as much there are you think you do.

I had refrigerator drawers for years in my old kitchen, and i put freezer drawers and refrigerator drawers in my new kitchen, but also with upper refrigeration. I love them and would never build a kitchen without drawers

That said, the space does not compare. you need several narrow shelves, a drawer is all depth, and, I agree, no one stacks food. I would not like not being able to put things and see things at eye level.

In a word, no.

Thank you everybody for your replies.

Davidrol - We've owned the house since Nov. 30th and been doing such mundane tasks as totally gutting the electricity (mostly knob and tube, some newer, all very scary...) and plumbing. Leveling the 1st and 2nd floors etc. We're now reaching the stage I have to make some decisions so we can rough wire and plumb. We're doing it all ourselves, except for the masons that repointed the exterior, so very slow progress. DH and I both have full time jobs so the house is a weekend thing.

Kateskouros - Very good point about the map. I'm never sure were stuff is now and all we have is an extra freezer in the utility room.

I think we may go with a taller refrigerator only and then a pair of freezer drawers. I'm not sure I can image stacking stuff in a refrigerator.

I would suggest posting your room layout here. Someone may find a way to arrange cabs or appliances in a manner in which you hadn't thought.

I wouldn't enjoy working in a kitchen with all drawer refrigeration. Heck, I don't even like the older style top freezer units as you have to reach and squat down to see into the produce drawers. I like the idea of a 24" all-fridge and some freezer drawers.

Breezygirl -- I'll have to wait until Monday, when I can scan a copy of the layout in at work. We've worked on it quite a bit, and have some "have to haves" like 2 separate work areas. DH & I don't share well, even after all these years.

Thanks for you vote on the all refrigerator/freezer drawers concept. I'm going to the house again tomorrow (like we don't both days of every weekend :) ) and I'll try it out on my full scale layout.

I'd try looking at a 24" fridge only and the freezer drawers. I think I could work with that arrangement for minimal tall space use. Frozen food is easier to stack, but you really need some flat space in a fridge for trays, plates, bowls, with food, etc. Actually, looking around my kitchen, I think the fridge is the one thing that has to be tall -- at least one ovens above counter height would be a close second.

I wouldn't do it. We have refrigerator/freezer drawers in our bar and it was a big mistake. If you ever have some wine left over, you can't stand the bottle up. Ditto for a liter of Coke.

By the way, there was someone who did only undercounter refrigeration in a NYC apartment, but one unit was a mini fridge with a swing door rather then drawers. It's been a while and I can't remember the name but someone else might.

I agree 100% with kateskourous's comments above--yes a potential resale misstep (even if you can make it work, what about future occupants...?) and that it would be a nightmare to find what you needed. Others already made very good points that there are going to be things you'll need to store that simply will not fit in fridge/freezer drawers.

We actually passed on a house we were VERY interested in buying because (in a gorgeous new Christopher Peacock inspired butler's pantry kitchen) they'd only used undercounter mini fridge and freezer units (not drawers.) I was dumbfounded. And it was a deal killer for us.

However, had they at least had just one tall all-fridge unit + freezer drawers, (as lascatx suggested above and it sounds like you are considering?) we might have been able to make it work...

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0423271532414.html
Someone who uses ONLY a two-drawer refrigerator

Here is a link that might be useful: Someone who uses ONLY a two-drawer refrigerator