Base of the refrigerator and countertop above the refrigerator

Sorry, Wangen

There is no specially designed component for this at Ikea. A cabinet panel in the same color as the fronts is recommended. This then has to be cut to size at the hardware store. I think there is still a lot of catching up to do at Ikea here.

A question for understanding: Do these cheeks have any other function besides that of the "base carrier"?

Best regards
Nordkäppchen

The side panel supports the countertop and ensures a neat finish of the row. On the left side, I consider it unnecessary. I would not have anything cut in the hardware store. The saw blades are usually poor and the surfaces then fray. At a timber merchant or a carpenter, you are better off. If the board does not lie completely level without the side panel, I would first support it with an adjustable table leg or something similar and then measure the distances to the floor, since a top side as a support panel is not height-adjustable. If the countertop (and previously the base cabinets) are not aligned very accurately with the spirit level, the fat in pans and pots will always run to one side.

The side panel supports the countertop and ensures a neat finish of the row. On the left side, I consider it unnecessary.
I would not have anything cut at the hardware store. The saw blades are usually poor quality, and the surfaces then fray. At a timber merchant or a carpenter, you are better off.
If the countertop does not lie completely level without the side panel, I would first support it with an adjustable table leg or similar and then measure the distances to the floor, as a cover side used as a support panel is not height-adjustable.
If the countertop (and beforehand the base cabinets) is not aligned very precisely with a level, the fat in pans and pots will always run to one side.

That is exactly why I ask... the left side is unnecessary, and for the wall finish, I would rather use a support in the form of a rail or wooden batten and mount another batten vertically on the wall, e.g., a decorative strip in the color of the kitchen front.
I looked again in the installation instructions; for a refrigerator placed between two cabinets, the base apparently makes contact over the recess on the refrigerator. Double-sided tape is therefore the ideal solution. It only protrudes a few centimeters from the wall; I would cover this with the decorative strip mounted on the wall side.

To make a kitchen look like it’s from a kitchen studio, adjustments and cutting always have to be made. Even a kitchen from the kitchen studio must be adapted to the premises; there, however, this is done by the installation service, which Ikea also offers if one is not quite so skilled at DIY.

Best regards
Nordkäppchen

I just looked at the picture again. I have been assuming the whole time that the side is free-standing. If the wall is nearby, I would also save myself the effort with a skirting panel, extend the countertop to the wall, and close the gap at the front with a filler panel.

Well, the side panel still supports the countertop if you don’t want to screw it flush with the refrigerator. Primarily, however, they serve as "base supports," you are right about that. However, another problem arises now: the side panel protrudes a bit and is not flush with the base. You can also see that in the picture I linked in the first post. The base does not end flush with the respective fronts at the bottom but is always a bit further back. However, the side panel ends flush at the height of the fronts. Grr. Is there no stable way to connect the refrigerator legs with the base? Then you could save all the effort with the side panel. On the left, as already mentioned before, the regular [Deckseite Sockel] would work.