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

[Givemestrengthorgin]

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!

I thought it would be fine switching from a standard Uk size standing fridge freezer to under counter individual fridge and freezer, it was a bug bear for 9 years! Ended up with an additional freezer under the stairs and have loathed my fridge almost the entire time, nothing fits on the shelves, the tallest thing on the top shelf is a pot of soup and nothing bigger and the other two shelves were two short for even pots of soup. If you've got the secondary in the garage then that's not so bad, but I had to play Tetris every time I did a big shop (especially during the summer with extra fruit punnets). This is a family of 3 btw. So yeah think long and hard about how much you really need in the immediate vicinity and if a fridge in the garage would get annoying!

We have u/c fridge and it’s ok-right but doable ( tho we are contemplating spreading into the old ‘beer fridge’ in the garage). Ours works because it’s a Bosch with slide-out drawers rather than shelves, avoiding the stuff being inaccessible at the back of the shelves. Worth a look.

we have one too it's fine but the only issue is bending down as we're getting old and bad knees

Well, I grew up with one and we managed but I would hate to have it now! I had a house once with a sort of table leaf that slid out from under another bit of the worktop and gave an extra bit of work surface.

I have an under counter fridge and family of four. I manage and don't have the bonus fridge you would. I sometimes get irritated with the tight space, but it's doable, if I had a bonus fridge a short nip away I'd be fine

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.

Same here. We got the same make/model as previously, but it has been updated to be more insulated and have less interior space. It is a real pain with 4 of us at home all the time and trying to shop as infrequently as possible, and I wish we had a bigger one.

How often do you use ice?

We have a second fridge/freezer on a different floor and it is honestly a huge pain. We forget what is in it all the time.

I had an under counter fridge and freezer fitted when I had my last kitchen fitted. There was only 2 of us in the house so thought it would be ok . It wasn't . Both were tiny and so low down . Getting things from the back at the bottom was so awkward. I changed them for cupboards after a couple of years and got a large fridge freezer in the utility room .
We are in a different house now and our new kitchen has an integrated f/f but we also have an under counter fridge which is just for wine and beer , so no problem this time

I have this one and I love it because it's easy access (I also have a tall fridge on the other side of our large awkward kitchen, for things we use less often). Could you put your second fridge under the stairs?

www.appliancesuperstore.co.uk/liebherr-uiko1550-premium-fully-integrated-pull-out--built-in-larder-fridge-5146-p.asp?gclid=Cj0KCQjw28T8BRDbARIsAEOMBcxA07xUkKaoYSDNOmxTTmN8lZ3YoFqYVFea5UbU3HB_lHcoZYqFT34aAnPpEALw_wcB

I've got 2 under the worktop fridges for a family of 4.
That gives us enough room - I shop once a week.
We have a small freezer in the garage (have to go outside briefly) again under the worktop, could really do with a bigger one, but it's good as it keeps us disciplined with not leaving things in there for years!

We're a family of three with a poorly designed under counter fridge. It's a nightmare. We can't fit a weekly shop in it. We don't have a garage so don't have an overflow fridge freezer. We've talked about getting electric to the shed so we could put one in there. I think if you have a good set up in the garage then it would be ok, but still annoying.

I have an under counter fridge, plus another in the garage and it works fine for us.

Sorry, should have said, we’re two adults, two teens & an 11yo.

Under-counter fridge plus one in garage works fine for us. Family of five.

I’ve been thinking of this. Our fridge/freezer is in our porch, and I want a fridge in the kitchen. But lack space! I’ve been toying with the idea of this one:
www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/ncd191i/hotpoint-ncd191i-built-under-fridge?wgu=272125_59032_16033959682442_57e92cd63e&wgexpiry=1611171968&utm_source=Reevoo%20Limited&utm_medium=webgains&refsource=webgains

[quote Saz12]I’ve been thinking of this. Our fridge/freezer is in our porch, and I want a fridge in the kitchen. But lack space! I’ve been toying with the idea of this one:
www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/ncd191i/hotpoint-ncd191i-built-under-fridge?wgu=272125_59032_16033959682442_57e92cd63e&wgexpiry=1611171968&utm_source=Reevoo%20Limited&utm_medium=webgains&refsource=webgains[/quote]
Buy it! You'll love the pull out fridge, they're brilliant!

@MarthaWashingtonsFeralTomcat fair enough. I suppose I fridge everything I like potatoes or bread etc.

We have an under counter fridge and are a family of four. Honestly, I hate it. I am sick of squashing up stuff to fit in a weekly shop. Leftovers barely fit, sometimes we just leave them in a cold place. We also have a tall freezer in the garage and it annoys me everytime I have to go outside and to get something and then return the bag of sweetcorn etc.
It hurts my back whenever I have to gend down to open it.
In our previous house, we previously had an integrated fridge freezer and I miss it.

Lack of worktop space is annoying but I prefer a bigger fridge personally. I try to keep the worktops as clear as possible.
I can't wait to have the kitchen re-done and have a fridge freezer again.

Why do you need the extra 60cm? Is it for food prep or displaying stuff. Can you declutter, remove everything on the counter tops to make more food prep space. I have nothing out at all on mine. Everything is put away after use.

Thanks everyone, this thread is really helpful. I'm thinking it's a bad idea to go for it. I'm tall, 5'10 and think bending down all the time will be too annoying. And then today I realised while making dinner how often I use frozen garlic and that would be really annoying having to nip out and get that while I'm in the middle of cooking. So I'm thinking we need to stick with a tall fridge/freezer combo.

We really need extra workspace as at the minute we have a terribly designed little corner of work space so if someone is prepping food then no-one else can get in to get to the kettle or get anything out the cupboards. It drives me bonkers but I think we have to go back to the drawing board.

I will post the kitchen plans on here once I get them and hope for some mumsnet words of wisdom on design ideas!

Yes please post a diagram! Not a kitchen plan but the shape and dimensions of the room and any windows/doors and other obstacles ... MN collective mind is great at kitchen planning!

We have something similar in our house.
A small shallow fridge fairly high on the wall (built in a cupboard), work surface directly under and small freezer under the counter in kitchen, then a bigger combined fridge freezer in the utility to fit everything else.
You wouldn't know they're there as they're hidden in units but it gives us a lot of workspace still and doesn't look overcrowded. It works very well for us.
Hope you find a design that works for you soon