French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
Melding form with function, French-door refrigerators come with stylish double doors that open up to an expansive fridge on top and freezer drawer below. These refrigerators stand out due to their special features, like through-the-door dispensers and higher-end Ice makers.
We consulted Ladina Schopf - interior designer, architect, and the founder of LS Projects - for her advice on how to choose the right one. They considered the storage capacity, layout, and energy efficiency, among other features.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
As the name suggests, GE's Profile series targets those who want to incorporate cutting-edge technologies into their kitchen. This fridge has them all, from a Keurig K cup coffee maker in the door, to a clever dispenser of water. But french door fridge freezer don't mask mediocre performance, especially in the refrigerator's freezer and an ineffective temperature-controlled drawer. Given that this fridge costs a premium, I expect better.
Aside from that blip the fridge is a great choice. It has a huge freezer compartment that is not common for counter-depth French-door refrigerators. It also has a large capacity for frozen food, which is a big difference from other models.
The fridge has 17 shelves and compartments. The refrigerator compartment has 18.5 cubic feet of space, which is roughly on par for an French door fridge costing this much. It has a decent-sized freezer in the left side. But, it's not the largest one I've seen.
You can adjust the shelves in both compartments to create custom storage setup for the items you need to store. The GE PYE22PYNFS's interior design is good-looking, too. The LED lighting is an appealing touch. The bins for storage inside have a third shelf which can be folded down to store tall items. The drawers come with temperature controls, so you can set them to Beverage, Meat or Deli settings. The drawers are simple to open and close, but I found the plastic's textured coatings to be a bit rough on my fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator includes the full suite of features you'd expect from a fridge at this price that includes Wi-Fi as well as app support through GE's SmartHQ software. The app, available for iOS and Android devices allows you to control your fridge from anywhere in world, and it has a ton of customization options. It also gives you notifications when doors are left open, when your fridge or freezer needs defrosting and when it's time to change the filter.
It would be great if GE PYE22PYNFS could offer Precise Fill, an option found in a few GE refrigerators that allow users to choose the number of cups they would like to pour out. It also has a countdown feature on the fridge's display to show how much water you have remaining, but that's not as helpful as Precise fill.
Bosch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
Created to appear like a seamless piece of your kitchen, Bosch's French-door refrigerator is one of a kind. 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 longer, and two compressors for maximum preservation of food. The Ice maker we tested is one of the most efficient and produces pyramid shaped ice using minimal water. This refrigerator is the ideal choice for single household or kitchenettes who want a built-in look and top of the line food preservation.
This refrigerator was rated as the best in our Refrigerators Test due to a variety of reasons. Its freezer temperatures remained constant at just above 0°F and never changed more than a tiny fraction - this is crucial to avoid the risk of a freezer burn. The fridge section of the refrigerator also performed well. It reached the initial temperature set within a matter of hours, and maintained the temperature throughout our tests.
Bosch is a household name known for its high-end appliances. It's therefore no surprise that the Bosch counter depth refrigerator can be connected to your home Wi Fi and Bosch's platform Home Connect. This app lets you monitor and control your fridge from your tablet or smartphone. The refrigerator is expensive, but it offers excellent features and functionality for the cost.
While the fridge is a fantastic appliance however, it is important to understand the limitations. It has a small space for shelves, so you'll have to think creatively when storing tall items. The shelves aren't resistant to spills and are easily damaged or stained by sharp items. The trays are easily removed from the fridge. However, they must be cleaned regularly to prevent the growth of mold.
If you are considering this refrigerator, be sure to read our review of the French Door GE Appliances Refrigerator and the Bosch Bottom Freezer Refrigerator.
LG Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The LG LRFLC2706S counter-depth fridge is a great choice for those who need a lot of space in an extremely compact frame. It has a sleek, fingerprint-resistant stainless-steel finish and features thick handles that make them comfortable to grip. Inside, the fridge features a standard French-door layout with gallon-sized door bins at each door as well as two rows of shelves for spill-capture and a set more spacious drawers. The top right shelf can be folded down to give taller items more headroom. You'll also find a full-width drawer for deli and an inside water dispenser.
One of the great features of this refrigerator is that the Ice maker is located in the freezer, making it simple to move frozen ice to the fridge to use as needed. The freezer also comes with innovative design features like sliding drawers that can help you organize your belongings. It also has a huge bin that holds plenty of frozen food and an additional storage bin for ice.
Smart InstaView panel is another cool feature of the refrigerator. You can control the temperature, lighting, and other aspects of your refrigerator from your smartphone. It's a good way to control and monitor your refrigerator, especially if you're away from home.
However, while the Smart InstaView is a neat feature, it doesn't necessarily add to the overall performance of the refrigerator. In fact it took a bit longer to defrost and chill foods in this fridge than other refrigerators we tried. This is likely due to the greater capacity.
The doors pose a problem with this refrigerator. The sunken handles allow smaller people to open them from the bottom. However taller people struggle to close them without slamming them. It would have been much better if they came with a front-mounted handle.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX fridge is a great choice for those looking to combine the look of a French door refrigerator with a more efficient design. Its capacity is superior to counter-depth models and is able to cool evenly. It's also less expensive than the best counter-depth refrigerator that has an ice maker, which can make it a desirable choice.
Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
If you're looking for a French door refrigerator that won't cost a fortune this Frigidaire is a solid option. It's a simple fridge that might not be as appealing as its rivals however it has enough features to make it a suitable choice. Its most notable feature is the temperature adjustable drawer, helps to keep food items such as vegetables and meat fresher longer. It also comes with a huge water dispenser as well as a good Ice machine that is fast.
The "Chill Drawer", which is located over the two crisper bins, is a excellent feature. This drawer lets you divert some of the refrigerator's cooling power directly into this area, so you can put away food items that require extra attention. This feature is adjustable using a slider on the outside of the drawer. You can also adjust the general cooling settings for the entire fridge. I have found that the general settings work better than the specific ones.
During my tests, the temperature of the refrigerator stayed fairly consistent across different areas of the fridge. Temperatures in the top and bottom of the fridge did not vary much from 38 degrees, and even the middle of the fridge was within a degree of 36. This is a good performance, but doesn't quite make it to 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 combine this fridge with a smart thermometer for more precise measurements of your fridge's internal temperature.
The exterior of the Frigidaire is made from grey-bodied stainless that has a "smudge proof" finish. It wards off streaks and fingerprints better than other stainless steel finishes I've seen.
Stephanie Cronk, executive editor of Reviewed's Commerce/Product Reviews Team, oversees the site's buyer's guides and product test reviews. She has more than 15 years of commerce and publishing experience, with a focus on retail and digital. Stephanie is passionate about finding and recommending the most effective products for consumers, with a particular focus on home items and technology.