Unexpected kitchen remodel. Gas cooktop and electric wall ovens vs. free standing dual fuel range; gas burners/ electric ovens.
Unexpectedly, our kitchen is gutted. There was a secret leak under the dishwasher in our center island for years that caused our floors to buckle. Once they were removed, the damage extended under all our cabinets too, so we're starting from scratch with a spontaneous remodel. For 25 years I've had a Chambers 42 inch gas cooktop with 4 burners/griddle in the center and 2 26 inch electric wall ovens. I am now thinking of trying the free standing range with two ovens, one 30 inches. Wondering if I'll miss having the ovens at eye level. I love the looks of the chunky free standing ranges above the cooktops. But, I could make the oven openings larger to fit 2 30 inch wall ovens with the cooktop. Thanks for your thoughts and experience! Way back when there was a discussion about favorite kitchen features, I can't find it...
22 Comments
The absolutely favorite thing in my kitchen, though, is my capacious Franke sink. I would spend that money that way all over again in a heartbeat! Make sure you have a really deep sink. So much easier for cleaning the big pots as well as big messes.
The griddle doesn't come off. I just scrape it down with a diner-quality heavy-duty spatula and occasionally wipe it down with a damp sponge. It's turned 100% black (from it's original stainless steel) but that doesn't worry me. It doesn't smell bad and it gets so hot whenever we use it that certainly nothing bad is growing there. :-)
Oh, and apologies to your family. Once you discover The forums at GardenWeb you'll be in there for DAYS. Note that they have different forums for appliances and overall kitchen renovation.
1. I couldn't pull off wall ovens but I wish I could have. If you have them now, I think you'll miss having your eye-level ovens.
2. I wish I went with 4 burners and a 24" griddle as we use the griddle all the time for everything from steaks to eggs to lamb chops to asparagus to pancakes to has browns... it's just too small.
3. I love the American range. Tons of heat but no bells and whistles (that will break.)
Best of luck and keep asking questions! Also, check out the Appliance forums over at GardenWeb. They're a godsend:
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/appl/