K.C.
I had a 48inch, built in, side-by-side, stainless steel KitchenAid fridge in my last home. Aside from the fingerprints-all-over-the-stainless-steel issue (which you won't have with the panels), I had absolutely no complaints about my fridge. I picked it when we did our remodel and was perfectly happy with it for the entire 4 years I lived with it. It's held up well in the last 2 years that we've had renters in the house, too. It's never had any problems, the freezer keeps ice-cream perfectly frozen without making it rock-hard, there's plenty of space in it, etc. My sister has a built-in Thermador fridge and hates it. The door is super heavy to open, the alarm sometimes goes off for no reason, she's just not thrilled with it. I TOLD her to get the KitchenAid, but NOOOO, she wanted the more expensive one... Generally, I've been happy with every KitchenAid appliance I've ever installed, except for the combination microwave/convection oven - THAT one kept overheating and I'd NEVER get it again.