Ailisa - I have the Provence Yellow and no, it is not overwhelming. In my kitchen it is considered a 'neutral' actually. I have wine-stained cherry cabinets on the bottom & a 'green' stone countertop, and a super-heated copper backsplash. The color in the kitchen is 'deep', so there's no one element which 'pops'. I think you'd find that with any color you chose. 'Pop' or 'brightness' is a function of contrast. Even the lemon yellow could, under the right circumstances, be considered a neutral. And any color can seem scary when placed against a white background and white can be "popless" if there's no other color to contrast with it. That's what makes black 'dramatic,' as opposed to "dark". It's all about context. So, the question you need to ask yourself - if you've made some color choices already - is do you want contrast, or complimentary? If you want contrast, going 'lighter' in color saturation (think new white tennis shoes and new jeans) or 'darker' (think black in the middle of a 4th of July party) than the surrounding environment should perform a function. If you want complimentary, you can pair orange and fuchsia together - if you've got a chocolate brown base & the colors are 'relaxing' instead of 'clownish'. I started with my 'cabernet' stained bottom cabinets with lighter stained uppers & that drove the rest of the choices. Here is a link that might be useful: I'm still happy with the color choices after 6 years

So, after using it for a few years, here is my take on the MC, keeping in mind, of course that YMMV. I want to start by saying that I just *had* to have the MC because I was sure I would get tons of use from it, especially because I have arthritis and I have had some close calls with moving heavy pots of boiling water. So, in that way, having the MC is very nice bc it does drain the boiling water and eliminates the need to move a heavy pot full of boiling water. The downsides, though, are that it does take some time to get the water to a boil ( I would say about 15 minutes or so) and then there is the clean up, which is kind of a pain. You have to wait for the unit to cool down enough to take it apart to clean it well; otherwise, it tends to get icky. Coincidentally, we seem to be eating less pasta these days *sigh* so when I do make pasta it is in smaller batches and I usually do it on my induction hob which boils water in under a minute. I do love my MC for keeping items warm and for steaming veggies. In those instances, clean up is super easy, it's just draining the water and then I leave the lid off all night to air dry. To speak to your oven choices, I really do love having my warming cupboard, I use the heck out of that thing! I almost think I would give up the MC before the warming cupboard, especially with an induction hob that boils water so quickly for pasta. So in the end, maybe the question is...how MUCH pasta do you prepare at one time? Is it smaller batches, for say a family of 4? Or is it regularly for 10-12? In which case the MC might be very useful for you. I hope this is helpful and not more confusing!

Bonjour Elaine, Cheri and plllog are correct, our Lacanche ranges are fairly easy to work on for a qualified technician familiar with high-end appliances, and they love the fact that there are no electronics to worry about. We have worked with local technicians all across Canada, even in "remote" areas, and I know that it's the same for our colleagues in the USA. I am sure it won't be a problem to find a technician in or around a city like Charlotte, NC. On the other hand, I have seen one of our clients purchase a $10k+ fridge from a reputable brand with a "factory-certified local technician", only to find out a few months later that he wouldn't come out to service that brand anymore, leaving them high and dry with no choice but returning the unit. I often tell our Lacanche owners that word-of-mouth and comments on forums like this one and GW are our main (only) form of marketing, so it's in our best interest to make sure that all of our clients are happy with their range and the service we provide! I am sure it sounds like a broken record coming from an "appliance vendor", but I know that we and Art Culinaire have gone and will continue to go above and beyond what's required to make sure that each Lacanche owner has a wonderful experience. If you love the idea of cooking on and looking at your Lacanche range everyday, I wouldn't let the thought of servicing steer you away from it. Patrick

e g - With that sheetpan tweak (removing the back bar of the sliding rack), you have just sold a Lacanche! (They should pay you a commission - just sayin'). Thank you! That was my biggest hurdle. Well, I also let go of having an induction section 'cause it seems there needs to be an added fan(s) to keep the induction components from being roasted by the oven, and I like things pretty quiet in my kitchen, so added noise doesn't work for me. Someone said the noise was *really* loud. Maybe that has improved? I was a pastry chef for a few years and have several recipes that are specifically for a half sheetpan size. Smaller sheetpans just wouldn't work. While I know how to mathematically adjust recipes to fit different cubic inches of baking space, it's a pain in the patootie. I won't be able to order 'til next year when I'm back at the house where it'll go, but that's peachy. I'm just so excited there's a way to make a Lacanche work! Thanks for your clever solution.