Not a "great cook" here but I cook a lot. Have a Blue Star RNB that I bought for very specific reasons that do not all have to do with cooking. I liked the looks, it fit in my old-house kitchen, loved the "Garland" burners. I admit it -- I liked the vibe of the stove. I liked its old fashioned no frills aesthetic, and I was also smitten by the idea of having a color. I do love having the power when I need it, and I do love the control. When you are making dinner for people and they are all standing around in the kitchen, it is nice to be able to get the pasta water up to a boil quickly. The simmer burner is excellent. I like flames. In a new house kitchen I would have chosen induction. But in this house the Blue Star is a perfect fit. One of the reasons I chose the Blue Star is that it is easy to completely dismantle the entire stove top and clean. That has continued to be a very appreciated feature because if you cook a lot, you clean a lot. I also found Iove being able to put full size trays in the oven because we make biscotti and granola on a regular basis. So my answer is -- buy a range that meets your very particular needs, both aesthetic and culinary, whether it is a professional range or not.

This isn't an easy decision because, as we all know, the kitchen is a game of dominos. You've obviously targeted the range as an important appliance. The other big ticket is the refrigerator so I would look at that right away as well with any tradeoffs in mind. First, are you a stovetop cook or an oven cook? IOW, which is more important to you, the burners or the oven? What's your oven experience so far? Gas or electric? Any preferences? Do you need a microwave? Speed oven? Steam oven? If one or more then I would prioritize. Pro ranges, something like a 48" (my DD has a Wolf dual fuel) give you multiple burners and very large ovens. Those hold big pans and quantities but take a lot of time to heat. If the ovens are going while you're working on the top, a pro range can be very hot to work at. Pro ranges come with gas ovens and dual fuel, with electric. Dual is more expensive. So do you need 2 big gas ovens? How many burners would be ideal? Is 6 enough? Are high outout burners important? If so, do you want all high output or is one enough? How important is simmer to you? Mrs. Nyefnyef makes a very good point about the range size and attendant hood and vent sizing. No matter what pro range goes in, a hood is essential especially with high output burners. Hood costs go up with size, of course. So there's the big range option -- say min 6 burners and 2 big ovens in the range. Or, there's the rangetop or cooktop option - with double electric wall ovens if that's a preference. Or there's a dual fuel rangetop plus induction option if, say, you do a lot of pasta and want 2 fast induction burners. Plllog, who cooks a lot has a combo like this. Or, there's the rangetop/cooktop option - with a single electric wall oven and a smaller speed or steam oven. Plus microwave if that's needed. Or any mix of the above. The Berta and Ilve and Verona are ranges at better price points than the other brands but there are various trade offs in the burner ignitions, oven sizes and styling. First, I'd try to decide what's most important to you, and what's needed. But I'd worry less about which range and more about what's needed throughout the kitchen.

You cannot do such a large arch - the overall height of this piece will be approx 18" ( 84 - 18 = 66 ) Do a 2" - 2 1/2" arch on the valance. If you do a column on each side you could then do a crown molding detail that will return on the column and not interfere with the doors of the cabinets. The opening underneath needs to be based on the actual exhaust unit that is required for your range - your appliance folks should be able to help you with that. It will be a challenge since you have a reduced ceiling height and you have an offset vent line ( which needs to be changed - in most areas flex duct is not allowed ). You could also do a chimney style Here are a couple of pictures for short mantles you could create Good luck - I hope you can figure something out!

We all have favorites for appliances the best advice I can give id find the one that works for how you cook. I love my Bertazzoni other people hate them it really a personal choice. IMO Wolf is over rated and over priced Gas ranges as rule are very reliable but that is only one part of the decision.