Range vs gas cooktop over oven, and 30" vs 36"

3 years ago

We're having a dilemma related to space, features and budget. We're building a new kitchen in a massive reno. We'll have a 7 ft cooking "alcove," a 13 ft counter run for sink, DW, fridge, and a 10 ft island w/ microwave.

The house we're moving from has a 36" Wolf plus another electric oven in the island. We're figuring not to have a second oven in the new house for budget/space concerns. We cook a lot and bake fairly regularly so size/capacity are important.

We had assumed we'd get a 36" pro style. However, not having ever shopped for these before we realized: 1) they cost so much more on average than 30", 2) the oven capacity is smaller on average (5 cu ft, some less) than, say the top 30" LG or Samsung (6 cu ft or more including dual oven capability), and 3) most 36" don't have any digital features like programming, touch controls or even a simple time cook.

One option may be a 36" gas cooktop with digital electric oven below it which includes nice touch controls; I'm told these would have to be same manufacturer to make sure clearances are OK (Cafe may have a nice option). Price may work out similar to a 36" pro dual fuel. Anyone done this?

Question about the capacity - how would you compare "usable" capacity between a 36" wide, 5 cu ft oven vs a narrower 30" oven with 6 cu ft? I feel like I should know this from experience but would appreciate opinions.

I feel that part of this is uncertainty going down from 36" range + separate oven to just one oven.

I feel like a high end 30" 6 burner with 6+ cu ft oven would be adequate but it makes me nervous.

Part of the uncertainty is how a 30" would look in a range alcove in a big kitchen.

Also if this would look "okay" from a value standpoint in a higher end house in a higher end neighborhood.

Thanks!

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Comments (3)

wekick
3 years ago
On oven capacity, the cubic feet doesn’t tell the whole story. Look at the size of the rack and how much usable space you have from the bottom rack to the top.

There are some prostyle gas ranges that will accommodate a full sized commercial tray even with a 30” range although you may not have much room for air movement. . I know BlueStar does and possibly Monogram. BlueStar also has an electric wall oven that will hold a full sheet. of you want an electric oven instead of gas, I would look for a rangetop and put the oven on the wall. If you post your layout there are people who are really good at helping you with design.
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
3 years ago
IMO a 30” 6 burner is ridiculous there is no way to have all 6 burners have pots on them. I would stick to a 36” gas with an electric oven if you would orefer electric over a gas oven. I have a 36” 6 burner all gas range but I also have double electric wall ovens I run a catering biz from my home I love gas for certain things I bake like pizza and bread for sure . My range is a bertazzoni and does not accomadate commercial pans and I have never found that to be a big deal. remember most commercial ranges do not have self cleaning ovens mine does not but my wall oven s do. IMO most important to really think about what and how you cook. Please do not put a wall oven below and cooktop.
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Ok a Big Oops this should be 36" and 36" or I will have a really big kitchen sorry for the mistake thought I had corrected it but somehow it didn't post correctly.
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Usually Deeageaux I agree with you. This time I do not. My biggest regret in my kitchen reno was to install a range instead of separate 36" rangetop and 30" wall ovens. About your comment that everyone on GW would do it if it were so perfect, that's a sweeping statement that I am surprised you would make. As you know, everything in a kitchen has its pros and cons. People do not install separate cooktop/rangetop and wall ovens because of (a) the extra cost, as you mentioned, (b) some people like the "hearth" aesthetics of a range, and (c) lack of wall space for wall ovens. Many people's kitchens are not big enough to separate the cooktop from the oven. MaywoodW seems to have a pretty good budget, given his/her OP. Also seems to have the wall space for wall ovens, given his/her OP. Regarding your comment about stacking one oven above the other means one is too high and the other too low, I think it's just the opposite. A range's oven is so low to the ground, one thing people cite they most prefer over a range is a wall oven's waist height for basting the turkey, etc. If you want to put a third oven in a stack, then I'd agree with you, but with two wall ovens, both heights are pretty ergonomic. I agree with you that a gas oven roasts meats better than electric, but it's not enough of difference to ditch the idea of rangetop/wall ovens. I agree with you that a wall oven won't be able to be exhausted the way a range can that is directly under a hood. But there are tens of thousands of kitchens all over the world that have wall ovens and are OK with that. I think a 36" range's oven is not a good use of space, and will rarely be filled. Most people report a significant difference in heating times between a 30" oven and a 36" oven, so your 5 minutes difference is unusual. Dee, I respect your opinions, and valuable input on this forum, but really, I cannot wait for my "next" kitchen, when I can install a rangetop and separate wall ovens instead of the range I have now.
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Just a few points. You don't need a window over the sink. Keep you corner windows and then do something like this for cabinets over the sink area. You're making this more complicated than it needs to be. cpartist and I both drew our fridges a few inches from the wall. I was anticipating that it would be understood that a cabinet would need to go there to allow the fridge door to swing fully open. I'm sure cpartist was, too. It's just hard to judge without good measurements and different fridges have different requirements for this. Having the door hinges on the left so the door swings toward sink/DW would not be recommended. Access would be clumsy. The difference between our suggestions is the wall oven. I wouldn't do it. The functional aspects of a wall oven would outweigh the decrease in your kitchen's aesthetics. It will create a big, bulky cabinet at the end of that run which will make your kitchen feel smaller and be darker due to blocking the light from the windows (doors?) to the left of the wall oven as well as blocking the corner windows. It ruins your long sight lines. Of course, your priorities might be different. I love the way light plays in a room and light makes me happy. It would be a worthy trade-off to me. May I suggest that if you must do a waist-height wall oven, that you don't take the cabinet to the ceiling. Maybe something similar to this shorter cabinet? It won't block all the light and won't be such a bulky hulk. See how the light still flows past the oven and creates an open visual line? So much nicer than a cabinet to the ceiling, imho.
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waverly6
3 years ago
I found that the size played a bigger role in aesthetics than I thought. In a very large kitchen, a 30 inch range may look underwhelming but you may be able to compensate for that visually to give it more presence. My kitchen has a very long wall. I had initially been leaning towards a 36 in induction cooktop with wall ovens placed elsewhere. Because of the proportions of the room, and some other considerations I went with a 48 inch midnight blue Aga Elise induction to be surrounded by white cabinetry and a blue island. Once the range went in, it still looked too small for the space so I had the cabinets on either side painted in the same navy blue to give it more presence.
You are wise to consider the overall proportions of the room. And yes, aesthetics do matter.

Range vs gas cooktop over oven, and 30" vs 36"

Comments (3)

wekick

Patricia Colwell Consulting

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