My (new to me) fridge:
Whomever invented the 'side by side' refrigerator design should be shot, beaten, thrown from a cliff, and then shot again. How the berkeley are you supposed to put a frozen turkey in this thing? A pizza box? Even a 12-pack is a challenge.
I miss my freezer on the bottom, normal fridge. 
freezer on the bottom is a "premium" feature these days. Top freezer is the norm. Never understood why. Side by side is easier for water/ ice dispenser installation.
side by side do suck.. but are good if you have somebody elderly in the house. You can put everything they need at a height they can reach easily
Turkeys fit nicely IF you get the proper size side by side.
I remember having troubles fitting a turkey in a top freezer and a bottom freezer as well. Having to rearrange everything in a top/bottom freezer everytime you wanted to get something out of or in was always a big issue. So usuable freezer space is usually greater on a side by side. Also usually total freezer space is usually a little big larger on a side by side.
A giant pizza is an issue, but it's also an issue on the top mounts because it's too deep for the freezer. I just had a dozen pizza crusts I had to store in my mother in laws top mount and I had to work on the 3D aspect of her freezer to make them fit. It required us to stack small things under the crusts to raise them up high enough so that they cleared the tray on the freezer door.
She had them for about 2weeks and complained to me almost every day of how hard it was to use the freezer. She had to rearrange everything every time. For a while she had to put empty bowls under the crusts to get them to the proper height so she could shut the door.
I like my 'french door' model which has a good size bottom drawer that is the full width, and a double-door fridge above. The freezer also has a pull-out drawer/shelf that is low but large enough to hold a frozen pizza or two.
They make side-by-sides nowadays so you can get through-door ice delivery. However, I find through-door water and ice delivery is a monster waste of space. I gained a ton of room by just opting for a model with a simple pushbutton filtered-water dispenser inside the fridge. If I need ice, it takes about 3 seconds to open the freezer and grab some.
The freezer on the bottom is the most efficient. The side-by-side can be very efficient space-wise if you want to store a bunch of small food packets, but if you want to store anything of significant size you're screwed. You can barely fit pizzas in the fridge section, never mind the freezer.
I may be a little, um, compulsive, but I've actually taken a pizza box with me last couple of times I needed to go fridge shopping. The salesmen laugh at me, but you know what? I've liked my last 2 fridges.
Margie
i'm pretty much stuck with a side by side, or at least a french door fridge due to the layout of my kitchen. a larger door swinging out would probably hit the end of my counter, as i have a galley-style kitchen with the fridge at the open end. its also a pain because the fridge needs to sit back in its opening, but can't go all the way back because of the way the doors hinge.
as for the bottom drawer freezers, saw one at HD last weekend that had two drawers, top one had a shallow basket and also slid the ice tray out, then a deeper bin lower drawer for all those things that sit in the freezer and you will never eat but can't bring yourself to throw away
Strizzo wrote: as for the bottom drawer freezers, saw one at HD last weekend that had two drawers, top one had a shallow basket and also slid the ice tray out, then a deeper bin lower drawer for all those things that sit in the freezer and you will never eat but can't bring yourself to throw away
And you have to get down on your knees to get to anything.
I'll ask the stupid question: SO WHY THE berkeley DID YOU BUY A SIDE-BY-SIDE? 
Side by side in my kitchen, which I hate for all the same reasons as you. But I also have a top freezer fridge in the garage for all the big frozen stuff and my stockpile of beer and soda
poopshovel wrote: I'll ask the stupid question: SO WHY THE berkeley DID YOU BUY A SIDE-BY-SIDE?
yeah.
<--- HATES bottom drawer freezers. Indifferent on top freezer vs. side by side. Have a Side by side I like that holds pizza and beer just fine.
carguy123 wrote: And you have to get down on your knees to get to anything.
Do you have back issues? 'Coz I'm a middle aged guy with a gut, and all I have to do is bend over a little to get anything out of either of my bottom-mount freezers. One has a swing door and one has a drawer, but both have pull-out baskets that are easy to grab from.
Besides, I get something out of the freezer maybe once a day, whereas I get something out of the fridge about 10 times a day. So to me it makes more sense to cater to the most frequent use and put the fridge above rather than below.
GameboyRMH wrote: The freezer on the bottom is the most efficient.
I don't know if you're talking about energy efficiency (or ergonomic or "space" efficiency)...but I'm pretty sure that the most energy efficient (I'd better clarify: commonly available) refrigerators are the top freezer models.
I like bottom freezer models, but I stick with top freezer because of the energy efficiency.
Clem
I happen to love my french door with the bottom freezer. I can fit pretty much everything I need in there no worries. Didn't care much for the price though.
Besides, I get something out of the freezer *maybe* once a day, whereas I get something out of the fridge about 10 times a day. So to me it makes more sense to cater to the most frequent use and put the fridge above rather than below.
Which means you like side by side fridges too then.
I can get stuff out of the bottom freezer but you ought to hear all the girls complain. That's why my bottom freezer unit is in the shop.
any fridge that keeps my beer cold is good in my book.
poopshovel wrote: I'll ask the stupid question: SO WHY THE berkeley DID YOU BUY A SIDE-BY-SIDE?
I didn't. I bought a house. The fridge came with...
Hence the 'new to me'.
The whole kitchen is Kitchen Aid. The range is awesome, the fridge blows, jury still out on the D/W (really liked the Bosch we had at the old house).
The fridge is only a couple of years old, so too new to kick to the curb - but I'm tempted!
My house came with a kitchenaid side by side also. It's pretty big, and plenty expensive, I'm sure. Even so, I'm not a fan. The freezer is simply a pain in the tooshie. Things are always tumbling out of it onto the floor. The baskets don't do a very good job of sliding, and the cheesy plastic fronts keep popping off. The fridge is deep, tall, and narrow. Hard to see to the back, hence the possibility of growing things that may be bio-hazardous in there after a few weeks un-noticed.
My wife is short, so the bottom freezer is out, although I really like the concept.
Sigh. Guess I'll get used to it.
my side by side is big enough to fit a large size pizza box in, but not being able to put half a pizza in the fridge sounds like a good reason to eat a bit healthier...
Strizzo wrote: my side by side is big enough to fit a large size pizza box in, but not being able to put half a pizza in the fridge sounds like a good reason to eat more pizza...
ftfy
ClemSparks wrote:GameboyRMH wrote: The freezer on the bottom is the most efficient.I don't know if you're talking about energy efficiency (or ergonomic or "space" efficiency)...but I'm pretty sure that the most energy efficient (I'd better clarify: commonly available) refrigerators are the top freezer models. I like bottom freezer models, but I stick with top freezer because of the energy efficiency. Clem
I've heard this before, I believe the theory is- cold air falls, so putting the freezer at the lower half is supposed to be more efficient. Just seems kind of awkward to me.
DILYSI Dave wrote:poopshovel wrote: I'll ask the stupid question: SO WHY THE berkeley DID YOU BUY A SIDE-BY-SIDE?yeah. <--- HATES bottom drawer freezers. Indifferent on top freezer vs. side by side. Have a Side by side I like that holds pizza and beer just fine.
Whoa, why did the plus sign display as a black square? Weird.
Don't like it? Have an angle grinder? There is enough sheet metal there for the sides of a locost...
(The old sears goldstar upright freezers have thick enough metal to do that. YMMV if you try it with a modern unit; the new stuff tends to have rigid styrofoam insulation covered with metal barely thicker than foil.)
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