Which Do You Prefer: SideBySide, Freezer on Top, Freezer on Bottom

[GeoGeo]

We need a new refrigerator. Which do you prefer sidebyside, freezer on top, or freezer on bottom? Any other comments about why welcome.

[KayakerNC]

SbS.
Best of both worlds for me since I'm too short to see everything in a top freezer, and bending over to get into the bottom freezer is a back-breaking experience.

[N44125]

Freezer on top.......

[raynan]

Freezer on bottom. I had SBS for years up north and you can't fit large items such as turkeys, pizzas in the freezer. The icemaker itself and then the unit to dispense water and ice through the door take up an incredible amount of space. 2 years before we came to The Villages we switched to a French door style. BIG improvement. Up north we didn't have the ice and water thru the door, down here we do. You're in the fresh food section the majority of your time so everything is up where it is easy to reach everything.

[Loudoll]

Oh we ain't got a bar-rel of mon-ey, maybe we're ragged and fun-ny...sorry
Side by Side

[sunnyatlast]

Freezer on the bottom, IF it has sturdy dividers and a pullout drawer within that is truly a drawer and not just a flimsy wire rack like many have.

Having the entire top two-thirds with french doors at +/- eye level is better because we look into the refrigerated part probably 10 times for every 1 time we look into the freezer.

[theorem painter]

Freezer on the bottom. We have had 2 and I would never go back to freezer on the top. Side by sides seem too narrow to me.

[jebartle]

We have French-door on top which is perfect when you have large trays to store.

[duffysmom]

Love the french door refrigerator. Will never go back.:a040:

[CFrance]

Freezer on bottom. I had SBS for years up north and you can't fit large items such as turkeys, pizzas in the freezer. The icemaker itself and then the unit to dispense water and ice through the door take up an incredible amount of space. 2 years before we came to The Villages we switched to a French door style. BIG improvement. Up north we didn't have the ice and water thru the door, down here we do. You're in the fresh food section the majority of your time so everything is up where it is easy to reach everything.
Yes. Definitely, for us. We've had all three and def. prefer the freezer on the bottom and French doors for all your reasons. Plus... we don't share well, so my side's on the right, and husband's side's on the left! (He over-condimentalizes...)

[cordenny]

We have a LG french door freezer and love it!! I can fit so many large items in the bottom drawer. I also have a drawer. I can fit double in the bottom freezer than I did with the side by side. We also have the ice maker on the inside of the door so it doesn't take up room and you have the shelves in the front.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Up north I had a freezer on the top and then bought a freezer on the bottom. We loved it.
Down here i have a freezer on the top because it came with the house. If I buy another house I will have a french door freezer on the bottom with ice and water on the door.

I looked as side by sides when I bought my new refridgerator up north and as has been mentioned here it seemed like they weren't laid out very well and you couldn't fit large items.

Having the freezer on the bottom is a big plus. Most of the time you are in the refridgerator section and everything is much more accessible. Have to bend to get to the freezer section was never a problem plus you can look down and see everything you have quite easily.

I love the idea of a french door with freezer on the bottom

[doodah]

I've had all varieties. Freezer on the bottom is the best.

[Barefoot]

SbS.
Best of both worlds for me since I'm too short to see everything in a top freezer, and bending over to get into the bottom freezer is a back-breaking experience.
We have two fridges. One is a bottom freezer and one is a side-by-side.
I always wanted a bottom freezer. Now I have it and don't like it one bit. It is much too hard to access what is in the freezer.
I much prefer the side-by-side for the reasons listed by Kayaker.

[GeoGeo]

By the way, in another post I mentioned by old Kenmore side-by-side had the slot for the pizza. I just was at Lowe's in Leesburg and saw a Fridgidaire (spelling?) side-by-side that had the pizza slot. It is next to the ice maker. I don't know if any other brands have that feature and I don't know if the Kenmore brand does it any more or not. But if that is important to anyone there is at least one that does have that feature.

Anyone have opinions on the GE side-by-side. Have had these in the past and liked. But things change.

Had a sales guy tell me that ALL refrigerators are made to last only 3 to 5 years now. A few years back they last 10 years and he said the new ones only 3 to 5. That was scarey to know. Big purchase every half-a-decade.

[CFrance]

By the way, in another post I mentioned by old Kenmore side-by-side had the slot for the pizza. I just was at Lowe's in Leesburg and saw a Fridgidaire (spelling?) side-by-side that had the pizza slot. It is next to the ice maker. I don't know if any other brands have that feature and I don't know if the Kenmore brand does it any more or not. But if that is important to anyone there is at least one that does have that feature.

Anyone have opinions on the GE side-by-side. Have had these in the past and liked. But things change.

Had a sales guy tell me that ALL refrigerators are made to last only 3 to 5 years now. A few years back they last 10 years and he said the new ones only 3 to 5. That was scarey to know. Big purchase every half-a-decade.
Isn't that the truth! In 1972 we bought a Westinghouse 24 cubic foot fridge (freezer on top) and finally ditched it in 1990, by which time it was in the garage but still running like a champ.

[Topspinmo]

Side by side from me. I prefer two small doors to one wide swinging heavy door.

[kstew43]

side by side, and heres why.....the freeze has shelves, easy to see what I have and get it out..

french...lower freezer reminds me of a deep freeze. food just piled up on top of each other...what do I have and where is it used to be a big issue for me.

[Judith Ann]

We now have side by sides in both of our homes. I would much prefer not to have them. When we have company, and I am cooking ahead, I find I just don't have the space I once did in the refrigerator area.

[rjm1cc]

Freezer on bottom. Used less often. A little harder to get food in and out as it is on top of other food. We have two pull out baskets in the freezer. Full width of ref. This helps with storing food.
French door top
Ice maker takes up a lot of room
Has water and ice dispenser built in.

[leftyf]

I have to vote for the side by side too with ice and water through the door. A friend of mine bought a house with the French Door style. He tried to use it for about a month, it now sits in the garage and he bought a side by side for the kitchen.

[jblum315]

Don't buy a side by side. There's not width enough in the freezer for even a pie dish. I have a French door bottom freezer that I like more than any fridge I've ever owned. Yes, things get a little congested in the freezer, but it does have compartments and a slide out drawer s o you can organize stufff

[GeoGeo]

Looks like it all boils down to personal preference. Leaning toward going back to having a side-by-side, as that is what we have had the last 3 refrigerators. I have issues with bending over, so in the freezer I can put my stuff on top. With a french door I would have to bend. And in our house whatever I wanted would be on the bottom. Almost hate getting rid of our refrigerator knowing that they only make them to last 3-5 years now. Looked at a GE since we have had a couple of GE that we liked very much. We don't do party trays, so that isn't an issue for us. Decisions, decisions.

[upstate]

Freezer on the bottom.

[rdhdleo]

Had them all, big NO for side by side, can't fit anything large in them, hated mine. This year we got a big french door with freezer on the bottom and water and ice in door and love it, will never have anything else. I love all the space I now have, never a problem fitting anything in it and shelves pull out and adjust.

[KathieI]

UGH!! I'm going through this dilemma right now and suffering over it. Had a SBS in Hadley house and it ran beautifully and was a good refrigerator. Had no problem with freezer side being too narrow but have always loved the french door concept with bottom freezer. However, with my newly acquired spinal stenosis, I don't think I'm going to like pulling out a heavy freezer drawer and having to bend down every time to see what's in it so I've been looking at the 2 drawer concept with french top but they are sooooo bloody expensive, can't see investing that much money only to have it last 5 years??? Think I'm leaning towards SBS again but will definitely do a study on the dimensions to make sure I don't get a more narrow freezer section than I had before. You have to be so careful and double check everything these days... Maybe its because we have toooo many options???

[buzzy]

One thing that drives me nuts about side by side freezer is the number of times stuff comes tumbling out onto the floor when I am reaching for a package of meat or bag of veggies. Frozen foods just don't stack well, and sometimes I get an avalanche. That does not happen in the bins of a bottom freezer.