What would go in the six inches you would gain by switching from a 30 inch to a 24 inch range? Do you gain more room to go through a doorway, or to open the refrigerator?

I would gain more counter (and cabinet) space.

Nothing is crazy if it's what you want. But a 30" range makes no sense to me. How many times would the oven on a range even be used between May and September? We use the microwave more than the stove.

Heavy sigh, but I guess I probably should use a 24". I currently have a 30" and was hoping to keep that size only because of the larger oven, but perhaps that is not practical.

I'm not going to have ventilation (other than the passive ventilation in the wall of my condo). Do you think that will be a problem for any of these 24" ranges?

Six inches of counter space does matter if it is what Julia Child called "putting down space."

Have you compared the interior dimensions of the ovens? Is the only difference the width of the usable space inside the oven? Is the temperature regulation markedly different?

After seeing comments about the allegedly small size of the Bertazzoni oven, I measured one in a showroom and found that it was one inch less in height than my present oven, which is not a deal breaker for me.

No vent is not a problem for a 24" and another reason to go that way especially in a small space.

I looked at the 24" Berta today and, I have to say, it's really gorgeous. The oven does look small, but after measuring most of my pans, it seems like they will fit. I think I will probably go with the Bertazzoni. Thanks, everyone for you input. This renovation thing is pretty daunting.

Keep us posted.

I think the Bertazzoni is one of the most cheerful pieces of industrial design I have ever seen, right up there with the Nelson Swag Leg Desk. I suspect that the looks of the Bertazzoni will help you recover from the stress of the renovation.

Doesn't the Berta have a delayed ignition on the oven? I seem to recall reading about that on this forum. Some of the owners were a bit surprised by this, so you should be sure to ask a knowledgeable sales rep about it - assuming there is such an animal, LOL. Trevor from Eurostoves doesn't count, he's head and shoulders above all the appliance sales reps I've encountered!

Without pics of the layout it is a little hard for me to comment. But if I have to choose larger prep area or larger cooking surface, I am probably going to have to go with prep area first. You can work around cramped burners, but not having enough room for your bowls and ingredients and cutting boards, etc., tends to make cookery pretty mournful. Get the 24", stick with smaller cookware to make it work, save the 6" for counter and cabinet space. Also, this question might have some better answerers and answers in the Kitchen Forum, where they specialize in kitchen design decisions. You might want to cross post over there to solicit some ideas from the brain trust over there.

Again, lots of misinformation about the Berta. Oven ignites just fine -- door should be open but it works just the same if not (I forget). Must say, for a stove at that price point the burners are great. I just reduced an entire pan of stock and the simmer was perfect -- very even, well distributed heat. Easy to clean spillovers. I think it's an ideal apartment stove.

Not to muddy waters (I'm sure it's more) but I just came across some specs on the 24" American Range which has a 3.71 cu ' oven. It's not that much more powerful than the Berta but may bear a look in terms of oven size you want in the 24" category.

Both BlueStar and American 24" ranges have much larger ovens then all competitors

Another option you might want to investigate is the smaller Fagor cooktop (I think it's about 27", but with five burners) over their 24" oven. You can mount the cooktop over a 24 in cabinet; it just overlaps a couple of inches on each side of the counter.

A neighbor of mine is doing this with their electric cooktop (only 3 burners, alas), since by using a 24" cabinet she has room also for a 24" drawer bank, a huge bump in storage space for her.

Bertazzoni? Completely agree. They're gorgeous. But the Nelson "swag leg desk" looks like Speedy West's Fender pedal steel.

Still seriously leaning toward the 24" Berta, but had another idea. What about a 24" cooktop and a 27" oven? Would that look weird? That way, I would still have the extra usable counter space, but have a slightly larger oven.

It seems that an electric oven is preferable to gas - is that accurate? Will the monthly electric costs be significantly more than with gas? Any particular recommendations with respect to brands?

Thing with the built in electric oven is whether or not you have enough electric service and the right type coming into the apartment. In our case there was not. Usually, if there's an older gas oven the answer is no but it's important to check since it can be an expensive proposition to bring additional service in.

If you look at the 24" American range the oven is much larger.

Depends on usage but gas is more economical than electric here -- Con Ed is raising rates very soon.

I don't know what style you have in mind, but Lacanche makes a model called Cormatin that would be a happy medium - size-wise. It's 27-3/4" wide. You can order it in a myriad of colors. It's a French range with many fans here on GW. Even though most would consider it very traditional looking, it can also look surprisingly contemporary if you choose it in a snappy color with chrome knobs instead of brass.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lacanche Cormatin Range

I looked at the American and it's really nice, but I'm not going to be able to use any ventilation and was told that I probably should get such a high BTU range for that reason.

I think the Lacanche is absolutely gorgeous and I'd love to have one, but unfortunately, I can't really justify the price for this apartment.

The no-vent thing is very limiting in terms of the range which is why I went with the Berta. All around it offered what I needed and the top retailers like Elgot carry it and recommend it.

The 24" American does have a much larger oven -- 3.71 c.f. -- but with a broiler that produces 1500 F heat and no vent, it's tough to go there in a small kitchen.

The other one you might consider is the GE Cafe, if you haven't already. I didn't think it compared to the Berta in terms of build quality or looks but the oven may do it for you. It may even have 2 ovens; cannot recall.

The Aga Companion is pretty, 24" I believe, with 4 gas burners and two small ovens, one over the other.
Lynn

I also have a small cottage kitchen & am thinking about a 24 "incher" but the DeLonghi defsgg24ss is more my budget. Any reviews on it?

We are delaying the redo of our kitchen until next winter. But I have decided it is the 24" Berta range for me. I've read everything I could find about it, and learned today that GWeb found the lost posts, including the Berta threads, so here I am reading again.

The Berta's oven is a gas convection oven, from what I read in their literature. We have a Sharpe convection/microwave, and that fairly large and mid-powered electric oven cooks turkey the best we've ever eaten. I would use the Berta oven to cook breads mostly, and not very often.

It was not mentioned anywhere else but in this thread that I could hold off on having a range hood for a Berta. I was positioning my Berta (already speaking that way yeah) to avoid any changes in the a/c ductwork, and reconfiguring my very small kitchen into a galley style. I could have a wide counter space, maybe 5 feet, to the left of the range, and maybe 15 inches to the right. The back door is not far away, so if venting a lot of hot air or smoke is necessary, the door could be opened. Later on I might go back and put in a vent over the range.

When we stayed at a villa near Orvieto Italy, they had a Berta in the kitchen. I was very impressed with it. Andit was a 24" width. After that tripm I've been hooked on Italian style in so many areas.

Would love to hear how the 24'' Bertazzoni worked out for you. I am considering buying an apartment but I am discouraged by the small kitchen size. They do have a nice 24'' Berta but I have heard mixed things. Also very sad to be leaving my 30'' range behind.

Had a lacanche volnay for 12 years and now a blue star 36" for 9 months. Loved the small ovens of the lacanche. yeah, blue star cook tops have a lot of power but it's not power I need, the oven cooks unevenly and takes LONG and the burners snuff out so getting low temps isn't that easy. build quality is way better on Lacanche IMHO. No affiliation with either, just a home cook trying to like a blue star....wouldn't hesitate to do a 24" if you don't cook much.