The main reason IMO that people have stayed away from KA ranges is because they have Whirlpool ovens. A few years ago they would die if you use the self-clean feature. Maybe they have improved but no one wants to be the first or one of the first to on GW to buy these. Not great at providing even consistent heat either. The burners are standard wide ring sealed burners. Yes they have 20k btu power burners and a 5k btu simmer burner but not very even heat. With Wolf you get nothing special burners but a fantastic oven. If you are looking at entry level/less expensive pro style ranges why are you paying a premium for dual fuel? Why not save the money and get all-gas? Consumer reports rates a lot of crap well and good appliances poorly. For example they rate a Ninja blender with plastic gears/sockets that rarely last two years of hard use 1 point below Vitamix which has a long long established record for durability. They rate KA ranges high and Bluestar near the bottom. Some crap Chinese grill called Blue Ember #1 and Weber Summit near the bottom.

I just signed up here and read elizpiz's review on her turbochef dual oven and I thought I'd share a bit of info on our new single model. Our stove has a normal oven under it so we only needed the single wall oven. The kitchen was renovated over the summer at our vacation house in rural New Hampshire. Because we always bring our food for the weekend and cook every meal there, I thought the high speed would come in handy. We're a family of 4 + about 4-8 guests most of the time. So far, I've only used the oven for one weekend: Thankgiving 2013 for 8 adults and 6 kids. We cooked a 22 lb turkey in 81 min and it came out slightly overdone, although not really dry. The outside was nicely browned and crispy. The bird was so big it was almost touching the top of the oven and the very outside there was like turkey jerky. The rest was very good and all I would do differently is take it out a bit sooner. I was afraid when the plastic popper thing hadn't popped at 78 min, so I gave it another 3 min - by then it had popped. Sweet potato casserole from the Turbochef cookbook was quite sweet, but great. Also the molten center chocolate cake kit that came w/the oven was perfect (We also made a meatloaf which ended up a bit dry because again I was afraid it wasn't done and I had it cook more ... which I regretted. Chicken nuggets for the kids came out hot & crispy in 90 seconds if I remember right. These times do not include the preheat time - which seems long when the cook times are so short. It was about 9 min to preheat for english muffins that toasted for just 2 min. If I want to wait 11 min min, I can just use a normal toaster. If I have a bunch of muffins then sure I'll use the TC. I agree w/the other review that the oven fan stays on a long time after you're done cooking. Our group was loud enough that it didn't matter, but if I'm the only one awake in the morning I don't want to listen to that fan for 20 min after making breakfast. I will embark on a more detailed cleaning adventure next weekend so I can't comment there. The oven is darkened on the top - mainly from the turkey. I would also say that the knob/wheel thing you turn to operate the oven is overly sensitive or something because it's very easy to make the wrong selection. I turn the knob to highlight potatoes and then press the knob to select it - but when I press it jumps up to the item above potatoes and selects that instead. I got better at it as the weekend went on. A touchscreen would be an improvement. The oven was very popular w/the guests and everyone couldn't believe the speed and quality of the food. I'm sure we'll discover how to perfect each recipe over time, but even right out of the gate, we had a super thanksgiving and a fun time with this oven.

Hi, lavender-- the stairs are already open to the living room with a railing along that side. I like the look. There's a door at the bottom of the stairs to enter the basement. To be clear, I'm not considering removing the staircase walls below floor level, they would stay going down the staircase to the door. So the stairs would be open to the main level (as they already are, just more so), but not open to the basement. The basement is partially finished (you enter the finished area) but not air conditioned and while it has heat I don't turn it on unless I'm going to be down there for a while, so I wouldn't want to totally open it up to the main level for that reason alone. Layout B simply does not work for me functionally, as I have it drawn now. I would love to figure out changes to it that would make it work, which is what I'm really hoping people might have ideas about. As much as I love the concept, I use my kitchen daily to cook in, and it needs to be a functional cooking space first. I refuse to remodel into something less functional that I started with. Even if it's pretty. My issues with it: Where does my cutting board live (ie, where is my prep space)? By the sink or by the cooktop? If it's by the cooktop, will having prep away from the sink drive me bonkers? (only across the aisle, I know, but still). If it's by the sink, where do my countertop appliances go? There's not counter space for a prep area, microwave, toaster oven, and coffee pot all along that wall, and I don't see putting any of the other things on the island area. Who wants the back side of your microwave facing your living room? If I get rid of the double ovens, I could get a bit more counter space, but I still don't think enough? Alternatively, if I switch the sink and cooktop, I could prep on the island by the sink (good) but then the cooktop is in front of the window (how do I have a hood?) and the counter space around the cooktop becomes crowded with appliances (annoying while cooking). Where do my spices and oils live? Currently, the most used are on the counter by the cooktop and the others are in an upper cabinet next to it. Pans and utensils are in the lower cabs. With the island placement (no uppers) or switched with the sink (crowded counters), where do they all go? It also moves the pantry a lot farther away from my working area. I'd be willing to live with that to open up the area if it were the only sacrifice I were making, but as it is, it just adds to the lack of functionality. In layout A, either the microwave and toaster oven would go to the left of the sink and the coffee pot would go between the fridge and ovens (what I'm leaning toward) or vice versa. Cutting board/prep area to the right of the sink, plenty of counter space and uppers around the cooktop for my spices, and pantry is still right there conveniently handy. Functionality problems solved. But the kitchen then is still a separate space from everything else, which is not really my preference. I don't tend to cook as a discrete activity where I go into the kitchen and do things in there until I'm done. Sometimes I do, but more often I'll be going back and forth between kitchen and the rest of the house, possibly doing other stuff in the house, or just watching tv or reading-- especially when baking bread or making stock or something that takes a long time from start to finish but little tending. I think it would feel like a more cohesive space to have it all one room. Plus, I absolutely love my living room--it just feels like an incredibly inviting space; already a large, open room with the big picture window to the back yard, and I would like to bring that feel into the kitchen/dining area. Since I've been in the house, I've moved my dining room table several times back and forth between where I have it shown in the "as is" layout, and into the area in the living room just past the kitchen, under the chandelier in the first picture. I think it *should* go where I'm showing it, but I only ever sit and eat at it when it's in the other space-- partly because I can watch tv from there, true, but also because I just like being in that room more. I know that getting rid of the dark paneling and dingy floor will help a lot, though, even if I leave the walls up.

Some of my favorites are lasagna, meatloaf and making the hamburger/onion mix for all kinds of things, from quesadillas to sloppy joes to pizza or whatever. Another easy thing to do is cook a turkey or two, (or a ham, pork roast or even several chickens at a time, etc) pull all the meat off the bone and freeze in portioned bags. You can add it to pasta, quesadillas, pizza, hot turkey sandwiches or a full turkey dinner. Instant mashed potatoes and canned gravy, stuffing mix, frozen/canned veg and the like make a speedier preparation and a pretty luxurious meal. Oh and frozen meatballs are good for a lot of different things. By themself, as a meat ball sandwich, with spaghetti, in a casserole, etc. Most any casserole should freeze well, especially pasta. I would think a hashbrown casserole (with meat) would freeze well as would rice & meat casseroles. Boneless/skinless chicken breasts are a great convenience food. Use for a lot of different things. And there's always the store deli. Prepared chicken, meatloaf and other items are available for really bad days. Do you have an electric roaster? This would simplify things. Even a slow cooker, though I prefer the roaster for versatility. But pot roast can be put together and cook in the roaster/slow cooker. Soup, stew, chili and more. It doesn't all have to be frozen. Do a double amount and you'll have a second meal for a couple days later. Baking some sausage & potatoes takes little prep work and can cook together. Or steam a head of cauliflower and put some sausages in there with it. Braising ribs is easy to do. Country style ribs are easier (no membrane to remove or bones to bother). Put them in the oven, electric roaster or slow cooker or even do it on the stovetop. Braise them slowly and they're fabulous. An hour before they're done, pop some potatoes in with them and they'll cook together and 15-30 min before you can put in some corn on the cob (frozen saves you some prep work of husking). You can also flatten the country style ribs with a mallet, bread them, fry them and have a pork cutlet with more taste than a pork tenderloin. Is your son able to help with some cooking or at least prep work? Personally I think people do a disservice to their kids by not teaching them at least some basic cooking skills. A pot roast, chili, even a turkey doesn't take a Gordon Ramsay to put on the table. You don't have to be very old to husk some corn or peel potatoes. Perhaps it would be helpful to make out a meal plan. One easy way is to take a two week plan and just continue it. There's the old If it's Monday, it's spaghetti day for a weekly plan but it's really just as easy to do two weeks. Figure out some easy meals. Don't hesitate to make one day a week sandwich and salad day. Or a breakfast for supper day, whether it's bacon and eggs, breakfast casserole or even frozen waffles and brown & serve sausages. Frozen/canned veggies and bagged salads are great. The weekend cooking is a great idea but even when cooking, try to cook for at least two meals. Maybe some of these aren't the healthiest or as healthy as you'd desire, but any of them are far better than burgers and fries from a drive through. And hey, that's not to say that an occasional bucket from the Colonel is all bad either. By combining some freezer action, some simple to prepare meals, especially covering two days, some occasionl take out or delivery, hey, the time will pass quickly and you won't be feeling guilty. And you shouldn't feel guilty anyway. Good luck!