Have you considered an electric tea kettle? My friend has one & I can really see the advantages. FAST & safe since hers has an automatic off switch.

I'll link a discussion from Chow.com about electric tea kettles. You might want to check Amazon & filter by customer review. Whatever model you may be interested in...from what I hear, the kind that has a detachable kettle from the base is best.

Let us know what you decide & how you like it - I'm curious :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Chow discussion on electric tea kettles.

It's spendy...but I want a Chantal kettle. My friend has one...and the whistle is AWESOME. And the whole thing seems to be well made. I bought my sister a red one for Christmas years ago...she's still using it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chantal Classic Teakettle

I second melaska's recommendation of an electric kettle. ANY electric kettle. I couldn't live without one. They are really cheap ($20 and up), boil water faster than any other method, and are very energy efficient.

I second the recommendation of the electric kettle. As both a tea and coffee drinker, mine gets a lot of use, and it's fast, easy and less energy than the stove.
However, if you have to have a kettle, I also have this one, and LOVE it. Unfortunately my new stove doesn't like it as much as I do...so I went with the electric.

Here is a link that might be useful: Simplex Heritage kettle

While an electric tea kettle sounds awesome, my 1910 house has neither enough counter space nor enough outlets to support more countertop appliances. But thanks for the suggestion!

If anyone has additional suggestions for stovetop kettles (besides the Chantal, which sounds lovely but expensive), please let me know.

I replaced ours last year to go with the new kitchen. I like the way it works as well as the way it looks.

Here is a link that might be useful: Le Creuset tea kettle

Electric. Doesn't matter if there's no space. Extension cords exist, as far as I'm concerned, exclusively to power electric teapots. This, at least, from one who has burned through several tea pots. I'm congenitally incapable of sticking around to wait for a pot to boil the traditional way, and when it's out of sight, it is *really* out of mind. For me, it is invaluable as what's at stake is literally the house and life too. I'd put it on the floor if it came to that. But I realize that's just me. Still, I wanted to share how incredibly invaluable I've found it. (ask me about the time I baked the banana bread for 4.5 hours...)

I love my Simplex tea kettle. It has a coiled bottom so that it heats up really fast. They are really the best, made in England, but pretty pricey. But I think the factory has shut down temporarily and they are hard to find. You could check ebay.

I have an all clad i like.

I bought a tea kettle on sale at Home Goods not too long ago. It was porcelainized (word?) mustard color. A German or French mfr. It is HORRID. One, the whistle is a horrible noise that brings to mind impending nuclear disaster. Two, the hnadle gets very hot, which I keep forgetting. You cannot touch this thing without a mit. I don't remember who makes it and I dont have it here, but be careful not to buy it!

Here is a link that might be useful: fyi

I had no idea the Simplexes were such a, um, hot item. I have one in my basement somewhere that I gave to my mom and inherited back. Minus the coil, though, because she had an electric stove at the time.

Anyway, what's wrong with a $20 Revere teakettle? Works fine for me. I bought it in the '80s, so I don't know if they're well made still. Any regular tea kettle will steam a bit when the water hits the spout--the metal away from the water is hotter than the metal touching it--but I've never had a real problem with it.

I don't think you're going to get a truly magic solution here.

I agree with the electric tea kettle for you it sounds like a perfect fit. I LOVE my Le Creuset kettle. It is one of my favorite brands.

I love my Le Creuest kettle too. It's the kind with the removeable whistle (as in must remove it to pour), which is very convenient, but perhaps not good on the anti-scalding thing. It's never happened me, nor have I ever misplaced the whistle. I like that it doesn't have to be there, like it is on the lever opening Revere like Marcolo's that it replaced. I didn't buy either one. The Le Creuset is a lot easier to clean. Love that enamel interior. No mineral build up there!

I used an electric kettle when I worked in an actual office. I still have it. It's a Black and Decker c. 1990. It boils really fast, which is a boon at work, but it's really hard to clean, and the water tastes scorched if you don't fill it majorly full. Probably releases all of the air before it can be poured, which is supposed to be a bad thing. Not panning electric kettles, here--just saying if you're going to, you might as well get a good one. (I don't think I bought that one either. People seem to just give me a kettle every 10 years. Which means I'm about due for a new one!)

I found a glass tea kettle on ebay that I used for years. I like being able to SEE when the water is about to come to a boil. It was also nice for steeping teas.

Too bad it won't work on my new induction range. :( I'll have to get a stainless one now I guess.

If you're really into the Chantal kettle (don't care for the handle, myself) you can usually find them much cheaper at Home Goods and suchlike places.

I love my Le Creuset tea kettle. Mine has a little flip spout thingy that lets you pour with it on or off...it has a cute whistle, not obnoxious like some I've heard.

Here is a link that might be useful: le creuset tea pot

Like Maureen above I have the Simplex chrome gas range model. Got it new on eBay. The company that made them in England has stopped production and it is still anyone's guess whether they will restart. I love the kettle-- it is faster than my old electric kettle. It was a splurge but it is perfect for a vintage kitchen.

I've had the same Chantal classic kettle in stainless for nearly 20 years. I picked it up at TJ Maxx for about half the usual price.

The biggest selling point for me was the whistle, which is actually a harmonica reed. It makes for a much more pleasant sound when it boils.

It doesn't splatter when pouring, but the handle does get hot enough that I use a potholder.

I have a Chantel that I picked up at an estate sale for $15. It was barely used. (They didn't know what they had so I snapped it up.) It is great but the next teakettle I get will have a different handle for ease of filling.

I delight to hear that whistle. American Chai is only 5 min to wait :)!

Thanks for all the input. I still don't think I'm going to go for electric--I heat up about a cup of water every other day.

I will check out the Revere, Chantal, and Le Creuset kettles. I found the Simplex online, and it was WAY out of my price range. I may go to Chinatown and look for the classic Chinese retaurant tea kettle touted in mtnrdredux's link (Top 10 tea kettles).

Aliris19: That's why I need one that whistles. I also don't heat up that much water at a time, so it only takes a couple minutes--not enough time to wander off and forget it.

Marcolo: Yes, most tea kettles steam when you pour, but the KitchenAid actually spattered. I had to have my daughter stand back 2 feet, and I always ended up with a puddle under her cocoa mug. I think it's a design flaw (neither of my other two recent kettles had this issue).

My husband had a tea kettle when we got married that I used for many years. I don't think it was expensive, and it worked fine. No issues, no complaints. But he kept it when we separated. It just never occurred to me that I was going to be fussy about tea kettles, or that there was so much variation in them.

Thanks again, all!

I had been looking for one for a while too and couldn't find what I was looking for so I got this cheap one from Target to fill in for a while till I could find my dream kettle:o). I have been pleasantly surprised at how much I like it and the look of it. Hope this helps!
http://www.target.com/p/Michael-Graves-Easyfill-Tea-Kettle/-/A-12731437