For retirement, I'd suggest induction. It's much safer.And separate wall ovens. It's more ergonomic. A plain 36'' counter depth, maybe KA, would be fine for a couple. Bosch for a DW.

I would post in the appliance forum. You'll get very good advice there.

However having said that, I agree with LWO. I'm building a retirement home and am doing exactly what LWO said. An induction cooktop, a wall oven and probably a speed oven.

Ditto, although ours is not a new build. The kitchen is our upcoming project and induction cooktop and wall oven and drawers everywhere are at the top of the list.

Ok... I'll consider induction cooktop... but not too sure of the "learning" curve?? switching from gas to induction. I am thinking of a side by side refrigerator so I don't have to dig in a drawer. What do you all think of Kitchenaid? I'll look for a Bosch dishwasher:) Now, what about an apron kitchen sink vs drop-in? I do appreciate this help!

I switched from gas to induction and had no trouble adjusting. I love induction. Lots of threads in the appliances forum if you have already looked there. You might also post there.

I am hoping for a short learning curve with the induction. I look at it this way, I'm pretty smart - how hard can it be? LOL!

When it comes to sinks, it seems the advice here is go with a big single sink and whether it is drop in, undermount or apron is more of a personal preference. I don't spend a lot of time with my hands in my sink, so comfort-wise am fine with any. The other choice is sink material. Silgranit seems to be a popular alternative to stainless. Something to think about.

We just built and moved into what I believe will be our retirement home. I went high end on my range with a Lacanche. I had never heard of Lacanche before I started searching for range information on this site. It receives fabulous reviews, But, what impressed me most were that the owners come back years later to report about how much they still love their ranges.

I thought it was important to mention the range because after spending a lot of time researching on this site, I became familiar with several brands that I had never considered or even heard of when I first began thinking about appliances. I think I found it more useful at times to read old posts than to post specific questions about certain products, as it opened my mind to what else was out there.

I went with reasonably priced, dependable appliances for the rest of my choices. LG for the counter depth refrigerator, Bosch for the dishwasher and I brought my 3 year old, large capacity top load LG washer and dryer with me.

I had an LG refrigerator in my old home which worked great and that was why I went with that brand again. Bosch was a new brand for me and I got much of the information on the Bosch dishwasher on this site. The Bosch cleans well and feels like it is solidly built. Our last dishwasher, a Kenmore, had plastic wheels on the upper rack that broke twice in the 3 years we owned it. The Bosch has metal glides, which seems like a better design. I did take a plate with me to the appliance store to make sure it would fit before I bought it. That was something else I learned on this site, American plates are sometimes too big to fit easily into the Bosch. The racks are smaller and I'm still getting used to the configuration. But, I really like the third rack for large utensils or when we have extra plates to wash, I can remove the utensil rack and use the third rack instead.

I would buy my LG washer and dryer again, they hold the most laundry of any residential machine I've ever used and they do a great job.

Agree with the induction recommendation, as we are in the same position. It's a pretty easy transition from gas, once you stop bending down to check the height of the non-existent "flames." Setting #4 will always be the same, for example, unlike "medium high" which a person might interpret differently on a different day...

Love our Bosch DW with third rack, which I read about here, and the Electrolux oven, also a GW discovery for me. We got a Liebherr fridge, only because my DH was adamant about not seeing the sides of the doors from the living room/dining room, not sure I would have cared that much.

i understand the recommendation for wall ovens but what is the reason for converting from gas to induction for retirement home considerations?

You should probably do a search as there have been many GW threads on induction vs gas, and most of those people who have switched to induction won't go back to gas. Induction is safer and it's easier to clean. You can't put a paper towel under your griddle to catch the splatters when frying bacon if you are using gas. People love the ability to set a timer to shut off a hob after a specified time (think cooking rice). As a down side, not all cookware will work on induction, and if you have a power outage you aren't going to be cooking dinner on your cooktop.

I don't own an induction range, but have tried one a number of times and don't get what the big deal is. Cookwear is very hit or miss whether it will work correctly, many of my favorite pots won't for various reasons. Forget cooking in a wok (something I happen to do a lot), at best you can use one of those flat-bottomed abominations. I like the instant visual feedback of the flame level to tell me how much heat I'm providing at any given moment. In 60 years I haven't yet started a fire on a gas range, though I've seen several on old electric ranges where people put flammables down on the "cool" looking burners. Likewise for burns. The flame is a pretty dead giveaway that the rangetop is hot--even the cats get it. Understand that indiction might be even better, but don't have any reason to think a gas range is unsafe enough to worry about. Our retirement home got an all gas Capital Culinarian, and I'm extremely happy with that choice. Currently building the brick pizza oven that will have an unregulated wood fire in it an stay hot for days-- can only imagine how unsafe and hard to clean that will be seen to be!

I've had regular electric, I've had gas, and I have induction, and I'll never have anything but induction again (disclaimer: I cook very simply, I don't particular love to cook, I cook because we have to eat). I like the level of control, I like how simple it is to clean, I like how I can set the hob to go off at a certain time. There's no need for comparison anymore for me -- if I move and the place doesn't have induction, it's the first thing I would switch out.

As we age we can't predict what may or may not happen. My brilliant mother got Parkinsons and it eventually not only robbed her body but her mind. There is a reason why in assisted living places they do not have working cooktops or ovens. Plus even after you turn off a gas burner it stays hot for quite a while. Induction doesn't so it's much safer around children and the elderly.

One of the big things, at least for us, when we aged, was we just don't have the energy for cleaning a stove top or range, like we use to.

With induction, "just a swipe" will do ya!, ya just can't beat that, and as long as you have pans that are approved for induction, (IE a magnet sticks to them), the pan selection is no biggie!

We have a total mix of pans, Emeral ware, (cheaper version of All Clad), some I can't even recall the names of, and they all work great on our 7 year old Electrolux Icon Induction cooktop. Course you cant use copper, or glass pans, (perhaps rwiegand didn't know that), but my own experience as well as other posters here, do not indicate any "pan Problems", per say.

When you age, you really don't like bending down and looking at or retreaving whatever is in the oven, with a wall oven, yhou can put it at the "perfect Height" for you. Also since my wife and I both cook, we aren't tripping over each other if one wants to use the oven and the other the cooktop, which of course you would with a range.

Good luck with your choices, the choices we made have worked out great in "Our Old Age"!

PS I agree with you about the fridge, no way did I wanna be digging in the bottom of a freezer, We bought a 48" SXS built in Jenn-air and Love it. We are just as apt to acess the freezer as the fridge, and we keep the most used items inside the fridge or freezer at the perfect height for us.

Gary

Induction. Induction. Induction. Induction is the new black; the U.S. is just slow to catch up. I will never clean grates again. Never worry, or waste my time fiddling with a flame. Never turn up my AC when I have to cook all day. Never scorch another dish towel. Just touch a button -- BAM, cook it -- and finish with a swipe of vinegar. That was my choice for my retirement kitchen, and I have enjoyed every minute of using it. Enjoy your retirement!

Since reading all the responses I am going to go look at induction cook tops. I am choosing a wall oven and going with a built in 48 side by side. Thank you all for your help!