One of the biggest decisions when building or remodeling a kitchen is picking out the appliances. There are so many decisions to be made, but one of the biggest for me was if I wanted a range or range top and double ovens. I went back and forth, but I am sharing my decisions below.
A few weeks ago I share on Instagram stories that I wanted to do a range top and double ovens. Let me start by explaining what that is. You may already know this, but I didn’t before I researched. Range tops are basically the top part of a range. They are the stove portion with the knobs, etc, but don’t have ovens below. My last home had a Wolf range top and 2 drawers below for storing pots/pans, etc. I LOVED this set up. A cooktop is similar except the knobs, etc are on top of the stove. Personally, I like the look of a range top better than a cook top, but in both scenarios there is no oven below.
ORIGINAL PLAN
Like I said, originally I wanted to do this set up again. I am tall so I don’t love bending over to get in my ovens. I prefer a double oven set up. My plan was do to another range top with double ovens just like I had in my last house.
When approaching design I am always evaluating design vs function. What I mean by that is that some of the designs I like are beautiful, but not as functional. In some areas I am willing to make that trade. For example, marble is way more high maintenance than other countertops. For many people that trade off is not worth it, for me it 100% is. I will be having marble in my kitchen even though it is more work. For other things, I may prefer the look of something better, but function takes priority. An example of this is I prefer the way a 2 story home looks, however we really wanted a 1 story home, so in that example I went with function over design as we are building a 1 story home.
What I really like to do is find a solution that incorporates both design and function. When it came to my appliances I really love the look of a french range. I think they are so beautiful and a huge statement piece. I searched high and low to find a french looking range top. Those are very very hard to find. They just don’t offer anything on the market currently that met what I was looking for. Most range tops have bulky knobs and I love the unique french knobs. The closest I found was Bertazzoni, but I didn’t love it. There were a few pictures online of some french options, but when I tried contacting those companies, they only offered ranges?? I have been on the hunt for this for YEARS. You can read a blog post I wrote about this topic in 2015!
Oh well, I decided to give up the dream of a french range top and moved on to the best looking range tops. I knew I wanted brass knobs. There were only a few options I found that fit that description. Cafe , Wolf (there is an option to order brass knobs) and Blue Star. There may be a couple others, but these were the top of my list. I started doing a bunch of research and was honestly shocked at how expensive range tops were. When we bought our last house everything was included in the total price, so I didn’t see things broken down. The range tops were almost as expensive as the range themselves and a range top with double wall oven was substantially more expensive than a range.
I mentioned earlier I LOVE French ranges. They are gorgeous works of art, but they are $$$$. I didn’t want to spend $15-20k on a range. While I was researching I discovered ILVE ranges. OMG yall, they are stunning!!! They are French ranges at an affordable price. I discovered I could get a french range and a wall oven for less money than a range top and double wall oven!!! This changed everything!
NEW PLAN
I am now getting an ILVE 48″ range for my kitchen and doing a wall oven in my butlers pantry. I will end up with even more oven space than my original plan, get the look I love and save $$$. I am so so excited!! There are 3 different ILVE lines. The professional line (more industrial look), The Majestic line (more expensive) and the Nostalgie line. You can see all the differences HERE. The Nostalgie line is perfect for what I need.
This range will be the jewel of our kitchen so now the hard part is picking out color. I shared on Instagram stories I am really struggling with Stainless/Brass or custom Grey/Brass. I keep going back and forth. I will write a more in depth blog post about this soon.
These ranges come in 9 standard colors with 3 trim options and there is also an option to do custom and you can choose any color you want from the RAL color chart. The sky is the limit. You really cannot go wrong.
Anyway, I am so excited about this change. It will really give me the best of both worlds. Cannot wait to share more soon with my kitchen mood board!
I am curious, which are you? Team range top/double oven or team range?
Wow! What a beautiful option!! I love range tops and cooktops and have always had both along with double wall ovens. Like you, I’m tall and I appreciate not having to bend over a hot oven. Also, I have loved being able to bake, roast etc multiple things at once with 2 ovens especially during dinner parties and holidays. I think this line you’ve found is absolutely stunning and functional and will serve you and your family well. Can’t wait to see it all come together! Thanks for sharing’
Thank you so much! Yes, that set up has always worked for me. I think I will end up using my wall oven in the butlers pantry more than the range oven because it is what I am used to, but we will see. Thanks for your sweet words!!
My house in Richardson had double wall ovens and a cooktop with drawers under like your previous home. I thot it was best thing in the world. Had never had that before nor since. When back up north I didn’t know how to make Thanksgiving dinner without a double ovens lol. QVC showed me how with a roaster lol. Your new plan works well.
Yes, I loved this set up too. It was so easy. HAHA. Our rental only has 1 oven and it has definitely been challenging when hosting for the holidays. With Covid, our celebrations have been much smaller, but I miss having the 2 ovens right now.
Did you know WD40 will hide the spots that stainless steel tends to get? My Sears appliance repair guy used it on my refrigerator years ago & it’s the best! Just lightly spray on cloth, run in circles & do the say with clean cloth to remove residue
Oh this is a great tip. I didn’t know that. I love the way stainless looks, but the spots drive me crazy with kids! I will try this! Thank you.
Your post is so timely!! Yay!! I love the Cafe French door double ovens and their range top, too! However, my new kitchen would be asymmetrical with that option and perfectly symmetrical with a range. I’m beginning to opt for the French range. Thank you for sharing your resources and thoughts!