Looks good!

Interesting to see another small kitchen where the stove is at the end of short "L" with an exposed side and next to a doorway. I had to do the same thing in my small, old-house kitchen. The compensation is that this set-up makes it easier for two people to work the stove at the same time (one in front and one using the burners next to the exposed side.) This is a convenience that often is not otherwise readily feasible in a small kitchen.

Enjoy.

Congrats! Looks great! Beautiful trim on the cabinet.

But where's the picture of the wok/stir fry?

Thanks. That diamond on the small cabinet and the strip below it is purple heart -- one of favorite woods. And, honestly, I was too tired after rushing to complete the installation that I almost didn't cook dinner tonight -- never mind take a photo!

I'm sorry. I was just teasing you because we're all such suckers for photos. I hope the meal was 22Kbtu worth of wonderful.

I have a painting framed in purple heart. It's a lovely wood.

Beautiful! Congratulations! You will love using your new RNB!

Congrats! I hope you enjoy your marvelous new range for a long time!

Beautiful, congrats! Many similarities in our kitchens, I also have a 36RNB in a smallish kitchen (tiny by GW standards) I also built a 7" cabinet to the side to get it out of the corner, although I chose to leave that cabinet open.

My range is also open on the other side like yours, which supposedly is a GW safety no-no, but we've had this set up for 28 years, raised two boys and a dog and never had any issues at all.

Your'e going to love your new range, they are absolutely amazing pieces of cooking equipment! Welcome to the club :) ...chris

Very smart to leave that cabinet open for sheet pans and cutting boards. I was thinking of it but didn't think it would be wide enough to use -- oops on my part!

The pics look beautiful! We are renovating our kitchen, and I am shopping for appliances now. I was thinking of a Blue Star gas range with convection oven, but I read so many complaints and bad reviews on Amazon and Chowhound. The grievances seemed to cover a variety of problems such as poor customer service, faulty ignitors, and broken oven door hinges.

Does anyone have any feedback on performance of their Blue Star Range?

>>>My range is also open on the other side like yours, which supposedly is a GW safety no-no,. . .<<<

Yeah, I've seen a few posts here over the years from folks who are convinced that open sides to a range are forbidden. Near as I can tell, however, landing areas on both sides of the range is a "recommendation" from the NKBA, not a mandate. Our local code enforcer says it is mostly a kitchen designer preference for the sake of the convenience of having work surface/landing areas on both sides of stove. FWIW, I've seen plenty of commercial kitchens with open sided ranges, too. So, maybe less of sin than some might suggest.

An open side is certainly not against code where I live. Plus I checked out the heat of the door and the side after running the oven at 300 for 40 minutes and 425 for 60 minutes as recommended in the Blue Star initial burn-off instructions. It was reasonably warm but certainly not burn-your-hand hot.

mariacz: I too read all the reviews on all brands of stoves and I'm sure you'll agree with me that each brand has its proponents and opponents. I've only had it hooked up for 2 days so I'm not an authority on Blue Star reliability. But the door is sturdy, sits evenly, and won't send you to the hospital if you touch it. The range came with two spare igniters; they're easy to replace if you bust them while cleaning or if they eventually fail. They cost about $22 each if you need more. Plus, the range looks great while being built like a rock. I think I made the right decision. Good luck with yours.

The open side issue is more about set back from the walking path for the pots and burners than the side of the oven. In kitchen design one talks about "protecting" a range with its positioning to minimize accidental bumping both of the range and the cook. That doesn't mean that it can't go where it must in a small or odd shaped kitchen. You just need to be a little more careful about carrying large trays by, tucking in pot handles, minding loose papers, alcoholic drinks (bad when spilt on flames), running children and pets, and other hazards. And if you need a landing area/barrier in the aisle, a small bar cart or stool can come in handy. :)

Yeah, I don't plan on mixing cocktails on my stove top. I worked in a restaurant kitchen for six years that cranked out 100 dinners a night from a space the size of my current home kitchen. I tore the kitchen in my house down to the 2 x 4s and rebuilt all of it -- the cabinets, flooring, ceiling, etc. I moved a back door to double the size of a powder room, took out two windows to add a french door to my patio, built a rolling cart out of maple and purple heart. It's a great functional space. I'm not sure the sides of the "triangle" are the proper dimensions or I meet the suggested guidelines of the NKBA, which, let's face it, is a silly trade association (no offense to any dues-paying graduate of the NKBA "university"). There's a point where you have to go with a design, build it, and cook for your friends and family. I've reached that point.

mrjohneel15, any comments on the Zline range hood? We're considering one of their 1200 CFM models for an RCS model. Does it pull and collect smoke well? Any comments about noise levels, build quality, experience with the company?

So it's been almost 3 years of BlueStar ownership and cooking....can you give us an update? Would love to hear what you think!

Hello. I haven't been back on this site in years but now that I'm thinking of doing over my bathroom I came back. Macswim, the BlueStar has worked perfectly since install. I haven't had any problems with igniters, the door, excessive heat, etc. It's a workhorse. I like how the cast iron grill stars and pans below them come out for cleaning. Some of those stars -- on the burners I use most -- have shown some wear but not in an unattractive way. As for the stove, I would say the broiler is a bit small and it has hot spots. That is, if you are broiling two porkchops, say, when you flip them over you might want to switch the one on the left to the right and vice versa -- same with front to back. In short, easy to clean, looks sharp, and well made. Also, I have two thermometers to check the stove temperature. An Oxo and another brand that are pretty close together in their readings. I'd say the stove runs maybe 10-15 degrees cooler than than the dial on the BlueStar says. (So 350 by the dial is really about 335-340 -- I think.)