Likewise, where will you keep the spices if you don't do the 30" range/spice cabinet? I have a 30" cooktop, a 30" oven below that (there was no slide-in induction range option when I remodeled), and across the aisle, I use half of a 36" top drawer for spices. It works for me.

36" will maker a bigger impact in my opinion. I would have to see your house and space though...

All depends on your cooking habits and priorities on that front. I had a spice drawer next to my 36" and loved it, but if I had to have either/or I would opt for the 36" range. 30" is just way too cramped, in my opinion, but then again I'm about to put in a 48" for the same reason. I spend 3-6 hours a day in the kitchen cooking, though, so this is really important to me

Just responding to Huntting's post - you do have to know yourself and your habits. If I spend 20 minutes a day in the kitchen cooking, it's a lot (generally-speaking, my mantra is "if it takes more than 20 minutes, I don't make it)

Keep in mind that a 36" range will need a hood that is 36-42" wide. I just want to make sure you noted that.

I think you will like a 36" range better. Having said that, some people think an oven that is 36" wide is never filled up or used efficiently. My preference actually would be a 36" rangetop/cooktop with separate 30" wall ovens, but you didn't mention that, so I assume that's not possible.

If you decide to go for the 30" range, do not use the 6" for a pull-out spice rack. I had them in a previous kitchen, and will never again. Of course, that is just MHO. Here is a recent thread on that topic: Thread about Pull-outs next to cooktop

In my experience, the pull out spice rack sounds nice but, in reality most people like the idea a lot more than the practicality. Do you really need all those spices that close? How many spices to you typically use during a cooking session? How many of your spices die of "old age" before you use them?

The lady that remodeled the kitchen in the house am in now had a smaller cooktop installed and put a two of those skinny pullouts next to it. One for a cookie sheet that never gets used and the other for a spice "graveyard".

For me, a single shelf in the narrow wall cabinet next to the hood is a whole lot easier to use because I don't have to bend over to see my spices and I can read the labeling without a flashlight. Yes, I'm getting old so bad lighting and bending over to hunt for stuff is becoming a big irritation to me.

Thanks so much for the VERY helpful feedback! I've always used a 30 inch, but cook a lot, and so the larger space is very appealing. We are taking out the double ovens in our remodel to add counter space (I only use a second oven maybe 4 times per year and you can't have everything) in favor of a range/oven combo. What is currently there is a 36" cooktop with separate 30" wall ovens. I know many people prefer that set up. But, the kitchen is just really too small for the double ovens (in my opinion) and we need the counter space more. We have the space for a 36 inch under cabinet hood, but not a 42.

ditto sidpost.

I love my top drawer (of the 24" 3-drawer base cabinet) for my spices.

No bending over, nothing tipping over.

I love my 36" induction cooktop.

I don't use all 5 burners everyday, but I love having the option to when I do need it.

I would start with what you're accustomed to cooking on/with now: Have
you been cooking on a 30 and always wished you had a larger cooking
surface? Have you been using a 36 all these years and find you actually
don't use one or two burners (or whatever the differential between 30
and 36 is)? If you've been using a 36, is it a good tradeoff to lose a
burner for the sake of gaining countertop space and the spice rack?

Good advice. I cook every day. Ambitious recipes, large quantities, lots of baking, the whole 9 yards, but it's quite rare that I say to myself, "I wish I had a larger cooking space and/or a second oven". It's just not something that I really need or want.

However, I own more kitchen goods than a Williams Sonoma store, so that bit of extra storage space would be more than welcome. I wouldn't go with a spice pull-out though. You don't want to store spices by the heat of the stove, and those things are fairly expensive for the small storage they provide -- I vote for a slightly wider upper instead.

There is no way on earth I would trade a 36" range for 30" + spice pull out, but agree it's very dependent on your cooking habits. I've never liked the spice pull outs - I find them hard to use and awkward for anything not on the top pull out. The best thing about my kitchen is having a 36" induction cooktop! I don't often use 5 burners (probably once a month), but use 3 large skillets at least half the time I cook and they fit so much better on this than any 30" range I've ever had. Definitely agree with trading double ovens for more counter space - I don't think you will regret that at all. I also paired a 36" hood with a 36" cooktop - I know that is not recommended, but it works great. Then again I've never had a real hood before! Sometimes I need to turn it up a bit higher than I would if it were 42" so I get the recommendation, but I'm not sure I would limit your range size based on that.

Another option is to do a 36 inch cooktop with a 30 inch oven and still have the spice rack. 36" range usually costs more than 36" cooktop + 30 inch oven combo.

I also paired a 36" hood with a 36" cooktop

I know people suggest this all the time, but I don't see why. I've always had a 30" range and a 30" hood, and it's never been a problem. When the fan is on, the fumes are drawn to it, and they don't "seep outside" the area. I see no reason to give up 6" of upper cabinet.

It depends on what you cook and how you cook. With inadequate capture area and/or inadequate CFM's, you can and will smoke up your house, steam everything, send odors everywhere, etc.

mrspete: As sidpost said: it all depends on what/how you cook. I'm an exception, I'm sure, but I cook a ton of very fragrant/spicy food often times at high heat. So without a larger hood a LOT of fumes escape. People leave parts of the house because of my cooking habits (not an exaggeration). The next project will have a chargriller in the stove, so having an extra large hood will be important for me. I wouldn't think much about the steam aspect of it. I would suspect that 75-80% of people will do fine with one the same size as the stove, 15% will "suffer through it" and the rest absolutely need the extra capture space.

@The topic of a spice pull out: Again, all about how you cook. We loved ours and will definitely have another one, we might have two, frankly. I use a ton of spices, a lot of variety. We had an entire 6" one filled and then had a shelf in a cabinet full of "whole spices."

If you don't regularly use a LOT of spices, you probably shouldn't prioritize it though.

I'm not sure I posted this before, but I do have a condiment pull-out, and it's great, but I, like most of the others posting, would find a spice pull-out in a lower cabinet very awkward - how do you see the labels? My spices are laid out flat in a drawer - they stay in place using the IKEA spice inserts, which are brilliant and cheap. (The condiment pull-out is brilliant but it was far from cheap)

I would get the 36" range if it were me, and find another location for my spices. I love having extra space when cooking. When I did have a 36" range, it had 5 burners, and I used them all simultaneously on occasion. I now have 6 burners- haven't used them all at once, but have had multiple big pots going which would be tough on a 30".