There are several threads where folks have asked about having only a CSO in their kitchen. I have 3 ovens all Miele - CSO/Speed/30” Wall Convection. I use all 3 on a regular basis. I do use my 30” less frequently however I do use it for: when I need to use a 1/2 sheet pan (doesnt fit in my CSO/Speed), meats that could be messy that I am not doing on the grill, other “messy” food items (CSO is harder to clean - no self clean option), baking cake layers as they both can fit, when I need to use my large rectangular pizza stone, when I want to use temp over 435 degrees (CSO/Speed max out at 435). My CSO is my work horse and I absolutely love it but it the pan doesn’t fit or I am cooking a messy dishes that doesn’t benefit from steam then I use my large oven. I have a 36” cooktop and my 3 wall ovens. I personally have never enjoyed a range but that is a personal preference.

Thank you! Thanks also for the reminder that the temp maxes out at 435.
I’ve seen the “CSO” only questions but I guess my question is more CSO + 36 or CSO+30?

I have never had a 36” oven so can’t comment there - a 30” has always been sufficient. Not sure how much width you actually gain and how often that extra space would be required. If you want a 36” cooktop and can’t have a 30” wall oven then I would get the 36” range to get the cooktop. My issue (only happens twice a year) Is needing capacity at different oven temps and modes rather than more space in a single oven at the same temp. I will often even break out my good old toaster oven for a 4th oven during the holidays.

Before our remodel, for about eight years, we had "just" a 30" Bluestar RNB range. After the remodel, we added a Miele XL-sized CSO and SpeedOven. Now that I have three ovens, I find I rarely use more than a single burner on the range.

I have cooked some spectacularly big meals (including a catered lunch for 100 people) since we got the new kitchen. And I don't think I even ever used three or more burners. And that's despite the fact that the Bluestar's burners are amazing. These burners are about as close as you can get to a commercial range in a home kitchen. Wouldn't want to settle for anything else!

But for many types of cooking, a oven is simply a better choice. It's great for an slow and low simmering. So, having more ovens (and having small ovens that preheat quickly!) is really useful. Making at least one of these ovens a CSO is a game changer. So many things that I used to cook on the stovetop cook much better in the CSO -- and it turns out, most of these dishes involve less work for me, too. So, definitely a huge improvement for a home chef.

These days, I use the CSO and sometimes the SpeedOven because they both preheat much faster. And I only really use the big oven in the Bluestar range:

1. for anything that splatters a lot. With the Bluestar I don't really care about it looking pristine; and once every few years, I clean it with oven cleaner spray.
2. for any really huge servings. The 30" Bluestar holds fullsize commercial sheets; some residential 36" ranges can't even do that. This is awesome when I need to bake 6+ big loaves of bread all at the same time. But more often than not, I only need one or two 2 lbs loaves. And then the CSO works just fine. In fact, the XL CSO is surprisingly capacious. It's rare, but of course possible, to hit its capacity limits.
3. and most importantly of all, I use the Bluestar oven for its truly amazing infrared broiler. The broiler in the Miele isn't even in the same ballpark. But then, the Bluestar broiler is probably about the closest you can get to a commercial salamander without actually buying a dedicated salamander.

The downside with a big oven such as in the 30" Bluestar is that it takes a really long time to preheat. I need to give it an absolute minimum of 20min. If I need it to be 100% evenly preheated, then I should probably double that time. On the other hand, the CSO is often perfectly usable within 10min and often I don't preheat at all.

So, yes, I absolutely would recommend going for the 30" instead of the 36" model. I initially contemplated 36" for our kitchen, and now that the remodel is done, I am so glad I saved that space for something more useful. It's only 6". But it affects both lower and upper cabinets. That's space that I can put to much better use, if I know that I never need more than 4 burners. The situation would be different, if I wanted an integrated griddle. But I find, as much as I love cooking on griddles, I am actually better off with various skillets and other overlay cookware.

Also, I didn't initially plan on having three ovens. It was mostly a surprising side-effect of us already owning a range when we went into the remodel. But in hindsight, this was a great choice. Having more small ovens really makes a difference when cooking more complex meals.

Super helpful- thanks M! I feel so constrained on my current 30 inch range- using three burners is a squeeze with big pots. But the newer higher end 30 inch ovens make better use of grates so maybe it would work.