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Original poster

Under counter fridge for a family of 4 - bad idea?

73 replies

Givemestrengthorgin · 21/10/2020 17:07

We are looking to redo our small and oddly shaped kitchen that was designed by the previous owner. We have very little workspace but could gain more by replacing our tall fridge/freezer unit with an under counter fridge and having the freezer and an additional fridge in the garage. The garage isn't integrated but easily accessible just by nipping out the back door. So we could store longer term or less frequently used fridge items in the garage and just have daily use items in the kitchen. I'm so desperate for counter space that I'm convincing myself it will be okay.

Can anyone with an under counter fridge tell me how they find it? There is four of us in the house.

Thanks!

OP posts:

SuperLoudPoppingAction · 21/10/2020 17:11

I'm thinking of doing this too. We have implemented the freezer part of the plan already. It's not too much bother going further afield for frozen goods. It's fitting our fridge things on 3 shelves that worries me. We have a lot of cheese.

I recently cleared out the fridge though and we did have a lot of superfluous things in there. I somehow had 3 sourdough starter jars.

Primotomb · 21/10/2020 17:15

We're a family of 4 too, with an undercounter fridge. Our old/ancient fridge was fine but when that gave up the ghost I found it impossible to find a replacement with the same internal space. For some weird reason fridges with the same external dimensions had much less usable interior space.

So I'd say gave a look at some fridges "in person" if you can before deciding.

DH is also terrible at bending/crouching to look for stuff/put stuff back in right place so we'd end up with things randomly shoved everywhere.

Can't wait to move to house with bigger kitchen and get my side by side fall fridge and freezer

quelquechose · 21/10/2020 17:18

I wouldn’t like it. I had a small fridge when my DCs were younger (three of them and me, so a family of four). I still love the luxury of my bigger fridge now I have moved. For me the freezer space was very limiting as I couldn’t batch cook as much as I wanted to.

You will need to shop more regularly

You may not be able to stock up on eg butter/ cheese etc on offer

But these things may not be an issue for you. How old are your DCs? Now mine are older they eat A LOT and I would not be able to fit a weekly shop in a small fridge.

NaturalBlondeYeahRight · 21/10/2020 17:18

We did when we had our kitchen done. It’s fine, I wouldn’t necessarily do it next time if possible but it does the job. You need to be quite organised - I’m not and I do forget to use things before they go out of date when in outside fridge freezer.
The extra counter space is very nice. We are a family of 4 as well.

MJMG2015 · 21/10/2020 17:19

Noooooiooooo

You'll hate yourself it's not worth it to gain 60cm more worktop & I say that as the owner of a ridiculously small kitchen without sufficient worktop.

I 'made do' with an under counter for several years between buying & renovating the kitchen. It's still not renovated but at the beginning of lockdown I decided I needed more space in the fridge & some freezer so space (not your issue I know as you have a handy garage)

It's currently still sitting in the bloody way as it can't go where it belongs until the kitchen is refit, but despite that I love it. Nothing could persuade me back to an undercounter. Nothing. Certainly not 60 cm of worktop (and in my case 1 wall cupboard too)

That way madness lies.

quelquechose · 21/10/2020 17:20

If you have access to separate fridge/freezer it will be much easier and may be worth it for the extra counter space.

AdoreTheBeach · 21/10/2020 17:22

I was going to advise you not to go that as I did it in my last house - had under counter fridge and under counter freezer. They were minute. Was such a problem.

However, as you will have an additional fridge and a freezer is fairly close proximity - AND your desperate for space, go ahead

Know though find time to sell, others may have an issue with that. Just keep it in mind and advise how easy it is to have an upright fridge freezer if they so wish.

RunBackwards · 21/10/2020 17:23

We had an under the counter fridge for our children's (2 boys) entire childhood. I didn't go for a bigger one until they were grown up. It wasn't an issue with capacity that made me change it, it was the way I was reminded I'm now married to an old man by the groaning everytime DH had to get down to look in it or put things away

We did have an emergency overflow (old) fridge in the garage though.

DannyGlickWindowTapping · 21/10/2020 17:26

Could you give yourself a bit more space by having a sink "cover" thingy? I have one in my utility, and it's fine as that sink doesn't get used much, but it might be more hassle than it's worth in a kitchen. Like others have said, you'll probably end up with everything stuffed onto the easiest to reach shelf, and the salad crisper bits empty.

AmaDablam · 21/10/2020 17:28

We have a similar set up to what you're considering, though we don't have to go outside to get to our bigger fridge and freezer, they're in a large cupboard in the adjoining dining room. We keep milk and stuff for lunches (ie butter, cheese, ham, salad etc) in the under counter one and everything else in the big one. It's certainly liveable with, especially once you've got a system for what goes where, but as pp's have said, not necessarily what I'd choose. We're hoping at some stage to get the two rooms knocked into one and have an American style fridge/freezer.

Newbeginningsnow · 21/10/2020 17:28

We managed it in an old house. It won’t be perfect but it’s doable and I’d rather have the counter space too.

MissSmiley · 21/10/2020 17:36

If you have access to a big one in your garage I would definitely prioritise work top space in a small kitchen

Means you can keep the treats out of the glare of the kids in the garage too

TheHighestSardine · 21/10/2020 17:36

We have a fridge freezer in the garage. It's no bother at all using both - the undercounter one is entirely sufficient for milk, salad, jam and sandwhichy needs, everything else can go in the other one.

jrb123 · 21/10/2020 17:48

I have an under counter fridge and freezer because my kitchen is in a vaulted cellar and has no wall space higher than 1 metre. I have got used to it, and just keep all non-essential extras in the big fridge/freezer in the outhouse. It's good exercise for me to keep having to pop in and out of the house, although a nuisance when it's raining and/or dark outside. It has made me more organised about what I keep in the fridge and freezer. Counter top space is really important so I'd go for it.

ThinkWittyThoughts · 21/10/2020 17:51

I wouldn't. Not least because it'd annoy me to always be crouching down to look for stuff. Also mean I couldn't put stuff up high so the kids can't reach. But finally if I had any plans to move I think it'd put off buyers.

I know if I viewed a property and there wasn't space for a tall fridge freezer I would discount it.

orangenasturtium · 21/10/2020 17:56

I sacrificed a huge American style fridge freezer for an undercounter fridge and separate freezer outside the kitchen to be able to fit in a dishwasher, eye level oven and extra worktop space. The incovenience is worth it for me.

I have a saver pass for online shopping though so can have 2 deliveries a week. However, I'm in Central London and pass 2 supermarkets on my 10 minute walk from the tube and can get groceries delivered in an hour if need be. I actually prefer more frequent shopping because it means fruit and veg are fresher and healthier and I don't have to worry about short use by dates.

My tip for making it work is to store food in boxes/fridge bins that can be stacked in the fridge eg all the cheese in together in one box, condiments in another. The biggest pain is having to move things to get to something at the back of the shelf in a full fridge, it makes it much easier if you just have to pull out a couple of boxes instead of lots of small items and knock over an open pot of cream onto everything below-.

If you drink a lot of drinks that come in 330ml cans or glass bottles, it is a nightmare though. A six pack of beer or coke will take up half a shelf.

AriettyHomily · 21/10/2020 18:00

The space in my tall fridge freezer fridge part is probably the same as an under counter fridge? Four shelves and a salad drawer?

Minibea · 21/10/2020 18:06

We inherited an under counter fridge when we bought our current house and I hate it. I find it is v tricky to work out what’s in there and we always find forgotten stuff at the back in a revolting condition - we never had that problem with our tall fridge freezer at our old house. I also don’t think it hold v much because the shelves aren’t full depth. We also have an user counter freezer and that’s fine because the drawers pull all the way out so you can see what’s in there.

HowFastIsTooFast · 21/10/2020 18:11

I'd think that the garage fridge would start to become a pain after a while, we would constantly having to crouch down and scrabble around in an under counter. If you're having the kitchen redone from scratch could you have something like this put in for extra food prep space?

Under counter fridge for a family of 4 - bad idea?

Wheytaminute · 21/10/2020 18:17

It depends what you need to keep in the fridge, and how much space you have on the worktop for other things. Eg eggs and butter are not refrigerated in my house. We don't use milk, beer is stored in the booze fridge...

I have a full size fridge freezer but I wouldn't say its huge so I do have to think about how and what to store in there.

Iamanaubergine · 21/10/2020 18:18

We have a small kitchen and used to have an undercounter fridge and freezer, but when they both gave up the ghost we replaced with a full height fridge freezer (sacrificing some worktop) and I would never go back!

HowFastIsTooFast · 21/10/2020 18:22

@AriettyHomily

The space in my tall fridge freezer fridge part is probably the same as an under counter fridge? Four shelves and a salad drawer?

I think it depends on the models. I had an under-counter in my last flat and it was much smaller than the fridge part of my fridge-freezer is now. I have 3 generous shelves, loads of room in the door and 2 salad boxes, I used to have 2 shelves and a salad tray with narrow door shelves and one of those pointless freezer compartments you can just about get 2 chicken breasts and a pack of sausages in.

Horrible76 · 21/10/2020 18:22

I think it's doable but I'd like a chest freezer in the garage. Or even a back up fridge.

banivani · 21/10/2020 18:25

With extra appliances in the garage - absolutely, sounds completely doable!

TerribleCustomerCervix · 21/10/2020 18:25

Don’t do it!!!

Our new house has a under the counter fridge and I fuuuuuuucking hate it.

There’s 4 of us, 2 of whom are toddlers, and we can barely fit in a week’s shop. It has to be carefully organised like Jenga to get everything in, and there’s still no room for fruit and veg.

We’re about to buy a proper fridge freezer to put in the utility to store stuff like fruit juice, extra essentials like milk and butter so we aren’t running to the shop every few days.

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