French door refrigerators, with side-by-side doors and at least one freezer drawer below, are named after French double doors that swing out from a central point. The fridges are super trendy and can be one of the highlights of your dream kitchen. But all may not be oo-la-la, depending on your kitchen and your specific needs.
Are there pros and cons? You bet! Let’s have a look at French door refrigerators, from the exterior to the interior.
Why do some people love, love, love them? First and foremost…capacity. They are spacious, and who doesn’t want that? Also, the shelves are wider and tend to be quickly and easily moved around, so that’s a big plus. Sometimes you want a tall space to store certain items, while other times the height is not as important. So, if you’re looking for flexibility, French doors are an excellent choice. For those large items, like a turkey, certain types of food or large containers of leftovers, A French door model can’t be beat.
French door models’ design allows you to see all the contents at once, and at eye level. You’re not having to constantly move things around or even remove them from the refrigerator to get to what you’re actually looking for. While top-freezer or bottom freezer models have their advantages, they have fewer door bins than a French door. Why may this be important to you? It can allow you to be better organized with small containers. For most of us, we like anything that leads to better organization!
A handy and money saving advantage of French door refrigerators is that you can open one door at a time, or both doors at the same time. Opening only one door can be more energy efficient and prevents food in the other side from losing its chill. But, keep in mind, if some of the drawers are as wide as the refrigerator itself, you’ll have to open both doors to access the drawers.
Like other types of refrigerators, French door models are available in counter-depth design, so you have the benefit of visual, seamless and sleek configuration.
So, you ask, what’s not to like about French door refrigerators? That capacity that is so great also means the French door models generally are wider, therefore taking up more space. So, if your kitchen is a tad on the small size, you may need to say au revoir to the French models.
The bottom drawer-style freezer of the French door means you may spend more time bending over to reach your frozen goods. This can be inconvenient for some people, and even difficult for those with physical issues that prevent them from bending over with ease.
“So many customers tell us they want a French door because it’s a sleek, very up-to-date look. But we warn them that the freezer section can become a big mess because you’re putting frozen foods on top of each other and some things just naturally get lost underneath,” says Elina Shulyak, co-owner of Budget Appliances.
If some of those “little extras” are a big deal to you, you’ll like knowing that some French door models feature water and ice dispensers.
French door models aren’t for everyone. Keeping track of the pros and cons when you’re considering them will help you make an informed buying decision.