Drawer or open shoe cubby under my new Isotherm fridge? Opinions needed.

[John E Davies]

 

I need some input, I have laid out how my new Isotherm fridge will look, I do have room underneath for a drawer like SeaDawg’s. I actually could just buy the short (6” tall) galley drawer assembly from Oliver TT, it would go in there and look pretty good, except for being so low down. And I actually have a spare set of drawer glides. But it really would not hold very much stuff.

 

BUT, I have to build a platform and framework to support the fridge front mounting flange, that would not be too crazy hard, but the extra structure and slides down there for the drawer adds a lot of work and complexity. And possibilities of screwing up, which happens to me more and more as I approach 70…I do intend to cut out a one piece facing from birch plywood that will cover the open areas.

I am thinking instead of a drawer, about just adding a nice looking removable wood “tray” on top of this”:

as a place to store shoes, bulky items, and odds and ends. No front to it, just a low wall at the back and a short lip (fiddle) on the facing in front to keep items from ejecting. Easy peasy to make, I think it will look fine down low under the fridge door.

I do plan to cut some inspection holes under the factory floor, to look at ducts and the gas line underneath. 

Comments? Alternative suggestions?

Thanks,

John Davies

Spokane WA

[SeaDawg]

Even though I love my drawer, I think the shoe storage cubby is an excellent idea. Right inside the door, probably even enough height for boots, on their sides. 

I'd probably want a boot tray on the floor that I could remove and clean, or one of those fabric cases from IKEA that I could pull out and wash. Bonus of the fabric case would be hiding the clutter, and keeping everything contained in transit, and being able to keep favorites from finding their way to the far back of the recess. Something like these:

 

[John E Davies]

BTW, I decided to use the microwave ventilation slots to vent the fridge, I am going to drill a bunch of big holes directly behind the microwave and down into the fridge cavity. I haven’t quite figured out the lower vents yet, but the two big outside holes in the hull will be sealed up tight! No more dust or water entry!

John Davies

Spokane WA

[SeaDawg]

Once you're done with the install, you'll be amazed at how much easier it is to access items in the fridge, between the slightly raised height of the fridge, and the drawer at the bottom of the fridge. 

Every day we're camping, I'm super happy we made the change.

[Ollie-Haus]

I guess at this stage I would recommend shoe cubby. That seems like an option with lots of uses, and you could always convert to a drawer in the future if you feel the space would be more useful. 

[John E Davies]

17 minutes ago, SeaDawg said:

Even though I love my drawer, I think the shoe storage cubby is an excellent idea. Right inside the door, probably even enough height for boots, on their sides. 

I'd probably want a boot tray on the floor that I could remove and clean, or one of those fabric cases from IKEA that I could pull out and wash. Bonus of the fabric case would be hiding the clutter, and keeping everything contained in transit, and being able to keep favorites from finding their way to the far back of the recess. Something like these:

 

 

That is brilliant, thank you, I think my wife will go for that over a drawer. 

 

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Rivernerd]

25 minutes ago, John E Davies said:

I am thinking instead of a drawer, about just adding a nice looking removable wood “tray” on top of this”:

as a place to store shoes, bulky items, and odds and ends. No front to it, just a low wall at the back and a short lip (fiddle) on the facing in front to keep items from ejecting. Easy peasy to make, I think it will look fine down low under the fridge door.

My wife would nix the "shoe cubby" idea, calling it a "dust catcher" that would be hard to clean.  To maintain marital harmony, I would find myself doing the extra framing for another 6" Oliver drawer.  She would point out that the drawer makes more of its contents accessible.  With the cubby, anything more than 12" behind the front vertical plane of the fridge is realistically inaccessible down at floor level, unless it is on a "pull-out."  The 6" Oliver drawer could also look like a factory installation, if done carefully.

But, I am a woodworker, with a cabinet-grade Sawstop, router table, planer, etc.  The framing would be a fun winter project for me.  For many others, maybe not so much.
 

[SeaDawg]

You'll likely get some additional "venting," I think, as we did, from the little spaces between the trimmed fiberglass edge, and the fridge.

After we installed the trimlock edging on ours, on the sides of the fiberglass edge,, I think we gained 10 to 15 square inches of "venting." No longer venting noxious fumes, just a tiny bit of heat.

[John E Davies]

1 hour ago, Rivernerd said:

My wife would nix the "shoe cubby" idea, calling it a "dust catcher" that would be hard to clean.  To maintain marital harmony, I would find myself doing the extra framing for another 6" Oliver drawer.  She would point out that the drawer makes more of its contents accessible.  With the cubby, anything more than 12" behind the front vertical plane of the fridge is realistically inaccessible down at floor level, unless it is on a "pull-out."  
 

That is why I was going to make a drop-in tray which would be very easy to remove to clean up. It would probably need a rubber pad on top, like the cabinets. Any junk down deep comes out with a shop vac.

If I can’t locate suitable soft storage bins, I can always use small duffles or stuff sacks.

I have the basics for woodwork, I can rip and route and drill press, but the cuts don’t always go exactly where I planned.

John Davies

Spokane WA