We purchased two GE electric ovens in October 2010 and had them installed by GE under the counter. We immediately realized that the options on the control panel cannot be clearly seen due to no back lighting and the fact that black text is used on a dark grey background. I can't tell you how many times I've turned on the 'self clean' option instead of the oven light. Although GE has been very responsive to other issues, I am stuck with ovens that annoy me every time I have to use them. The lighting in our kitchen is very good, but it's no match for the poorly designed display. GE will only say that it is functioning as designed. Perhaps their chairman will feel differently; he's my next stop. Just wanted folks out there to be aware if you're shopping for under-counter ovens, that the poor design may not be apparent in the store as they typically have bright lighting and are displayed as a wall installation, bringing the panel up to eye level where it is more easily viewed. Unless something changes, I'm stuck with these units and will curse every time I have to use them. Buyer beware.

Thanks so much for everyone's input. I would like to consider other brand 36" range that is around $2500, but I went to a few appliance showroom in San Francisco Bay Area, the cheapest brand is kitchen aid, I could not find those brand on the link. Deeageaux posts here. Does Anyone use Verona 36" dual fuel? It is only $2500. I can put the oven on my 4.5x8' island. I didn't think of cutting granite/ceaser stone cost for the cooktop. Somebody told me the oven in the range has a fan/venting system for the smoke, but wall oven doesn't. Is it true? I am thinking about induction cooktop. Not so sure yet. Rosie: only concern I have for oven not under the cooktop is the smoke(If I burn the food or grease from cooking the meat) from the oven can't be vented out by my hood. Do you find that is an issue?

Ovens that are part of a range are designed to be accessed at their low location. Even then, some people dislike having to bend down to get to the oven. On the other hand, wall ovens aren't really designed for under-counter installation. They frequently feel too close to the floor. They also often vent hot air just where you are standing (although that can differ between models). If you have a wall oven, I would normally recommend installing it at about counter-top level or no more than a couple of inches lower. You could also install it a little higher, but if it is too high, again, it becomes difficult to access. On the other hand, if you think that you only use your oven very rarely, then obviously none of these considerations matter much. For the once-a-year turkey, it really doesn't matter if the oven is somewhat less convenient to access. On the other hand, if you do have an easily accessible oven, you might realize that it can be used for a lot more than just roasting turkey. Many commercial kitchens use ovens for the bulk of their cooking. It's a great option for slowly braising foods. Much better temperature control than using a stove top. It also can be used to keep dishes warm before serving. Personally, I find that after having learned about the usefulness of an oven, I actually need more than one oven to efficiently cook larger meals. Of course, for simple everyday meals, all of this is moot, and I can do with whatever limited tools I have access to.

@Jan Moyer, thanks for your notes! The kitchen designer was going to see if we can squeeze the Advantium where you indicated. If we remove the trim and possibly fiddle with the doorway to the dining room, that could work. And that would be a good location for me, near the range but with some set-down space on either side of the range. She could put matching pull outs on either side of the range, to balance it, before the left hand side moves to the shallower depth counter. The first design had the fridge where you suggest, but that really doesn't work for our workflow. For one we absolutely need a full size (not counter) depth fridge. And, counterintuitively, we want it out of the main flow. I get all my stuff out to prep and right now I am constantly getting bumped by family members getting water/ice, snacks etc out of the fridge. Here is an example of how we want the fridge nook to look, except the back wall will be 300 year old stone. The previous owners built a drywall pantry in front of the stone, which includes some of the staircase, but they put cabinetry on the right hand side of it so they created a dark narrow closet that covers that beautiful stone. We want to remove that and open it up and put the fridge in the alcove. The other possible option is at the bottom right of the plan - it's not indicated here, but there is a tiny wall oven there now and we were planning to replace that with a cabinetry pantry, which I am pretty excited about. We are also adding on a little utility room, but I picture that storing things like the extra paper towels, maybe crockpot, dog food etc. Not everyday things like rice, canned tomatoes, cereal, etc.