Just Chill

I am annoyed. At refridgerators. We've been shopping for a new one, and they all suck. Or they're too expensive.

No, our current fridge isn't dead. But it's on life support. Every month or two my husband pulls out a hair dryer to defrost frozen-over coils. We had to repair it another time, a couple of years ago, for the same symptoms. That time, the auto-defroster cycle wasn't working right, so the fridge just quit auto-defrosting and first frosted over, then quit chilling. Like every appliance repair experience I've ever had, it was exceedingly painful to fix--involving the repairmen not showing twice, and somehow ordering two parts. This time, we're not under warranty.

Since having kids, I've been wanting a bigger fridge. This one's not teeny, but once you add two gallons of milk, grapes, eggs, yogurt, and some leftovers, we're bulging at the seams. And, it's a side-by-side, which means that I can't fit anything wider than a 2-liter into the fridge side. Not really, but it definitely won't hold a round platter or a cake box. And, our fridge space is up against one wall, so the fridge-side door won't open very wide, further restricting what we can get in and out. Very annoying.

So, we're lightly fridge shopping. The problem is, if we want a big fridge (around 25 cubic feet), then our options are either another side-by-side, or a french door. The french door ones are tempting--nice, big, wide sections that would hold a large item. But we have the same door problem on the one side, which makes some of the interior drawers in those big fridges not accessible.

What I really want is a 25 cubic foot fridge with a bottom freezer and one large refridgerator door that can be changed to open away from the wall. But no one makes those.

To make things even more aggravating, either we go with another side-by-side, or pay around $1000-$1500 extra for an equivalently featured french door one. And I just can't bring myself to fork over premium money for something that really isn't right for our space.

Of course, I've whined enough previously about renovating my kitchen. Wanting to rennovate my kitchen, I should say. Because the how/when/how much is so far up in the air that it looks like another moon. The fridge-wall-conflict is one of the design flaws I'd really like to fix. And I also hate to pay a premium for a fridge that may or may not work with my (hypothethical future) kitchen layout. If money were no object, I want a huge built-in (like a Sub-Zero or Wolf or Kitchen Aid), at least 48" wide. You know, one of those $6-10,000 ones.

A girl can dream.