Most appliances have common widths, such as 24″ for a dishwasher, and 30″ for a standard range. They also have fairly common depths of 24″ – 26″ inch so they fit fairly snug in 24″ – 25″ deep cabinets. Refrigerators have a tendency to stick out several inches more, and that's OK since they have storage in the doors, and need room for the doors to open wide and clear the adjacent countertops.
However, over the years we've seen a tendency for refrigerators to get even deeper to handle the bigger capacity consumers have requested. For example, it's not uncommon for refrigerator brands to top out at a whopping 27 cu.ft. for a 36″ wide freestanding refrigerator. Here's a giant 27.8 cu.ft. refrigerator from GE that is not only 35 1/2 inches wide, it also has a 34 3/4 inch depth (not including handles). That refrigerator will stick out about 10″ beyond most cabinets.
In many kitchens this is not a problem. Indeed, this 27.8 cu.ft. GE refrigerator is a popular model. But, if you have a galley kitchen, with cabinets on both side of a narrow aisle, you may not even be able to open the refrigerator and freezer doors all the way!
Counter-depth refrigerators to the rescue. Unlike the full-depth refrigerators, counter-depth refrigerators are typically only 27″-28″ deep. Of course, since they are slimmer than their bigger full-depth models they have less capacity. If kitchen space is an issue, it's definitely worth the trade-off. (I recently bought a fixer-upper, and the existing appliances included one of these 27 cu.ft behemoth fridges. It was a U-shaped kitchen, and I had to turn sideways to get past the fridge and into the kitchen.)
At Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center, you can order full-depth, counter-depth, or even flush built-in refrigerators. Follow this blog, for upcoming content on counter-depth and built-in refrigerators.
