side opening door wall oven or regular door?

last year

I was very excited hearing about side opening wall ovens. I plan to get a single electric one once we begin custom building our home in 2026. However, after doing some research I'm re-thinking this and would like some opinions. I'm a mid-range kind of gal, money wise, and not interested in the super high end brands. The only 30" side opening wall ovens I can find are by Thermador (no), Bosch, and GE Profile. I really like investigating Consumer Reports reviews on various items. They only had the Bosch model and it wasn't rated very highly. Online reviews of the GE Profile seem quite a bit better, plus it's $1000 less than the Bosch.

But then I started wondering if I'm being too rigid in wanting the side open door, since there are so few brands available. We'll be in our mid-late 50's once this house is built, and it is meant to be our forever home. I definitely will get a wall oven because I hate leaning down into my range to pull things out of my current oven. I sometimes have things braising in those very heavy Le Crueset cookware so it's a big heft. I know it wouldn't be nearly as difficult with a wall oven, but won't the regular door still get in my way somewhat? I'd especially like to hear from those who are over 50! Thanks!

Featured Answer

JP Haus

last year

We had the Bosch side opening double ovens installed in our new home two years ago. It's one of the best choices I made for this kitchen, along with the Bosch 36 inch induction cooktop installed on a counter that's lower than the typical height. My husband and I are over 65. He's over 6 ft. tall and I've shrunk to about 5 ft. This arrangement works well for both of us.

The side opening oven doors swing back more than just 90 degrees, so we've never bumped into them. In contrast, we both burned our arms two or three times a year on the conventional door wall ovens we had in a previous house. Our prior primary residence had a 48 inch Wolf dual fuel range, and we both hated using those ovens. Not only did we have trouble with the blue interiors flaking and cutting us, but those low ovens were hard on our backs.

One thing we did after living here about a year was to order another telescopic rack since we both like the slide-out feature.

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Comments (13)

wdccruise
last year
I've never understood the rationale for these side-opening ovens. My LG range oven door has a stop that allows me to open the door only a few inches to slide out/in a shelf or slide in/out a pan; I generally don't have to open the door all the way. Doesn't one have to full open a side-opening door to access the shelves or pans? It seems dangerous to have a 450-degree oven door open right next to one's upper arm.
BPMBA
last year
last modified: last year
I have the Thermador side-opening double ovens and I LOVE them! No need to lean over the hot door. It's never in the way off to the side. You can install it at whatever height you want in the wall cabinet, too (assuming custom/semi-custom cabinets), so the height is right for aging in place.

(Also mid-50s, also in our theoretical-forever home)
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John Liu
last year
May depend on how high the oven is positioned.

If it is closer to waist level, then a bottom opening (conventional, swing down) door would not be in the way; if it is closer to chest level, then such a door could be in the way and burns on arms seem possible.

Commercial standalone ovens are often stacked one over the other and they are quite often side opening.
PRO
HALLETT & Co.
last year
I droll over the ones on bake off that drop down and retract. Those seem perfect.
whistle_b
last year
I have the Bosch double oven side opening door and LOVE it. My rationale is that I don't have to lift something over the door. I am in my high seventies and have arthritic hands so for me it was a safety issue. When I was looking, I believe the GE was a french door.
wdccruise
last year
last modified: last year
"Online reviews of the GE Profile seem quite a bit better"

The GE PTS7000SNSS oven with the drop-down door achieved a CR recommended rating. The PTS700RSNSS/PTS700LSNSS with side-opening doors have identical specifications so you could get one of those for a $300 premium over the drop-down door model. (On sale at geappliances.com)
drcindy
Original Author
last year
Thanks everyone! wdccruise, I haven't had the chance yet to compare the specs of that GE oven to the one with the drop down door, so thanks for doing that! I'll be able to install the oven at whatever height I want, so that's also a consideration.
Louise Smith
last year
last modified: last year
I truly wanted a side opening oven, but the layout of my kitchen didn't lend itself to this. But I totally dislike having to lean over the oven door to get to the food and the shelves. With a side opening door, I would be able to stand in front of the oven and merely slide the food towards me in a straight line. I would be able to handle even the Thanksgiving turkey because my arms would be straight- not bent as they are with a downward opening door.

I was planning on getting the Bosch.
drcindy thanked Louise Smith
drcindy
Original Author
last year
I've since looked at CR's recommended rating as noted by wdccruise. Owner satisfaction is only rated as 2/5, which was much worse compared to other online reviews. I sometimes have a hard time reconciling differences in reviews, especially because CR didn't have any further information aside from the rating. So in this case, I think the other reviews seem a lot more credible.
wdccruise
last year
"Owner satisfaction is only rated as 2/5..."

True but 93% of Home Depot and Best Buy owners recommended it. And 95-96% of Home Depot and 100% of Best Buy owners recommended the side-opening models. I'd put more weight on the CR test results than the CR Owner Satisfaction rating especially considering how few other side-opening models there are and their prices.

I would read the user guide to see if it operates in a way that would be satisfactory to you.

Or maybe just drop the side-opening requirement.
drcindy
Original Author
last year
Thanks again to everyone. JP Haus, I've read other reviews that echo your experiences of burning your arms on conventional door wall ovens. I want to avoid that!

I've only seen the Bosch side opening oven so far, but in the 2 showrooms that had them, both were installed under a cooktop. That was annoying! I found another showroom that has the GE so I'll be looking at that soon. Hopefully theirs is installed at a regular height.
Basia N
8 months ago
I just bought the Bosch side opening double ovens and am currently in a dilemma because they are LOUD. The cooling fan gives off a high pitched whine that isn't super loud in decibels but just emits an annoying sound. I've talked with Bosch at length about this, sent them recordings of the sound, etc. and they say its within the range of normal. I love everything else about these ovens, though, especially the side opening doors. But I am seriously considering exchanging then for the GE Profile given the annoying noise issue.