Why Choose A Counter-Depth Refrigerator
In this article I’m sharing the difference between a standard refrigerator and counter depth and why I love them!
There’s nothing more annoying that walking into a kitchen and seeing a massive fridge sticking out. Even worse, when its in a newly renovated kitchen! Funny enough, they are often seen in kitchens that are already maxed on size. So what is the standard size of a refrigerator and what is the difference of a counter-depth refrigerator?
Counter Depth versus Standard or Full Depth
A counter-depth refrigerator is just that, the depth of your countertops which is somewhere around 24-25 inches. A standard or full depth refrigerator is around 30 inches. That’s a big difference!
You can see in the photo below a counter-depth fridge is on the left and a standard fridge is on the right. The box of the fridge is what is concealed with the counter depth fridge. The doors are not flush with the surrounding cabinets as they need space to open but it still looks so much better than the standard fridge.
All sorts of wrong
I’m sure this kitchen (photo below) you can see how much the fridge sticks out from the cabinets. You could make a custom cabinet that fits the fridge that would make it look 100% better…or just buy a counter-depth refrigerator!
This fridge in the photo below is all sorts of wrong. It just looks like the elephant in the room! You can see how a standard refrigerator doesn’t work in here.
And clearly the owners thought these two fridges were odd sizes too as I found these photos in a forum asking for help on how to fix it!
This is what the stainless steel fridge looked like when I first toured our house (this fridge and microwave area is currently now our kitchen island!)
If the standard refrigerators at least had a cabinet built around it, it would be much better but it still would stick out too much, in my opinion.
Why is counter-depth not flush to the cabinets?
One question you might be thinking is if the fridge is counter-depth, shouldn’t it be flush with the cabinets?
That would be a custom built-in (or integrated) refrigerator (see an example at the end of this post) Those are flush to the cabinets and usually have panelled doors that fit on top.
The counter-depth fridge sticks out about 1 1/2-2 inches so the doors can swing open.
This is the counter-depth fridge we had in our previous house. You can check out that full kitchen renovation here.
Built-In/Integrated Refrigerator
Here is a gorgeous photo of a built-in (integrated) custom refrigerator. It’s the next step up from counter-depth and if you guessed it’s more expensive, you guessed right!
Is there enough space?
I love a counter-depth refrigerator! But you may be wondering, do we have enough space for all our food for a family of four?
We do have a second refrigerator in the garage but we only just bought it during COVID. We managed fine with just the counter-depth fridge with our family of four. Sometimes it can feel like it’s tight on space but it makes us not so wasteful. I mean, it’s only a few inches so we don’t noticed what we’re not missing! And it does hold a full uncooked turkey no problem.
I hope this helps you decide whether a counter-depth or standard refrigerator is right for your space.
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Nope, can’t give up the interior space in a regular frig. It does make a difference. I debated with my new kitchen and a regular size won out.
I’m glad it works for you, Dee!!
Hugs, Jamie
Jamie, great article. My family has lived with a counter depth refrigerator for 20 plus years. They are smaller, but we couldn’t have a regular frig. We have learned how to store foods efficiently in our refrigerator. Sometimes it can be frustrating, but we couldn’t open our cabinet doors or drawers without it. There is nothing worse than having a huge refrigerator blocking the flow of traffic or sticking out in the room.
I agree, Paula! It just looks like it doesn’t belong. I find we are way more efficient with our food too, we barely waste any. It’s a win win!
Thanks for sharing!
Hugs, Jamie
We live in Canada in a townhouse and the previous owners did a half reno in the kitchen and put a counter depth fridge in. The problem I am finding now as the fridge is getting to the end of its life is that they did not make the opening to hold a full 33″. There are not alot of 30″ counter depth fridges in a lower price range, but lots of options for a 28″! I would like to have that couple of extra cu. ft that the 30″ would give us as the 28″ only gives around 15 cu. ft. Not to mention the big gap I am going to have in my opening with a 28″ unit. Otherwise, I am happy with the counter depth fridge.
That is a nuisance, Sally. I completely get it. Hopefully you can find something at a reasonable price. Appliances are always an investment!
Thanks for sharing.
Hugs, Jamie
Although the ascetics of a refrigerator that I counter depth looks better, the size of the entire wouldn’t work for our family. We just bought a new fridge last month. We went with a 28 cu ft because smaller sizes wouldn’t hold anything, as it is, we still have problems with space in this one. The places you put your milk and condiments on the doors are tiny, barely fitting a gallon of milk. I did mention to my husband we had too big of a condiment collection!
haha yes the condiments can get out of control, right? I think it’s helped us keep our fridge more orderly, that’s for sure! Thanks for sharing!
Hugs, Jamie
Had a very expensive large fridge and we bought all new appliances when our dishwasher broke and bought a matching set – which included a fridge. I chose counter depth this time and as much as I love love love how it doesn’t stick out so much (ugh) whew is it smaller. It’s only the two of us and we aren’t entertaining much since Covid but OMG it hardly fits anything now. I miss my perfectly fine old fridge and cannot even believe what the difference is. Beauty won but boy did we give up function. I guess if I ever get to re-do my kitchen we will have to budget for a large built-in cuz I hate the fridges sticking out and hate the loss of space with a counter depth.
I would have never believed what a big difference it made. But I DO agree with you looks-wise. For sure. Love your choices and tastes!
Oooh yes a double built-in would be the perfect combo, wouldn’t it!? Thanks for sharing, Michele!
Hugs, Jamie
Just recently switched to a counter depth, there are just two of us here, don’t have any issue with the amount of storage. I do quite often Eliminate some of the large packaging of products in the freezer or refrigerator but I’ve always done that. Really enjoy the way it looks in the kitchen, no downside, well worth it.
I do the same, Randy! I’m so glad you love it!
Hugs, Jamie
Another option for those that are building or renovating, is to have the wall behind the fridge framed out to accommodate the extra depth of a standard sized fridge…. We asked for that last minute during framing and now it looks like a counter depth fridge but we get all the space! Win-win!
Hi Brooke,
That’s a great idea if you have the extra space behind your kitchen!
Hugs, Jamie
This answers so many of my questions and the pictures help too. My kitchen is in demo stage now. I’ve moved the location of the fridge (to a corner, next to a fixed wall) and I’ve been having jitters about it. The cabinet guy comes in two days. I haven’t chosen which model of counter depth to go with. Any suggestions?