Choosing a refrigerator is a pretty personal thing. People have different needs in the kitchen, and those needs will determine how they’d like to see and store their food, how much space they need, and how they want to access their frozen items.
When selecting a model that would perfect for your kitchen, you might have a hard time choosing a type of fridge. For a lot of people, that means narrowing down your choices between a French door refrigerator or a traditional side by side refrigerator. These two types of fridge are different in quite a few ways, so your selection will come down to a few personal preferences.
What is a French door refrigerator?
A French door fridge is a fridge that has shorter side by side doors that open at eye level, but the freezer is on the bottom and has its own separate door. When you open the doors you’ll have all of your cold food front and center, and these types of fridges generally have shelves lining the sides that are large enough to hold milk jugs. You also may find a deli drawer or extra drawer for beverages above the freezer.
The bottom freezer compartment on a French door refrigerator is easy to pull out, and you can stack a lot of frozen items in the deep bins.
What is a side by side refrigerator?
A side by side refrigerator, with one side used as a fridge and the other side used as a freezer, has been a popular option in homes for decades. Because an entire side is dedicated to the freezer section, you get more space for frozen items. The refrigerator side has shelves that line the door, and you get space for storage from top to bottom.
How large should your refrigerator be?
The first consideration you should make when purchasing a new refrigerator, whether it’s French door or side-by-side, is size. How much cubic space do you need to store your food and how large of a fridge do you need?
Bigger is often better in terms of storage, and you’ll find that French door refrigerators have a few extra cubic feet to work with inside the fridge. Some models will be significantly larger inside than a standard side by side, so you’ll be able to organize and store food including lunch kits and larger food items like platters.
Freezer size will vary according to your fridge size, but in most cases a side by side freezer will be larger than a French door freezer. That full length size makes it easier to organize your frozen foods as it has shelves that line the compartment. Just keep in mind that the space may be smaller if you have a built-in water and ice maker.
What’s your food storage preference?
Ask anyone with a French door refrigerator and they’ll tell you they love how they can organize food across wide shelves. These shelves allow for stackable storage and shelf adjustment for larger items, and because you can store large objects like milk on the sides of the doors, you don’t take up all the space on the interior shelves.
A side by side refrigerator gives you a lot of shelf space as well, but that space is spread across smaller, narrow shelves that line the entire compartment. That’s why, for many people, these types of refrigerators really shine more in the freezer department than cold storage. If you want to have access to the same amount of space for your frozen items as your cold items, you may want to choose a side by side.
What type of unique features would you like in your refrigerator?
You can find a lot of great features on both French door and side by side refrigerators. The Samsung Family Hub is a French door refrigerator, and with the LCD screen and built in cameras you can take a look inside your fridge when you’re not home. You can also view photos, order groceries, or sync your family’s schedules right on the door.
You can also find models of side by side refrigerators with an extra internal door that allows you to grab your frequently used items easily. Certain models may also have extra crisper drawers and shelves that slide in and out for easy removal of larger items.
Both types of refrigerator are available with in-door water and ice dispensers, and some have panel you can knock to look inside.
French door refrigerator or side by side refrigerator: which type of refrigerator you choose will come down to your personal preferences for food storage and organization. Both types have a lot of great choices, and you can find a full selection of French door and side by side refrigerators right now on Best Buy.
