What are the Pros & Cons of a French Door Refrigerator?

French door refrigerator has two doors split side by side that open out from the middle to reveal the refrigerator compartment. French-door refrigerators have a freezer compartment below.

Pros of a French Door Refrigerator

1. Wide Space for Large Items

French door refrigerators usually have wide shelves and larger bins in the doors, making it easy to store large meats, turkeys, casseroles, stews, and gallon jugs of milk or juice. The door bins themselves are spacious enough to hold those gallon jugs and big pitchers. The top shelf in a French door refrigerator is also adjustable.

2. You can See Everything at Once

The layout of the French door refrigerator is also more logical than that of a traditional refrigerator, so you can easily see and access everything in your fridge. That way, there is less chance of some forgotten food on the back of a shelf.

3. Great for Small Spaces

The doors don’t need the same range of motion as the door of a regular refrigerator, which allows the unit to be placed in a tight space.

4. Space for Large Freezer Items

Because the freezer is at the bottom, you won’t have to bend down as much to retrieve items on the lower shelves as you would with a fridge that has the freezer at the top. You’ll have to bend down to rummage through the freezer drawer, but most people don’t open their freezer nearly as much as they do their refrigerator. Because single freezer drawers are deep, they are perfect for boxed items like frozen vegetables or TV dinners.

5. Flexible Food Storage

Some French door refrigerators also have a chill drawer just above the freezer. This adjustable drawer can hold different items, including wine, beverages, snacks, fish, and deli meats -- some models have enough flexibility for extra freezer storage.

6. Trendy Design

French door refrigerators are also very aesthetically pleasing. The double door design is luxurious. Since French door refrigerators are available in a wide range of finishes, this style is an excellent choice in a modern kitchen.

Cons of a French Door Refrigerator

1. Limited Freezer Access

If the freezer lacks a pull-out bin, searching for food in the very back is more complicated. One way to make this easier is to buy a French door fridge with a freezer drawer that can pull out. Another solution is to buy a refrigerator with two freezer drawers at the bottom, one on top of the other.

2. Ice and Water Takes Up Space

Refrigerators that offer an icemaker offer a convenient automated way to get ice - without the hassle of trays. However, the icemaker mechanism will take up space. If the ice maker is in the freezer, it will take up freezer space. Suppose the refrigerator has an external ice and water dispenser on the door. In that case, the ice maker and water dispenser will take up some refrigerator capacity - as the ice cubes need to be made somewhere.

3. They are More Expensive

French door refrigerators cost more than other refrigerator styles.

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