Refrigerator Door Series Part Three: Pairs of Refrigerator Doors

Welcome to my refrigerator door series. This series will consist of several posts showing options for the design of the refrigerator door. My first post of this series focused on hiding refrigerators in a kitchen followed by my second post on single door refrigerators. Click here and here to see those two posts. 

In this post, I will focus on pairs of refrigerator/freezer doors; some are side-by-side while others are separated; some have drawers below while others do not; some match the kitchen cabinets while others are totally different; one has a glass door while the other is a solid doors. Lots and lots of options are shown in the photos below. Enjoy!

Source: The New Smart Approach to Kitchen Design by Susan Maney

 ^In the photo above, is a standard side by side refrigerator freezer. The door panels match the maple cabinets. I think the stainless handles and stainless ventilation piece at the bottom of this refrigerator actually work well because this kitchen has touches of stainless throughout.

 

Source: Beautiful Kitchens Winter 2009

^The refrigerators or refrigerator and freezer shown above with the bank of drawers between is a great look for the right kitchen. This one could have been used in my first post of this series- disappearing refrigerators. I must note that when I see a bank of drawers that tall, I wonder what does one put in the the top few drawers that are hard to reach?

Source: Kitchen Ideas That Work by Beth Veillette 

^The panels on these refrigerator doors shown above do not have drawers below but are designed to look like they are an upper and lower cabinet.

Source: Beautiful Kitchens Summer 2009

^A double refrigerator door design that blends with the style of the kitchen- which has a lot going on. The upper cabinets are a different style and finish than the lower cabinets. The refrigerator is unique unto itself. There is wood panels on the upper walls and ceiling and some sort of stone or tile design for the backsplash. Again, I am not able to see the entire kitchen but judging from this one photo, it seems busy.

Source: Beautiful Kitchens Winter 2009

^The side-by-side refrigerator shown above somewhat disappears as if it is a piece of furniture. I love the thought of having such a wide refrigerator which takes a large kitchen to pull it off.

 

Source: Great Kitchen Ideas a book

^The side-by-side refrigerator shown above is shorter than some others shown in this post which allows for the open shelf above. This is a good example of form over function. The design of the area above the refrigerator is quite handsome but in order to have this look one has to opt for a shorter refrigerator which means less storage room in the refrigerator. It is the preference of the homeowner who is building or remodeling. What would you choose?

 

Source:  Beautiful Kitchens Magazine Spring 2010

^When I turned the magazine page and saw this photo, I had to do a double take. This barn door design definitely makes the refrigerator the focus of the kitchen. What do you think about this one?

Source: Beautiful Kitchens Magazine Winter 2009

^The side-by-side refrigerator shown above is narrow. They may both refrigerators with the freezer being in the four drawers below. Or they may be a refrigerator and a freezer. Another possibility is that this unit represents just refrigerators above and below and the freezer is located in laundry room or butler’s pantry.

 

Source: A New Smart Design Approach to Kitchen Design by Susan Marney

^In the photo above, you will notice that not only is the refrigerator door that of a painted barn scene but so are the kitchen cabinets.

Source: Kitchen Ideas That Work by Beth Veillette 

^I assume the decision for this refrigerator to stick out from the wall unit instead of being flush is so that the door can fully open. Though cost is always a factor, I wish the sides of the refrigerator and the ventilation panel at the bottom that are showing were less obvious. I also think adding hardware to the refrigerator would have been an aesthetic plus.

 

Source: Beautiful Kitchens 2006

^Above is a handsome wall unit that holds either two refrigerators or a refrigerator and a freezer.

Source: Liebherr Advertisement, magazine unknown

^For a more contemporary look, the side-by-side refrigerator and freezer in stainless works well in this kitchen.

Source: Kitchens Book by Chris Casson Madden

^In the kitchen above, the homeowner opted for a more commercial/professional looking kitchen with their choice of refrigeration units.

 

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Source: Kitchen Ideas That Work by Beth Veillette

^Having a glass door on a refrigerator is a cool look, especially this one that has been styled with lots of white items. I am not so sure I would want to see inside my refrigerator on a daily basis. What about you?

Blessings.  …susan

PS Please come back for the 4th post of my series.

Refrigerator Door Series Part Two: Matching Single Door Refrigerators Panels with the Kitchen Cabinets

Welcome to my refrigerator door series. This series will consist of several posts showing options for the design of the refrigerator door. My first post of this series focused on hiding refrigerators in a kitchen. Click here to see it.

This post will focus on matching single refrigerator door panels with the cabinet style and cabinet hardware. Depending on the style of the kitchen, I usually like having a refrigerator door panel that matches the cabinets as shown below. What about you?

Scroll on down for ideas and inspiration! 

Source: Unknown. If you will contact me, I will note it.

^Imagine how different this kitchen would look if the refrigerator door did not match the cabinets.  A stainless refrigerator would totally change the look of this kitchen.

Source: Trend Magazine  Kitchen Issue Volume 25, No. 10

^Perhaps it is the angle of the photograph but doesn’t the refrigerator above sure looks extra wide? Do you think the lower door actually swings open or does it pull out like a drawer?

Source: Kitchen Ideas That Work a book by Beth Veillette 

^The black hardware on this refrigerator door as well as on the cabinets is a great accessory to this bead board look. I like the appearance of having four drawers below the single door  though there are only two drawers. I do not have a photo of the entire layout of this kitchen but it seems to me that the door handle on this refrigerator should be on the right giving you a counter to place items you have taken out of the refrigerator or plan to put in. Though there is one problem with the door handle being on the right which would be the short wall to the left. It would prevent the door from opening more than 90 degrees. A refrigerator door needs to be able to swing open more than 90 degrees in order to clear the door shelves when removing the drawers and shelves.

Source: The New Smart Approach to Kitchen Design a book by Susan Maney

^Another example of the beadboard look is shown above. The island in this photo blocks the view of the entire refrigerator. I wonder if there is a drawer at the bottom of this refrigerator or if the door goes top to bottom?  What do you think?

Source: Great Kitchen Ideas a book 

^I like how the painted panel on this refrigerator matches the kitchen cabinets. However, I wish the cabinet hardware would have been used on the refrigerator.  What do you think?

Source: Beautiful Kitchens Magazine Winter 2009

^I like how this refrigerator tucks in next to the brick wall. The panels are a great compliment to the kitchen cabinets.

Source: Kitchen Ideas That Work a book by Beth Veillette 

^Above is an attractive kitchen wall unit with the refrigerator blending right in.

 

Source: Kitchen Ideas That Work a book by Beth Veillette

^One thing that struck me in the photo above was the use of three different hardware styles. The drawers differed from the cabinet doors and the refrigerator door was yet a third style.  I feel the refrigerator door hardware is a bit small and would not be all that comfortable gripping.  What do you think?

Source: House Beautiful Magazine March 2010

^Yet another beadboard style panel. I especially like the matching hardware with the refrigerator hardware being appropriately a larger size than the cabinet hardware.

Source: Beautiful Kitchens Magazine Spring 2010

^I ran across this magazine photo yesterday. It would have fit nicely in the first post of this series due to the refrigerator being hidden or disappearing.  I wanted to share it with you so I added it here. 

Without actually seeing the entire kitchen, what I do see in this magazine photo is a bit busy. You have upper cabinet doors lined with a print fabric. The cabinet drawers are a different color than the lower cabinet doors. There is natural wood that has been stained behind the open shelves. The island is a distressed black painted finish. The floor is natural stone pieces that vary. There is something on the other side of the island that appears to be a natural stained wood.  On top of all of that, you have distressed wooden beams in the ceiling. What do you think?

Blessings. …susan

PS My next  post in this series will feature double refrigerator doors. Do check back.

Storing Wine In Your Kitchen: Mistakes to Avoid

As a follow up to my Storing Wine In Your Kitchen Series, I want to share with you some mistakes to avoid.

1. Make sure the openings for storing wine is deep enough so that the wine bottle doesn’t stick out too far.

2. Don’t make the opening so tight it only fits the standard size wine bottle (750 ml). The 1.5 liter size wine bottle (magnum) is also very popular and I recommend that your openings be able to fit both sizes.

3. Pay attention to the location of the kitchen windows and make sure sunshine will not shine directly on your bottles of wine.

4. If you store wine behind a cabinet door and want to be able to lock that cabinet, inform your builder/cabinet maker before the cabinets are made.

5. Consider any physical restrictions you might have that would prevent you from stooping over to retrieve wine stored below the kitchen counter or reaching high to retrieve wine stored above the kitchen counter.

6. If you have young children, make sure wine stored below the counter is located behind a door which can be locked with a key or childproof locks can be applied.

7. Though in the series I showed some photos of wine stored above the refrigerator, it is important to make sure the heat generated from the refrigerator motor does not reach that area as it can dry out the cork and spoil the wine.

Source of photo unknown

8. Avoid storing wine above an oven due to the heat that escapes when the oven door is open.

9. Ice makers generate a lot of heat so make sure if you are storing wine near an ice maker it will not be affected by the heat.

10. Spend time calculating how many bottles of wine you will be storing so you do not end up not having enough storage or you end up wasting space with too much storage.  In the photo below over 100 bottles of wine can be stored under the island. If you do not have that much wine, a better use for some of the space would be to add  cabinets, drawers, or shelves for cookbooks.

Source: The New Smart Approach to Kitchen Design by Susan Maney

11. Make sure if you use decide to have individual storage using the criss-crossed design that the wood is substantial enough so it will not split or break.

Source: Kitchen Ideas That Work by Beth Veillette

My hope is that you enjoyed this series- giving you ideas and preventing mistakes!  Blessings.  …susan

PS I forgot my laptop at home when I left town this past weekend so I skipped my Spiritual & Inspirational Sunday Post.