I'm probably in the minority here, but as an owner of a vintage, partially restored OKM range, I say keep it!

i am in the exact same situation and i decided to replace the O&M range with a 30" new AG Range. MY O&M sounds identical to yours, including the need for restoration. I have loved it for the 25 yrs I have had it and moved it to three different places over the years. The time has come however for a full kitchen remodel and it is time to retire her. I also have a small kitchen and need all the counter space I can get. I plan to give it away to someone who will appreciate it. It was a tough decision... had to percolate for quite some time on it...

We currently have a 1956 O'Keefe and Merritt gas range that we love.

As someone who has cooked on an O'Keefe & Merritt range, I say to keep it. And I would go ahead w/ a drawer bank to the right of the range. Wouldn't want to give up the storage.

With a 7-10 year outlook, I would not worry about resale.

Dear artemis78,

First, all three of your options are good options.

Last fall when beginning to think about renovating our kitchen we faced exactly your dilemma in our kitchen which is a similar style and size to yours (but we are 1928, East coast). We agonized and then in the end chose your option #2.

Because we loved our old 1938 36" range so much, we agreed that it needed to be replaced with something equally (although very differently) special. We wanted a super functional range that would last (we perhaps foolishly hope) as long as the old Chambers did. We got a 30" DF pro-style range. We have had no regrets. And suprisingly, the charm factor of our vintage kitchen doesn't seem diminished.

We were also slightly motivated by resale, although we will live here for at least another ten years. We live in an "old house" town with lots of diy, old house fixer upper friends and they all said the same thing: "Love your vintage range -- really cute; But I'd tear it out immediately and replace it with a modern pro-style range." I guess I should add that all our friends are maniac, over-the-top cooks. (I guess their love of cooking and modern function trumps their love of the vintage.)

We haven't been able to enjoy the benefits of the extra six inches of counter space yet because our kitchen reno is still in the slow-motion conceptual state. Do you think that you might enjoy having a 36" range with six burners (or four plus a grill/griddle) more than the extra 6" of counter? Your drawing and dimensions suggest that either a 30" or 36" range would work fine, spacewise.

I am about 4 years into what feels like the world's longest kitchen project. I am restoring my mostly original 1929 kitchen to look pretty much like it did in 1929.

I chose a 40inch 1955 OKM (couldn't find a 1930's range that I wanted) despite my husband's firm opposition that it was a space hog in our TEENY kitchen. But I insisted. (Btw, she is not a restored model. She is in great condition, but certainly not a fancy, glossy, restored version.)

I LOVE her. The only thing I would change at this point is I dearly wish I would have gotten a 2 oven version. At the time, we were so strapped for cash that the hubby refused to pay more for a 2 oven version of a stove he already didn't want.

That stove is the heart and soul of my kitchen, and everyone who enters it gravitates to her, pets her, compliments her. I have a profound reverence for the past, and I am deeply moved to think that she has fed families for over 50 years, and shows no signs of stopping. I like product reliability, and my OKM has certainly stood the test of time! (On a "green" level, there is no need for me to add another newly produced product to the earth when a perfectly wonderful one already exists).

About 2 months ago, I received what, for me, is the greatest kitchen compliment: Someone walked in and happily exclaimed, "I feel like I'm in my grandmothers kitchen."

If you decide not to keep your stove, please please do be sure to pass her to someone who will cherish her.

:-)

Warmly,
Francy

Here is my space-hogging girl:

If any of you who are going to pass your old range on live in Iowa or southern MN, please let me know!

Keep the range - 6" of extra space isn't a big deal IMHO.

Francy --

Our stove was almost identical to yours and I just had to say: When our neighbor came over to see the stove, she said, "Oh it's just like the stove I learned to cook on at my grandmother's house." She just stood there smiling and patting the stove and I knew we had to sell it to her (when I posted an item about the stove on our neighborhood list-serve I had six people within 30 minutes begging me not to sell the stove to anyone else). Our neighbor had a company in Houston pick the stove up and take it away for a top-to-bottom refurbishing and made it the centerpiece of her new kitchen.

Thanks all---these are very much the same conversations/debates we've been having! Such a tricky decision...

@francoise47, we had originally assumed it could just be swapped out for a 36" modern at some point just as you describe, with six burners or a griddle---though we certainly don't need all that. In the last few weeks, though, I've been getting specs on all the potential appliances and realizing just how big that is for a little kitchen. The O&M does have a griddle cover that turns the center into workspace of sorts, though, so possibly the same thing exists for modern stoves to pick up the space?

@bayareafrancy, your stove is beautiful! I dream of a double oven too, but we did agree early on that we'd either keep our existing stove or get a modern one after I spent a little too much time ogling the pricey restored models at a shop nearby....so no double oven for me either. Ah, well. If we do replace it, though, we'll definitely pass it on to someone who appreciates it---in fact two of the contractors who came out to bid on the project even offered to buy it! (Happily we live in a city with lots of O&Ms and appreciation for them, which has the added bonus of meaning there are three repairs shops in town, and the guy from PG&E who came out to turn our gas on when we first moved in took the entire thing apart, tuned it up for free, and then explained how it all worked, which was a fun surprise!)

@sw_in_austin, I'm glad to hear you have a similar layout that's working well, since we've really wrestled over that corner and whether it's big enough to be the primary workspace---not that we have too many other options without taking on much bigger structural changes. We have the same layout in that corner now except that there's a giant chimney where the 27" drawer bank is and the counters are 22" and 14" deep respectively, which has made it really difficult to envision what it will feel like with a continuous 25" deep counter. Small but critical change.

We do find the oven size workable (except for one emergency Thanksgiving trip to get a smaller roast pan when we discovered the door wouldn't close on the one someone had given us, we've never had anything that wouldn't fit in the oven---though the broiler is tight) so I'm thinking maybe we should stick with our original decision and not worry about it right now. I keep telling myself that it's not like we *can't* move cabinets and such if we absolutely have to down the line....just seems like a daunting task now!

30" vs 36" range...Unless you cook a lot and use more than 3 or 4 burners regularly, always use large pots, or have a very large family, I think a 30" range in the future will be fine. Yes, I like our 36" cooktop, and I find I do use multiple burners quite a bit (gluten free & regular cooking goes on at the same time quite often), but 30" would have worked well enough.

One thing to keep in mind is that a range has a larger presence than a cooktop so it will have a greater impact on your kitchen (for good or ill) than a cooktop. However, your current range is closer to the size of a 36" range...how does it look? If it's in a different place, can you move it around so you can see how it would be in that new location? I think if your current range looks fine proportion-wise, then I think a 36" one will as well. The O&M range seems to be pretty massive, so a 36" probably isn't that much more massive.

6" of counterspace & your current range...While I think 6" of additional counterspace would be nice, especially around your range, if you really love your range I recommend sticking with it for now and worrying about 30" vs 36" later...unless having everything look "sparkling new" is a priority/goal for your remodel. If it is a priority/goal, then I would replace it now and see if you can find a good home for it elsewhere...either elsewhere in your home (do you have a finished basement that you could add it to?) or with someone else.

Yes, it would be nice to have 24" of counter on the right (as well as 24" wide drawers), 33" on the left to put more space b/w the range & sink as well as give you some wider drawers near the range for pots & pans, or split the difference for 30" & 21"...but if you truly love your range, I think it might be worth losing those 6" for now (or 4" b/c it's 34" wide).

One thing to think about, though...range hood & upper cabinets. If you're getting them now regardless of what you decide about keeping the O&M range, then you do have to decide now so you can purchase and install them with the rest of the remodel. 36" or 42" will work with the O&M range...but keep in mind that a 36" hood will work with a 30", 34", or 36" range. Ditto 42". True, a 36" hood over a 36" range doesn't have the extra 6" to increase capture area & hood effectiveness, but if it's powerful enough it will probably be fine.

Temporary BB vs same counter...What is your new counter going to be? Will you be able to get a matching counter later if you wait and install BB now and permanent later?

I know, not much help here, but I thought it might help to hear it worded differently.

Good luck!

She looks brand new! You have really taken good care of that girl! I can see your dilemma.
What is your vision for your new kitchen though? Do you just dream of some other range or do you just love the one you have? Either way, I think it really boils down to what you want when you visualize your new space.
It seems like all of the other factors will be secondary considerations.

Oh yea, I also meant to say, whatever you decide, it looks like your range will be a showstopper, so maybe imagine you are just starting out and get to choose your range. The first one is the white range and the second is a new one. Which do your prefer? Decide.
Then figure in the cost, does that change your mind or make your decision more firm?
Then figure out how you will do the install. If you choose the white one, you have a couple of options. The new one... one option.

OMG...KEEP HER!!! I had to leave a similar Wedgewood in my home when I moved and I soooo miss the charm and nostalgia of that stove. I nearly cry every time I see one. They work great and have more than maintained their value over the years. If you leave in 7-10 years and it is still working, I doubt it will lower the resale. JMHO ;-)

I'll cast a vote to keep but I'm real partial to the vintage ranges. DH and I were looking for an OM until we came across our Chambers (a little bigger than 36"). I love cooking on her and she is one of my centerpieces in our renovation that everyone who visits comments on.

Have you considered putting your range to the right at the end of your cabinet run?

The other photos of vintage ranges on this thread seem to have them at one end of a run, rather than centered between cabinets. It seems that would make it easier to update the cabinets when you are ready to sell.... and it would give you a longer continuous workspace to the left of the range.

I've had a stove on the end of a VERY short 24 inches of counter. It worked fine. It's all in what you get used to. Mine was next to the bathroom door = heavy traffic area. Sink was three steps on the adjoining wall. That kitchen didn't seem that small at the time. And I had two little kids!

hi pinch me -

I live in N. CA. if you were closer the stove would be yours!

Farmhouse...that is an awesome range and you sure paired a great hood with it!!!

I agree...if you can get some counter space on both sides of your stove, the workspace will be much more functional.

Well, one thing to ask is how often you use the griddle space as counterspace -- I ask because we often use our OKM center griddle as a storage spot for hot pans, prepped ingredients, spoons etc during cooking. Ours is the 39.5" width stove, and the griddle is a full 12" of that. So shrinking the range width by 6" to add counter would just be trading one kind of workspace for another in our case.

We did have some reservations about centering our OKM between cabinets but decided the heck with it, and there are new 40" ranges available should it ever (knock on wood) come to that. Too late now: I've tiled the whole shebang in.

But these babies are truly built to last, and any part that can break can also be replaced. I rehabbed mine all by myself, so I speak from real, greasy experience with things like valve lube and stove wire. *puff pant*

(waves enthusiastically to Francy - it's so good to see you & yours again! How goes it?)

Thanks---yes, we have the same griddle setup as circuspeanut in the center, and do use it as a form of counter space, which is nice. So it's true that we're not completely giving it up until/unless we actually replace the range. And assuming we keep it, which we're leaning strongly towards right now, one of my summer projects is to rewire it so we can plug it in (right now it shorts out the kitchen!) I keep waiting for the rains to stop so I can take it outside and take it apart---usually May is safe, but this year there's still rain in the forecast, so I'm really glad we didn't decide to start the remodel a couple months earlier!

We don't plan to have any uppers on the wall with the range, just hanging things behind it, so it isn't too much of an issue on that front. And while we could end the run with the stove, DH is not enthused about walking into the kitchen to have the stove immediately next to you, and we do like having counter to the right of it as right-handed cooks. However, we could definitely make this a freestanding piece vs. a built-in cabinet, which would get around the locking-in-the-size issue and have an added benefit of being a better workaround for one of the funky CA codes with access to gas lines than our current solution. I'd just want to be sure we had storage space in the piece, if so. I'll have to look around---we have a cheap Ikea butcher block there that does the job, but has really taken a beating in the three years we've had it.

@farmhousebound and circuspeanut, I see you both have vent hoods that are (or look?) the same width as your stoves---do you find that a problem at all? Buehl's post reminded me that we still haven't figured that issue out. I'd been advised to get one 6" wider, but there seems to be a somewhat limited selection in 42" widths....maybe we don't really need that, especially as the O&M is only 34" anyway? Doesn't help with the dilemma at hand, but something else I'd been wondering! We're coming from no venting whatsoever, so it's hard to know where to start on that.

artemis - our hood is the same size as the stove (Modern Aire) and has been no issue at all. To be honest, I think if we had went 6" wider the hood wouldn't have looked as good with the stove although we had plenty of room to do so. I think you probably need to concentrate on the power of the hood (CFMs) and consider how/what you cook.

circuspeanut - I love your OM w/ its yellow knobs, the subway backsplash w/ the accent tiles, and how you brought in yellow accent pieces & other splashes of color. If I remember correctly, the yellow box to the right of the stove was an old breadbox?