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Kitchen Renovation - 36" or 48" range; One or Two Windows

11 months ago
last modified: 11 months ago

We are doing a gut renovation for our kitchen and need some advice on range size and placement. We have two choices to make: 1) should we have a 36" or 48" range, and 2) should we have two smaller windows on each side of the range or one bigger window on one side of the range (hoping to maximize natural light but the left window would be under a porch).

The kitchen is about 15'X20' and the range wall (including the door) is about 15'. I love how a 48" freestanding range looks but am not sure it would make the wall look two cramped. DH is leaning towards a 36" range top with two wall ovens. We won't have any upper cabinets. Would love to hear any advice you may have. Thanks very much.


Comments (22)

  • 11 months ago

    I would think the two wall ovens would cut into your desperately needed storage with all those windows - no? Best to post both plans you are considering with all dimensions including aisle spacing. Also best to not show your personal information (name/address).

    Minzi Jia thanked thinkdesignlive
  • PRO
    11 months ago

    First........ I can't lie, I don't love the whole plan, but we're not seeing this in context of the entire space.

    That said? A 48 inch range, or range top will need a 54 inch hood min and a ton of make up air......( I WON'T even ask about the pullout griddle concept shown). You have 134 usable inches only

    Might look like........



    You've 60" of cooling on a 10.5 foot wall.....with a speed oven. At an entry point that is too narrow a clearance. And you seem to be trying to have seating on the fridge side of island? NO..... because the fridge and freeze should be reverse, and.........

    Really there just seems to be appliance overkill for the space and not really well thought out. Show the whole thing?



    Minzi Jia thanked JAN MOYER
  • 11 months ago

    Thanks to both of you. I will repost the plan with dimensions a bit later.

  • PRO
    11 months ago

    In a gut reno....very helpful to show your entire plan. Everything lives within a context, has a relationship to another space.

  • PRO
    11 months ago

    I run a catering biz from my home and honestly have never needed a 48" range or cooktop . The hood required is very noisy too. You choose applainaces for how you cook . Do you cook a lot for s ton of peaople every day/ Then maybe you need 48" I hvae rarely done that size for clients many of whom cook a lot. Architects are horrible at kitchen design so get an independant KD . Bigger is not always better for kitchens .My kitchen is almost exactly the same size as yours this is my layout totally designed for how I cook the fact is when I do not have 5 people in the space my hubby and I still need to be ablre to cook together . There are times when I wish I had 2 DWs but the one I have a quick wash cycle that works very well on all but the odd really crazy day. I find the plands hard to read but lets go to the range wall. You want a 48" range but you do not have the right sized storage for what I assume are a TON of pots and pans . Get a good KD and if help her we need a proper to scale plan with nothing in it .



    Minzi Jia thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
  • 11 months ago
    last modified: 11 months ago

    The hood required is very noisy too.

    A range hood done properly is nearly silent. AND, there is zero difference in noise between a larger and smaller hood, in fact some of the noisest are the smallest. Noise in U.S. consumer hoods is the result of poor and cheap design. You've been around this forum long enough that you should know that.

    More: https://bamasotan.us/range-exhaust-hood-faq/

  • 11 months ago
    last modified: 11 months ago
    • 15' wall x 12 in/ft = 180"
    • 180" - 30" door = 150"
    • 150" - (30" x 2) oven = 90"
    • 90" - 42" rangetop hood* = 48"
    • 48" - (3" x 4) gaps between windows and hood/oven = 36"
    • 36" / 2 = 18" <-- maximum width of each window*

    -----

    • 90" - 54" rangetop hood** = 36"
    • 36" - (3" x 4) gaps between windows and hood/oven = 24"
    • 24" / 2 = 12" <-- maximum width of each window**

    -----

    *for 36" rangetop

    **for 48" rangetop

    Minzi Jia thanked wdccruise
  • PRO
    11 months ago

    Either is 20-30K expense for something quality, with the ventilation, plus makeup air added. Then the other appliances have to be up to that. You aren’t putting in any $1500 Frigidaire with a 48” range.

  • PRO
    11 months ago

    I assume she has Sub zero columns at 36" all fridge/24" all freeze. As shows on the opposite wall

  • 11 months ago
    last modified: 11 months ago

    I am the original poster. Thank you all for your comments! I have added the kitchen dimensions including the two options. I am realizing a 48" range + window on each side is a no go - it just doesn't leave enough counter space to the right of the range. What about a 48" range with one window? Fully appreciate that it may be an overkill but just want to think this through. Also we don't plan to sell the house ever. Thanks again!

    Entire kitchen (assuming option 1)


    Option 1: 36" range + 1 larger window (current design)



    Option 2: 48" range + 2 side by side smaller windows (prior design)


  • PRO
    11 months ago

    Realy opaone have you even worked ina commercial kitchen even with just one hood on the noise is horrible and you do not realize until you turn it off. The more sucked the more noise created if you have the right CFM it will be noisy .

  • PRO
    11 months ago

    48” range just looks far too big for that wall. But you really seem to want it so you should have it!

  • 11 months ago

    I wouldn't recommend a 48" range except when two people like to cook at the same time. It allows space for two. I'd choose a 36" induction range and a combi-steam oven to make his kitchen more current.

  • PRO
    11 months ago

    This isn't about cooking. It is about the "look". I think a Monogram 36" is a fantastic machine, dual fuel. Every client who has one loves it; one wrote a thank you note to our best independent appliance store. She is an awesome cook, a great baker and the catering sized oven and racks are a bonus.

    The extra 12 inches with a 48? The oven is rarely used. It fits an ordinary 9 x 13 glass baking dish nicely. Or people use it as a warming oven. But again it is for most...........the look.: ))

    In the end it your kitchen, your money and a free country.

  • 11 months ago
    last modified: 11 months ago

    Realy opaone have you even worked ina commercial kitchen even with just one hood on the noise is horrible and you do not realize until you turn it off. The more sucked the more noise created if you have the right CFM it will be noisy .

    Yes, many. It was actually how quiet the exhaust systems in commercial kitchens are that first triggered the thought of putting one in our new kitchen. As I've noted before, we actually increased the airflow rate of the low setting (equiv to highest setting on a 1200 CFM consumer hood) so that we could hear it a little to know it was on. They are that quiet.

    Locating the blower remotely, including a silencer, insuring that all components are vibrationally isolated from the building structure, having a large containment area and good baffle design all contribute to commercial hoods being so much quieter than consumer.

    Read the link I provided above for more on this.

  • 11 months ago

    Thank you all for your comments so far. For those of you that have a 36" range, do you feel you have enough space when you use multiple burners at once? We have a 36" cooktop now and sometimes the surface feels too crowded when we cook multiple dishes (this is a main driver for exploring a 48" range). That said since ours is a cooktop, the knobs take away some of the surface space, so perhaps a 36" range top or a range shouldn't have this issue?

  • 11 months ago
    last modified: 11 months ago

    I think it depends on the configuration of the range/range top. Just having eight or 10 burners is silly, IMO. But mix in other elements and it might make sense. For example, my 48" range top (which also comes as a range) is a mix of sous vide, gas and induction, and I use them all (though not necessarily at once).

    You will definitely need a wider exhaust fan and make-up air.

    Minzi Jia thanked BPMBA
  • 11 months ago

    I would say a 36" cooktop is similar in size to a 30" range. I have a 36" rangetop and find that it's plenty of space. I can use 3 burners without conflict (staggered) and more if I use smaller pans.

    Range size aside, I would reconsider your layout. Right now your island is a barrier and your cleanup zone is smack in the middle of the cooking zone. Ideally you would move the range to the upper wall and move the cleanup sink to where the range is now. Move the prep sink to the other side of the island and put the speed oven on the end of the island. Move the fridge over so it's more in the cooking zone.

    Minzi Jia thanked anj_p
  • 11 months ago

    Thank you anj_p. In terms of layout I was thinking the sink by the window would be a prep sink so you take things from the fridge to the sink, do the prep work and then take it to the stove. The sink on the island would be multi purpose - we could use it for clean up (there will be a dishwasher drawer), or to get a glass of water. Anything I am not thinking of?

  • 11 months ago

    The sink looks too small to be cleanup. If you want to have a sink to get a glass of water, I would not put it in the middle of the kitchen. I would add a beverage station and put a sink there (filtered water, maybe?). Plus the DW drawer and DW will open into each other, making it a pinch point. I think a DW drawer for glassware in a dedicated beverage station would be a great design, but that's not what you have here.

    Your island is still a barrier between your fridge & range. Not everything goes from fridge to sink. How often to you grab milk/cream, butter, or other condiments to add to your cooking? Of course this depends on how you cook, but if you do any serious cooking you probably do this a lot. Your zones exceed the maximum 26' for total distance by quite a bit. You are around 32' for that.

  • 11 months ago

    The lower cabs as wide drawer units is a favored choice.