French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
French-door fridges combine functionality and form. They have elegant double doors that open to reveal an enormous fridge on top, and a freezer drawer below. Special features like through-the-door dispensers, high-end ice machines and adjustable flex drawers make them stand out from the rest.
We consulted Ladina Schopf - interior designer, architect and the founder of LS Projects - for her tips on how to select the right home. They looked at the capacity of storage, layout, and energy efficiency among other factors.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
Like its name implies, the GE Profile series is targeted at people who want to incorporate cutting-edge technologies into their kitchens. This refrigerator is packed with them, 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. Since this refrigerator is a premium, I expect better.
Apart from that minor flaw however, this refrigerator is a great option. It has a huge freezer compartment, which is unusual for counter-depth French door fridges. It also holds a lot of frozen food compared to other models.
The fridge has 17 shelves and compartments. The fridge compartment has 18.5 cubic feet, which is typical for a fridge with a French door at this price. It has a decent-sized icemaker in the left door. However it's not the biggest one I've seen.
You can adjust the shelves in both compartments to create a an individual storage solution. The interior design of the GE PYE22PYNFS is attractive, too. Its LED lighting is a nice touch and the inside storage bins feature an additional shelf that can fold down so that you can store tall items. The drawers include temperature controls that let you set them to Meat, Beverage or Deli settings. The drawers are simple to open and shut however I found the plastic's textured coatings a bit hard on my fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator includes all the features you would expect from a refrigerator in this price range. It has Wi-Fi as well as app support, and GE's SmartHQ Software. The app, which is available for iOS and Android devices, lets you control your refrigerator from anywhere in the world, and has many options for customizing. It also gives you notifications when a door is left open, when the fridge or freezer is in need of defrosting, and when it's time to change the filter.
It is nice it GE PYE22PYNFS had Precise Fill the option that is available in a handful of GE refrigerators that allow users to select how many cups they want to pour out. It does offer a countdown feature on the display of the fridge to display how much water have left, but 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 in your kitchen. The fridge uses fingerprint-resistant stainless steel, which is a great feature for busy households. It also has a vegetable compartment that helps keep vegetables and fruits fresher longer, and two compressors for maximum food preservation. The Ice maker we tested is one of the most efficient, and it produces an ice pyramid with only a little water. This fridge is perfect for a single family or a kitchenette that wants a built-in appearance and top-of-the highest quality food preservation.
This refrigerator was the highest-rated refrigerator in our Refrigerators Test for a few reasons. The freezer temperatures remained steady at a level that was just above 0 degrees Fahrenheit and never changing more than a fraction of an inch. This is essential to avoiding freezing burn. The fridge section of the refrigerator also did well. It reached the initial temperature set within an hour and maintained the temperature throughout our testing.
Bosch is known for its high-end appliances which is why it's no surprise that this counter depth refrigerator is also a smart appliance, with the option to connect to your home Wi-Fi network and Bosch's Home Connect platform. This app allows you to monitor and control your fridge remotely from your tablet or smartphone. The refrigerator is expensive, but it offers great features and capabilities for the price.
It's important to understand the limitations of the fridge. You may need to get creative with tall objects because the fridge is limited in shelf space. The shelves are not impervious to spills and could easily be damaged or stained by sharp items. It's easy to remove the trays from the fridge however, you must keep them clean to avoid mold growth.
If you're thinking of buying this refrigerator, you should also read our review of the GE Appliances French Door Refrigerator and the Bosch Bottom Freezer Refrigerator.
LG Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The LG LRFLC2706S counter-depth refrigerator is a great choice for those who require a lot of space in a small 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 bins for the doors on each door, two rows of spill-capture shelves and a set of more spacious drawers. The top shelf on the right side can be folded down to make space for tall items. You'll also find a full width drawer for deli items and an internal water dispenser.
One of the nice things about this refrigerator is that its ice maker is in the freezer, which makes it simple to move ice into the fridge to use as required. The freezer is designed with thoughtful elements, as well, such as sliding drawers that can help you better organize the position of items. It comes with a large bin for storing frozen food and a separate bin for ice.
Smart InstaView panel is another awesome feature of the refrigerator. It lets you control the fridge's temperature and lighting via your smartphone. It's a good way to control and monitor your refrigerator, particularly if you're away from home.
However, 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 chill food and defrost it than the other fridges we test. This could be due to the larger capacity.
The other issue we have with this refrigerator is its doors. The handles that are sunken let shorter people open them from the bottom. However taller people will struggle to close them without slamming them. It would have been much better to have front-mounted handles.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX fridge is an excellent option for those looking to combine the look and feel of a French-door refrigerator with a more efficient design. Its capacity is above average for a counter-depth model, and it cools evenly and has a great layout. It's also a little less than the most expensive counter depth refrigerator with an ice maker, which makes it an attractive option.
Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
If you're looking for a French door refrigerator that won't break the bank this Frigidaire is a great choice. It's a basic refrigerator which may not be as attractive as some of its competitors however it has enough features to make a good choice. Its most notable feature is the temperature adjustable drawer, helps to keep food like vegetables and meat fresher for longer. french door fridge freezers has a large water dispenser and a decent ice machine that works fast.
The "Chill Drawer", which is located over the two crisper bins, is another excellent feature. This drawer allows you to direct a portion of the refrigerator's cooling power into this area, so that you can store foods that require extra attention. This feature can be adjusted by using an outside slider that is located inside the drawer. It is also possible to use this to set a general cooling setting for the whole fridge, though I've found that adjusting the generic settings tends to have a better effect than specific ones.
During my tests, the temperature of the refrigerator stayed fairly consistent across different areas of the refrigerator. The temperatures in the middle, top and bottom of the refrigerator didn't vary much from 38 degrees. This is a solid performance, but does not quite make it to the top of our ratings.
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 connect this fridge to a smart thermometer for more precise measurements of the internal temperature of your fridge.
The exterior of the Frigidaire is made of gray-bodied stainless with a "smudge resistant" finish. It blocks streaks and fingerprints better than other stainless steel finishes I've tested.
Stephanie Cronk is the executive editor of Reviewed's Commerce/Product Reviews team and oversees the site's buyer's guides as well as test-product reviews. She has more than 15 years of experience in commerce and publishing including retail and digital. Stephanie is passionate about finding the best products and recommending them to consumers. She is particularly interested in home goods and technology.