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Five Styles of Refrigerators

January 14th, 2007 | 1 min. read

By Steve Sheinkopf

Buying a new refrigerator for your renovation? Forget the brands for the moment, there are five styles to choose from: Top Freezer, Bottom freezer, Side by side, Shallow Depth and Integrated. We will look at each:

Top Freezer is the least expensive to purchase and can give you the most capacity within a 30 inch cabinet.
Top Mount

Bottom freezers are more expensive than top freezers, but will allow for easier access and less bending into your refrigerator. You will use your refrigerator 81% freezer 19% on average(who makes these deductions). Bottom freezers tend to be larger with availability to 25 cubic feet and have ice options through the door more extensively.
Bottom Mount

French door bottom freezers have 2 doors for the refrigerator door and one door for the freezer. It is an interesting and popular option, and on larger units the refrigeration part does not swing as far for island installations.
French Door

Side By sides will offer more freezer space than either top or bottom freezers. Water and ice through the door tend to be standards, and side by sides are only available in larger sizes 22-27 cubic feet or widths that are 32.5 or 35.75 inches. GE does have one available at 29.75 inches width.
Side x Side

Shallow depth refrigerators are refrigerators that are less deep, so the sides are not visible. The kitchen with a shallow depth refrigerator maintains a much more linear look with this type of refrigerator. Shallow depths are available as bottom freezers and side by sides only. There are two recognized styles:
Professional with the compressor on the top-
Built-In
or regular with the compressor below like a typical refrigerator.
Counter Depth
Although shallow depth refrigerators have been favorites of the design community for years, they are more expensive and because of the lack of depth are smaller on the inside.


An integrated refrigerator is the newest type of product and fit inside a 24 inch cabinet, so it becomes indistinguishable from a cabinet. The advantage is a very flush and "seamless" kitchen. Unfortunately, integrated is the most expensive refrigerator to purchase, and offers the least cubic footage for the dollar, but it does look cool.
Integrated

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Steve Sheinkopf

Steve Sheinkopf is the third-generation CEO of Yale Appliance and a lifelong Bostonian. He has over 38 years of experience in the appliance industry, and he is a trusted source of information for consumers on how to buy and repair appliances.

Steve has also been featured in numerous publications, including the New York Times, Consumer Reports, The Boston Globe, Bloomberg Radio, the New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, and Entrepreneur, for his knowledge of how to buy appliances and appliance repair.

Steve is passionate about helping consumers find the best appliances for their needs, and he is always happy to answer questions and provide advice. He is a valuable resource for consumers who are looking for information on appliance buying, repair, and maintenance.

Despite being the worst goalie in history, Steve is a fan of the Bruins and college hockey, loves to read, and is a Peloton biker. The love of his life is his daughter, Sophie.

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