This is round 4 of work on a kitchen that began in 1995. To address a small oven (wife refers to it as her toaster oven) and an underpowered cooktop (10K BTU -suboptimal for stir-fry), we'll need to do some fairly major changes. The present location of the cooktop won't work for 20K BTU burners due to the need for the corresponding ventilation. The best location for a hood adequate for that is where the oven is presently located. Thus we will place a 48 inch range and wall mounted hood there and put a butcher block insert instead of the cooktop. We will be replacing the dishwasher and the sink as well.
We've found a hood that will provide adequate ventilation and have a profile that will allow for some open shelving to partially compensate for the upper cabinets it will take the place of.

The wish list for our range is BTU's 18k or more, electric oven and good quality. This is where we need help. Looking at the reviews there is so much conflicting information that it becomes no information. Our research, both based on other person's experiences and what they heard as well as online info, did help to narrow it down to Blue Star, Thermador and DCS.

Thermador is expensive but in the past have offered a DW along with the range. It has a 22k burner, electric oven as well as additional features. Some sources regard them as reliable. But I'm wary of all the technology included in the machine. It seems that 21century appliances, the more features, the more stuff that invariably goes bad and is expensive to repair.

Blue Star has by most accounts a great cooktop, not many frills (open burners, no computer stuff) and only one power source. But the ovens have generated grief by many accounts; maybe the new Platinum series have addressed the shortcoming.

DCS is relatively new. It has a 17.5K burner (aiming for >20K) and an electric oven. In addition, they do have a DW promotion. It is also the lowest priced of our options (still expensive by my stnds). Any personal experience from Houzzers would be welcome.

Wolf is still an option in the 36" model. But it only has 15K burners (an ironic thing to say from a household that worked with 8-10K burners for 18 years). And as expensive as it is, it does not escape from getting bad-mouthed.

It does floor me that buying an appliance that expensive does not buy relative assurance that it will be reliable and accompanied by good customer service.

Further choices we're mulling through are countertop color for the small cabinet to the side of the range and for the new cabinet where the sink is. While I like the color of our honed granite island countertop, Wife doesn't like that it's hard to keep clean. Also new splash tiles, except for my wife's handmade tile which I will make every effort to salvage.