Kitchen elf, nice emoticon lol.
About the fridge, go with your heart, you'll be looking at it everyday. It's easier to clean something you love than something you hate.
I'm a vanilla fridge kind of gal, it's functional, that is all that is required for me.
Thanks for doing your part to improve the economy.
Don't forget to check the Energy Star rating. If the "more expensive" model uses $50/year less energy, you'll break even in 20 years. All the while taking advantage of those bells and whistles.
I have only ever had an upside down fridge as they are called here and I could never go back to the standard set up. (well I guess I may have to if money were tight.) It is much better to have the door that you open the most at the top so that you can access your food/drink without bending over all the time. It is also much easier to keep a track of the contents. You also get a better proportion of freezer to fridge in the upside down model as a rule but if you have an independent freezer, this may not be an issue for you. I would love to have a French door type but can't justify the extra money but would always recommend an upside down one.
OK so it costs more but you love it - being pleased with something everytime you look at it counts a lot. Say it costs $1,000 more than the other one take that $1,000 and divide it by 20 years and it sounds a lot more reasonable
Go for it
Joyce