You could attach a flat panel to the wall to cover the side. Since you are painting the cabinets, you could make it out of plywood and paint it to match.

My kitchen is the same way. There is a doorway beside the stove and there was no other place for me to put the range unless I wanted to go without a window at my sink and I didn't want that. It was the one thing I wasn't going to like when we were building, but frankly, after living with it this way, it doesn't bother me at all. It's easier to slide it out to clean under it and I can cook from 2 sides, so it definitely has some good things about it.

On the other side of the doorway, I have a cabinet and then the refrig., so IMO, it looks balanced.

I've had a range by a doorway but it was to the garage so not really noticeable. Generally I don't mind it. It does indicate a smaller and/or quirkier kitchen of older design and I tend to like the oddities in old kitchens (until I have to cook in them heh).

I'd put a towel bar on the side, or hooks for potholders, or a framed poster. Or if it really bugged me like it bugs you, figure out a way to do the painted panel next to it.

It's not cheesy to see the side of the range. It's not as functional to not have a counter there but you know how to work around that!

You could do a full height floor-to-ceiling panel, with a (maybe) scooped area from counter to upper cabinet height, with metal or something in the flamey area, and paint that to match.

But I'd just let it be and accept it as retro flair.

What about doing something like this?

Might make good use of otherwise wasted space.

Thanks for the suggestions. I was thinking that I was being too picky. I'll just blame it on the people who built the house and didn't consult the gardenweb for guidance. :) I'll ask my husband about attaching the wood to the side/back. But, wouldn't I need to attach countertop to the top? Would it look weird without something on top of it? I think I'm being too picky! At least my husband thinks so!

Magnetic poetry maybe? =P

I have a freestanding range that is exposed on both sides on purpose. The old range was between two small cabinets with countertops, but when we removed the old cabinets I purposely did not put cabinets back in the same place because a) I wanted to be able to clean better and b) I was going for a vintage, unfitted kitchen look. With the old traditional set-up things would spill but be impossible to clean in the little tiny crevice between stove and cabinet. So now I have wall hung shelves on one side of the range and a freestanding cabinet on the other, but nothing butting up right next to it, and I love it. And the counter top on the adjoining wall is so close I don't lack for a landing pad for stove items should I need it. Probably not many would choose to do what I did, but that's the beauty of remodeling--you can do what works for you, and with a little creativity, make it look fabulous.

My freestanding 30" range is on a 44" wall where the left side is a corner and the right is the door to the dining room. Rather than center it on the wall with two little ledges on either side, I pushed it toward the right so I could fit a 12" base cabinet on the left side and have some functional counter. The right side of the range shows, but it looks fine and it gives me more maneuvering room around the cooktop.

Soccermom04 -- Your configuration sounds similar to mine. I'm at a decision point with placing the range, which has been free-standing, but I'm considering putting counters / cabs adjacent. But your post is making me reconsider! So, if you happen to be checking back here, would you post a picture or two? Thanks!

I've been struggling with this too. I want to move the oven to the right so an accessible corner cabinet can be put into the base cabinet and wall cabinet to the left of the range.

I saw this picture somewhere, and I think this is what I'll go for in order to get corner cabinets with space.

Here's another kitchen in my development--very similar layout as mine but a bit smaller. They put their range right up to the door that opens into the garage.

Good luck. I'm making decisions the next few weeks as well!

Markar:
Sorry, I don't think I can post pictures anytime very soon--I've never done it and don't have time to learn right now, though I have read the instructions on this site. I have pictures on my camera but as yet they are not on my computer or a photo sharing site. I will post some eventually but not sure when. I have lurked for over a year but never posted til now so I'm a novice at this.

Basically, I did away with the corner cabinet and cabinets on the sides of the range that used to be part of an L-shaped kitchen. I find corner cabinets awkward and/or a waste of space, and then there were the reasons above for not putting cabinets on the sides of the stove. So now my sink wall, one leg of the L, is the only run of countertop I have, with open shelving above and below. The stove wall, the other leg of the L, has the range in the middle, a tall narrow freestanding metal cabinet to the right which still allows access to the end of the sink wall shelving, and some narrow soapstone shelves sitting on brackets attached to the wall to the left of the stove but with a few inches of space between them and the stove. Perhaps that description is as clear as mud...I will post pictures when I can get around to it. Hope I'm not hijacking this thread too badly.