Funny you should ask those questions. We have a lot of similarities. First of all, we are building a new home as well in Texas and we thought we wanted a 60" Wolf range and a 48" built in Sub Zero. I mean, that's what many homes around us have, so we should have it as well, right? Well, like you, I have found this site to be such a helpful tool. My builder too got significant discounts on Dacor, Thermador, and Viking but not on Wolf/SZ. After agonizing over the appliance choices for several months, here is what we concluded was important to us:

1. Quality
2. Looks
3. Budget

Our builder gave us a generous allowance for the appliances and we could have gone the Wolf/SZ route and I think we would have been happy, however, after reading so many positive reviews of the Thermador columns on this site and the Thermador brand in general, we are going to go with 30" separate columns and the 48" Pro Grand range by Thermador. My wife really wanted the mini oven instead of the 2 large ovens that come with a 60" range (plus it saves a little space). Also, we LOVE the look of the columns as they are completely integrated which the SZ even in the new flush inset option could not match in our opinion (unless you go with the more expensive integrated line that SZ offers). All in all, we feel like we are getting a great quality brand with the look we like at a price that is saving us about $7K compared to the comparable Wolf/SZ products. For us, the extra money was not worth the name.

I suggest taking some frequently used cookie sheets and/or pans and trying them out in the smaller oven. If I remember correctly, the Wolf and Dacor are similar in interior capacity. But don't take my word for it and check it out for yourself! IMO, the smaller oven on the 48" range are usable and useful.

I have had both the Dacor ER36D range and now the Wolf DF range in the last 18 months. I posted extensively about my experiences with Dacor both wall oven and range. A very simple thing but very revealing--pull the knobs off. There is a huge difference in quality. This carries over to the entire appliance.
If you buy the Dacor, consider doing the following:
Some of it applies no matter what appliance you buy.

Find out the exact model you will be getting. Be aware that Dacor has versions of computer boards on the same model. They don't issue recalls or service bulletins, and operate on complaint only basis.

Go online and read and reread the use and care manual you will learn alot about how the appliance is supposed to work.

See if you can try it out somewhere. If you are considering 48" the Dacor has 6 burners vs 8 on most other ranges. This is useful if you cook with really big pans.

When you get your range, get it installed quickly and put it through it's paces. Dacor counted the date for warranty purposes from when I purchased it, and not when delivered or installed. Buy an independent oven thermometer and see how fast the oven heats , changes temp and recovers when you open the door and add food. Bake a batch of cookies and maybe a couple of frozen pizzas on convection bake and see if the oven bakes evenly and maintains temp. Try raising the temp by 50 degrees and see how long it takes to respond.

Go over it with a flashlight and make sure there are no imperfections in the enamel. Also pay close attention to the alignment of the doors.

Be aggressive up front if things are not right. Document everything. My first clue was it took 30 minutes longer to bake potatoes. At first I couldn't believe that my ovens didn't work. I was shocked when I got a thermometer.

I would also buy an extended warranty from the manufacturer for as long a term as they have. The boards were listed on my bill as costing $1400.00 to replace if not under warranty.

I had a nightmare experience with the corporate level of service at Dacor but at least they eventually gave me my money back, after my insistence and pressure from the dealer.

I love the Wolf range and it has been trouble free and does what it is supposed to do so I can't comment on customer service.

Wow, wekick! Thanks for sharing that personal experience. After reading that, it pretty much cinched it for me to be wary of Dacor. I actually got to go see the Wolf 60 inch in person at a showroom today...so lovely!

I definitely think that is the direction I am heading.

Thanks for weighing in!

I bought an American range 48" with griddle, so my comments are just impressions. The KD at our local design kitchen appliances really pushed the Dacor. She indicated that she had one and loved it. I liked the large-size burners. She stated the ovens were much more consistent than Wolf or Thermador, e.g.. I could not use a dual-fuel, so Dacor was out for me. What I really want to comment on is the one large, one small oven set up of my range. I love having the small oven for just normal meals. My meatloaf, beef roast, casseroles, potatoes all fit in the small oven. I am not overheating my kitchen and am definitely saving energy. However, the cu ft may be better in the AR than in the Dacor and Wolf DF, so that could change the effectiveness of the small oven. So far I am enjoying the built in griddle, but I know others who use a griddle pan on two burners and enjoy the same. If I had had room for a 60" I would have seriously considered it, but I never realized when I chose my 48" how useful the small oven would be. It is one of my favorite features of my range.

Hi sueju,

I'm so glad you chimed in and mentioned your American Range. Ironically, after I posted tonight, I picked up the American Range brochure the kitchen designer gave me as an afterthought on my way out from the showroom today. I did a Google search tonight and was mind-boggled at the surprisingly reasonable prices I found for the 60-inch American Range. What I couldn't tell was this...are the ovens electric or gas? I am impressed with the look of them, and clearly impressed with the price. I'd love to hear more about how you like yours. (And here I was, dead set on Wolf just an hour ago! :)).

As far as the smaller oven goes, it's really small on the Wolf 48 inch (IMHO). I could see baking a loaf of banana bread in there (though it's rare I just bake one); maybe a pie or something. I guess I'm thinking of Sunday dinners and bigger meals when I'd have, say, a ham in need of a big oven, plus large sheet pans of rolls. I wish I could make a 48 inch work, not only for price, but that little oven is dang cute. I just wonder if I would come to regret not having my two big ovens afterward.

I have the 48" Wolf with the double griddle. I LOVE this range and love the griddle. I don't think it's hard to clean at all and don't have a problem with it being "stinky".
That said, if I had the room, I would like to have the 60". I use my larger oven more than the smaller one. It doesn't take that much longer to preheat and I don't have to worry about pans/baking dishes fitting. I always have to check and see if the pan I'm using is going to fit in the smaller one. If you have a large family or entertain a lot, I think it would be even more important.
As far as your kitchen being appliance heavy I think it depends on the size of your kitchen. Are you going to use panels on your fridge? That would make it even less so.

My American range is all gas. The last I heard they would be putting out dual fuel by the end of 2008, but I have not really kept up on this because my decision is over! The American range threads on this forum have updated info I think. Also the company website is www.americanrange.com.

black327, I agree with you. This is what I've concluded: I NEED the two ovens. I realized that this Sunday (again) when my second oven didn't heat up right and I was rotating the turkey breast around, trying to fit the pan of rolls in. Of course, I'm not used to convection ovens (don't have them now), where it looks like you can put several pans of food into one oven and have them cook evenly. Anyhow, I am rambling; what I mean to say is I am so glad you love your Wolf; I'm 99.5% sure now it's the range for me, and yes, I think you are right...I ought to get the 60 inch.

Thanks for your help!

sueju,

I wish that dual-fuel model was out right now. The American Range looks really nice. I've never had gas ovens, so don't know how different they'd be from electric, but we just had to have our gas turned off for a weekend, so that pretty much sealed the deal for me that I wanted electric ovens! :)

Of course, the power goes out WAAAY more often than the gas, but after a weekend of cold showers and frozen casseroles, I swore I'd have both fuels in our range. :)

I see this is an old post but I am in the same predicament!

I had to 60 inch decor in my previous home and would give anything to find one again!

If you’re still on here I’m curious what you decided?

I am considering the 60 inch wolf or a 60 inch majestic! I am considering the 60 inch wolf or a 60 inch majestic!

I love about the decor that nobody else makes is 14 inch burners!

Not the OP but I'm still on here and a lot of water has gone under the bridge. I had the Wolf DF for about 4.5 years and the cobalt blue enamel came off of the bottom after running the self clean. This has been an issue, if you look at the lawsuits on these ranges built as far back as 2006. Quite a few posters had issues of chipping with as many a three ovens in a row. The all gas versions do not seem to have the issue (no blue interior) although they are mentioned in at least one lawsuit.

I like Dacor platforms that were bigger too but the ovens I had were worthless. Mine were with the Discovery controllers at the time, different from some of the other ovens. They have since been bought by Samsung and been through model changes through the years. I though maybe they fixed them but there was recently a poster here that bought a wall oven and returned it quickly because they had issues with it.

What type of cooking do you do? The Ilve has a few things that might cause concern for some people. The burners are all underpowered for what most people want now. Ranges like BlueStar and Capital have 22-25K on at least two burners. The Wolf all gas also tops out at 15K and you may have had 15 or 16K on your Dacor range So maybe that works for you. I have 15K on my Wolf DF and it is OK but it is on all burners except one.

Many people complain that a griddle with 15K is underpowered so 10.5K would be even less. They also mention that the griddle is stainless so it will not season like rolled steel on Wolf. Stainless by itself is one of the poorest conductors of heat so would heat unevenly unless it has aluminum or copper sandwiched in.

The French top is also only 8.5K BTUs compared to 18K on something like BlueStar.

Also check out the oven size. Look at the usable rack size. A lot of space is taken up by the warming drawer. Look at the broiler size.

This is the manual. I would read it and it might bring some other questions to mind.

http://ilveappliances.com/sites/default/files/documents/ILVE_Manual_2-13.pdf

Do you have service for Ilve where you live?

Here are some threads here on Houzz about Ilve ranges in general.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/appliances/query/Ilve/nqrw

Thank you, that was very informative and I’m going to do a little bit more research!

I’m not sure I understood what range do you have now?

At this point I think I’m just going to bite the bullet and get the wolf! I’m a widow and don’t cook as much as I used to but when I do it’s usually for a big family function so I want the double ovens!

I just reread that and I think you must still have the Majestic? If you had to do it all over again what would you buy?

I have the Wolf DF. I have never had an Ilve. I think you would be Ok with the all gas Wolf. My Wolf is damaged but I did not get it repaired because Wolf would not tell me how much it would cost(labor started at $800)and would only guarantee the new liner for a year. One family had their liner changed once and the whole range changed 5 times and Wolf refused to change it again according to their lawsuit. Other posters here have gone through 3 wall ovens( wall ovens can have this issue too). I just could not justify fixing it every year. The liner is essentially glass and I don't cook anything in it unless it is covered and no convection fan. I have an Electrolux wall oven too. Besides the posts here you can google "wolf blue chipping". They never have admitted this problem but the new M oven has a replaceable bottom. There have been chipping issues reported here even with the M.

If I were buying now, I would consider BlueStar RNB but would get a rangetop and wall ovens. I like the rangetop but like electric ovens for baking. It only comes in all gas. You could also pick each oven as best for how you use it. Some get a combi oven which has the ability to control humidity, so it can be a steam oven or a convection oven. They are smaller. I need my two bigger ovens but some people love them(Also referred to as CSO). If you use gas ovens now, you would probably be fine with them again.