french door refrigerator freezer With Ice Maker Review
French-door refrigerators blend design and function. They feature elegant double doors that open to reveal a large fridge on top and a freezer drawer beneath. These refrigerators stand out due to their unique features, including through-the-door dispensers as well as higher-end Ice makers.
We contacted Ladina Schopf - an interior designer, architect, and founder of LS Projects - for her suggestions on how to pick the best one. They considered the storage capacity, layout, and energy efficiency among other factors.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The name implies that GE's Profile series targets the consumer who wants to incorporate cutting-edge technologies in their kitchen. This fridge is loaded with features, from an in-the-door Keurig K-cup coffee maker to a clever water dispenser. But these flourishes don't mask mediocre performance, especially in the refrigerator's freezer and an ineffective temperature-controlled drawer. This refrigerator is costly and I expected more.
This refrigerator is a good choice, despite the small blip. It has a large freezer compartment, which is quite uncommon in counter-depth French door refrigerators. Additionally, it can hold a decent amount of frozen food as compared to similar models.
Inside the fridge, there are 17 shelves and compartments. The refrigerator compartment is 18.5 cubic feet, which is typical for a French-door refrigerator at this price. It also has an adequate-sized icemaker packed into the left door, though it's not the biggest I've seen.
You can adjust the shelving in both compartments to create customized storage layout for what you want to store. The interior design of the GE PYE22PYNFS is good-looking, too. The LED lighting is a nice feature, and the in-door storage bins come with a third shelf that folds down so that you can store items that are tall. The drawers are equipped with temperature controls so you can set them for Beverage, Meat or Deli settings. They're easy to open and close, although I found their plastic textured coatings a bit difficult on the fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator has all the features you'd expect from a refrigerator within this price range. This includes Wi-Fi as well as app support and GE's SmartHQ Software. The app, available for iOS and Android devices can let you control your fridge from anywhere in the world, and it has numerous options for customization. It also sends you notifications when the door is unlocked as well as when the fridge or freezer needs to be defrosted, and when the filter needs to be changed.
It would be nice if GE PYE22PYNFS came with Precise Fill it's an option in other GE fridges that allow you to preset how many cups of water you'd like to pour out simultaneously. The fridge shows a countdown to show you how much water remains however it's not as helpful as Precise fill.
Bosch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The Bosch French-door Refrigerator is a striking piece. It's designed to look like a seamless piece of your kitchen. The fridge uses fingerprint-resistant stainless steel, which is a great feature for busy households. It also boasts a veggie compartment that keeps vegetables and fruits fresher for longer and has dual compressors to ensure the best preservation of food. The Ice maker is among the best we've ever tested, and it produces a pyramid-shaped form of ice that is low in water consumption. This refrigerator is ideal for a single household or a kitchenette with an elegant design and top of the best food preservation.
This fridge was rated the top in our Refrigerators Test for a variety of reasons. The freezer temperature remained steady at just above 0°F and never changed more than a fraction - this is crucial to avoid freezer burn. The fridge section of the fridge also did well. It reached the temperature it was set within an hour, and maintained the temperature throughout our tests.
Bosch has a reputation for top-of-the-line appliances, so it's no surprise that this counter depth refrigerator is also a smart appliance that has the option of connecting to your home Wi-Fi network and Bosch's Home Connect platform. This app allows you to control and monitor your refrigerator remotely from your tablet or smartphone. The refrigerator is costly, but offers great features and capabilities at a fair price.
While the fridge is a fantastic appliance but it's important to be aware of the limitations. It has a small shelf space, which means you may have to think creatively when storing tall items. The shelves are not spillproof and can easily be damaged or stained by sharp objects. It's simple to remove the refrigerator trays However, be sure to keep them clean to avoid the growth of mold.
If you're thinking about buying this refrigerator, make sure to also read our reviews of the French Door GE Appliances Refrigerator and the Bosch Bottom Freezer Refrigerator.
LG Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The LG LRFLC2706S is a great counter-depth refrigerator that packs plenty of storage in the frame's compact size. It has a sleek, fingerprint-resistant stainless-steel finish and features thick handles that make them comfortable to grip. The fridge has an ordinary French door layout, with two rows of spill-capture shelving and a set of crisper drawers. The top right shelf can be folded down to give taller items more headroom. There's also a full-width drawer for products from the deli and an inside water dispenser.
One of the best aspects of this refrigerator is that its Ice maker is located in the freezer, making it simple to move the ice to the refrigerator to use as required. The freezer is designed with thoughtful elements, for instance, sliding drawers that help to organize the place of items. It also comes with a large bin that holds plenty of frozen food items and an ice storage bin.
Another awesome feature of this refrigerator is its Smart InstaView panel. It allows you to control the temperature of your fridge as well as lighting using your smartphone. It's a great way to control and monitor your refrigerator, particularly if you're away from home.
But while the Smart InstaView is a neat feature, it does not necessarily add to the overall performance of the refrigerator. The fridge took a bit longer to defrost food and chill it than other models we tried. This could be due to the bigger capacity.
The doors are a different issue with this refrigerator. The handles that are sunken allow smaller people to open them from the bottom. However taller people will have a hard time closing them without slamming. It would have been much better if they came with a front-mounted handle.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX is a good option for those looking to combine the benefits of a French-door fridge's aesthetics with an efficient layout. It has a capacity that is superior to counter-depth models, and it cools evenly. It's also a little less than the top counter depth refrigerator with an icemaker, which makes it a great choice.
Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
If you're looking for a French door refrigerator that won't cost you a fortune and isn't expensive, this Frigidaire is a great choice. It's a basic fridge which may not be as eye-catching like some of its competitors however it has enough features to make it a good choice. Its most notable feature is the adjustable temperature drawer that helps keep food items such as meat and vegetables fresher for longer. It also comes with a huge water dispenser and a decent Ice machine that is fast.
Another nice feature is the "Chill Drawer" that sits over the two crisper bins. The drawer allows you to divert some of the fridge's cooling power directly to this area, so you can keep food items that require special attention. This feature can be adjusted using a slider on the outside of the drawer. You can also use this feature to set a general cooling level for the entire fridge, though I've found that adjusting the general settings tends to produce better results than specific ones.
During my tests, the refrigerator's temperatures were fairly consistent across all areas of the refrigerator. The temperatures in the top, bottom and middle of the refrigerator didn't vary much from 38 degrees. This is a good performance but isn't quite at the top of our rankings.
This fridge has a few other neat features, including a temperature-monitoring display that alerts you to fluctuations and provides a forecast for the day ahead. You can also pair this fridge with a smart thermometer for more precise measurements of your fridge's internal temperature.
The Frigidaire FGHB2866PF's exterior is constructed of stainless steel with a grey-bodied body that has a "smudge-proof" finish. It blocks streaks and fingerprints better than other stainless steel finishes I've tested.
Stephanie Cronk is the executive editor on Reviewed's Commerce/Product Reviews team and oversees the site's buyer's guides as well as product reviews for test products. She has over 15 years of experience in publishing and commerce, primarily digital and retail. Stephanie is enthusiastic about finding and recommending the most effective products for consumers, with a particular focus on home items and tech.