If you look at a sign of the times, you'll see that more people are trying to make their money go further, but simultaneously many are trying to make their "space" go further too. Since the dawn of man, space has been a sign of freedom. Personal space is always cherished when it is bigger. Sadly, however, we are more than willing to give up some of that space for technology, or convenience. With the newer refrigerators came that convenience, but as technology started to escalate beyond the common person's ability to imagine what they wanted or needed, things started to get a bit crowded.
The problem now is that we are well aware that there is a better way, like counter depth French door refrigerators coming onto the market. The other thing that forces us to reconsider our older refrigerator, even though it is still working perfectly, is that the older units use more electricity, are less efficient than the smaller units (with new technology). This is apparent with the electrical companies offering, almost pleading with it's customers to swap out that older, less energy efficient unit for a modern unit- to the point where they are offering to purchase your old unit!
Over the years we accumulate a great deal, but with today's kitchens, many in older homes, people are finding themselves crowded. We didn't much mind the slightly over sized refrigerators because there was so much counter space to look at and enjoy that our kitchen still felt "big". Today however, we don't see our counters, we see toasters, toaster ovens, blenders, the latest infomercial gadgets, and a plethora of devices and well, our awareness has shifted. The kitchen looks and feels smaller, and that refrigerator sticks out like a sore thumb, so to speak. Many who've stubbed their toes on the part of the unit sticking out past the counter (as in the dark we often use the counter to trace our path to the refrigerator but don't always realize the counter ends and the refrigerator begins!) know well that this is a major inconvenience in the middle of the night, and an eye sore in the day time. People who have upgraded to the counter depth French door refrigerators will tell you stories about their previous unit let me tell you!
It's no wonder we are looking into ways to expand this space so we feel more freedom in the kitchen. Nothing makes it more frustrating to cook than to have to constantly make your way around your bulky refrigerator that more often than not seems to be sticking out much further than the counter itself. Why is that? A lot of the time it's because although just about every home has upgraded their refrigerator (back when we switched from ice boxes to actual refrigerators that plug into the wall) but the counters remain the same length from the wall, and with some of the older refrigerators, moving from ice boxes to electrical, insulation technologies came around and put the refrigerator on steroids! Even the evolution of insulation technologies have come at a slow pace and gradually moved faster.
The first units were way past the counter and slowly the newer homes were built to keep the modern refrigerator as close to if not behind the counter as possible but technology won the race and even modern homes (about 10 years old) were faced with the same issues these newer homes tried to fix! Eventually home builders realized if they cut the counters back any further people wouldn't be able to fit standard plates into their cabinets! The obvious solution was to make the refrigerator more efficient, and insulated better in a smaller space- without sacrificing the internal space.
Many didn't mind at first, after all the unit was truly an amazing thing! We've become a bit spoiled however and now we want our space back. With demand comes innovation, and the refrigerator makers were listening. You can now replace your bulky unit with one of those new counter depth French door refrigerators now and end your suffering. The beauty of these units is that they are more efficient, often hold more food, use 3/4th the space, and DON'T STICK OUT past the counter!
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