Do wall ovens. Your back(s) will thank you.

We are considering it - I think it takes up more room though? I have to look at my rudimentary plans and see how they could be reconfigured.

Wall ovens are best for ergonomics. Ranges are best for space. I am tall and have wall ovens. I like the setup. In my old kitchen, I could not have managed the space. Side opening ovens are particularly nice, btw.

Zalco, I thought the french door option might be helpful, but my spouse thinks it's a dumb idea (worried about interfering with cabinets/drawers on either side of the range). Seems like a good back saver though.

We are thinking of 38 or 39" counter height instead of 36...do you think that would help if we have space for the range, not the wall ovens? How do you raise the height of the range when you raise the height of the cabinets around it?

We are thinking of 38 or 39" counter height instead of 36...do you think that would help if we have space for the range, not the wall ovens?

Nope...and I have 39” high counters.

How do you raise the height of the range when you raise the height of the cabinets around it?

You build a platform.

I’m kind of an expert on this because:

1. I’m tall
2. I have 39” high counters
3. I have a range AND
4. I have a wall oven

So, fire away!

I understand wanting a gorgeous range. I felt the same way. I am not tall, only average, but realized I am only getting older and bending over to open an oven door, or just peek in the window was too much for my back. Also have my front load laundry machines on platforms for the same reason.

Here’s what I’d do*:

*The placement of the range top is an approximation.

Don’t worry about losing 30” of countertop space; you have a s*it-load of it to spare!

Hubby and I are both tall (both 6"1') and we configured our kitchen the way Sammy shows because I didn't want a range.

We have a Wolf 48” dual fuel range. I’m only 5’2” and even for me the ovens feel very low. I can’t imagine a tall person feeling comfortable using it. In fact, while I was at an appliance showroom checking the oven out, and opening the oven door, the oven door handle would hit the top of my foot (because with shoes on my foot was elevated to a higher position). At home this doesn’t happen because I’m always barefoot and my range has actually been adjusted to its highest position (my counters are 3/4” higher than the norm). Maybe in the showroom they had the range at its lowest, I don’t know.

We also have a GE French door wall oven at the perfect height (love the French door feature). I find myself gravitating towards the GE even though I believe the Wolf cooks better.

Here’s the GE French door. The nice thing about the doors is that you have complete and easy access to the interior without getting hit in the chest or stomach by a hot oven door.

I have also used induction and boy, I loved it. Awesome technology. Definitely something to consider.

I ultimately went with the Wolf range rather than an induction range because of aesthetics. Just not many very attractive induction ranges out there (IMO) and our kitchen layout wouldn't really work with a cooktop.

I am definitely enjoying the Wolf though and aside from the fact that the ovens are low to the floor, they cook well and the surface burners are very powerful.....I’ve had to adjust my cooking technique and use a much lower flame for most stovetop cooking.

NIdnay, which GE line is your wall oven? Everyone on Gardenweb warns about the Wolf chipping. How is the BlueStar wall oven? (The part of me that worries about aesthetics loves the idea of having blue cabinetry on the wall with blue wall ovens. What else should I look at? The Miele. I don't care about fancy presets. In fact, I don't have the patience to learn them. I prefer something that bakes and roasts beautifully with simple controls.

A wall oven plus induction cooktop works just great for me.

Bluestar wall oven

Induction cooktop

Jerry Jorgenson, do you find the Bluestar wall oven's fan loud? (Louder than past ovens?) How does it bake/roast? Are you happy with the french doors?

Another vote for Sammy’s adjusted layout. We have the exact same set up and it works great. I am fairly tall (5’9”) and after dealing with the world’s worst double oven range and lifting heavy stuff out of it from practically the floor, I couldn’t imagine having to do it as we get older, so when we renovated we put in double ovens and I LOVE them. One of the best decisions we made. I no longer dread having to put anything in or take anything out of the oven(s).

Thanks, iamtiramisu! Do you mind having ovens at the end of the wall run? Any downside?

AboutToGetDusty. I don't find the fans loud. They are louder than the Miele dishwasher, but not so loud that you can't converse in a normal voice. I'm very happy with the french doors. They take up less room when open and make it much easier to insert and remove things.

Baking

Roasting

AboutToGetDusty - I don’t mind the ovens at the end of the cabinet run at all, now downsides I have encountered or can think of in our setup. It would be nice to have additional counter space on the left side of the ovens as well as the right and on the island, but not a MUST have at all - just an “if we had the extra space it would be cool if...” thing. The only thing that I can think of which may cause a concern would be if the ovens opened next to a high traffic hall/entry so someone could bump into an open door coming through if/when the oven door(s) are open, but our setup isn’t like that so I’m not sure how often that would be likely to occur and/or if it’s a big concern or just a “this could maybe happen one day” kind of thing. All that aside, this layout works very well for us in terms of its functionality and flow.

I went with a 48” Bluestar platinum range top and stacked Miele ovens - a convection steam oven on top and a regular oven below. I really like the setup because the oven I use most frequently (the Miele convection steam oven) is at a very comfortable height. The bigger Miele oven isn’t as comfortable, but it is still higher than a typical oven below a range top would be. Also, if you do the wall oven(s) you have the option to choose the best oven for you needs, separate from the range top. We also have our ovens at the end of our run of cabinets and it doesn’t bother me at all. I do have freezer drawers down by the ovens, and I use those freezer drawers to store things that I might heat up quickly in the oven (like chicken nuggets and fish sticks and pizzas). I have a warming drawer between the ovens and the range top so it is easily accessed from either appliance.

iamtiramisu. The extra space is why I didn't go for an island. Instead i went for a mobil baking table.

JerryJorgensen, I can see why an island wouldn’t work for your space and how the mobile station would. Our space looks to be a bit wider and longer so we have an L with an 8’ island. Having the space on the right of the ovens/before the rangetop and on the island for anything going into/coming out of the ovens works well for us.

Thank you all for your help - super helpful thread! Last question for my tall friends...what is your counter height? 36" is not cutting it!

We had 38" kitchen counters in our last house, and are planning for 39" in the one we are building now. Will also increase the height of the bathroom counters, but I'm not sure we'll go to 39" in baths. Taller is much easier on the back!

MountainView, I just measured my bathroom counters (that will be ripped out when we start construction). 29 inches - ouch!

The counters are 37.5". The baking table is 42".

29"?!?!? I just went and measured on myself and that would hit me halfway up my thigh bone. That is crazy low!!!

@Jerry Jorgenson what size cabinet fits the 30” bluestar oven

Business_Name_Placeholder -- Not sure. The cabinet was built with the oven in mind. However, the manual has all the dimensions.