3 Top Designers and their Traditional Kitchen Range Picks

Buying a new range for your kitchen is like buying a car. Ranges and cars are significant investments that you use every day. Both purchases require homework and a smidgen of status symbol soul searching. Wander into your local appliance store and the showroom stocked with shiny imported state-of-the-art cooking technology is bound to leave your breathless. It doesn’t take long before a salesperson starts posing questions about fuel, exhaust, luxury options, and extended warranties. As your head spins you think to yourself, “I just want a stove that is reliable and stylish.” Then you put on your reading glasses and closely examine the price tag. As you try to recover from sticker shock you suddenly realize the freestanding gas range with dual fuel double ovens of your dreams costs more than your car parked just beyond the showroom window.

The salesperson takes pity on you and directs you to the other section of the showroom that displays lower priced brands that offer gas ranges with double ovens. Unfortunately, these models feature a small oven strategically positioned above a larger oven. This design means pulling a cookie sheet or pie from the top oven is easy but yanking a 25 pound turkey from the lower oven requires some gymnastics and possibly a visit to a massage therapist.

Design professionals are tremendous resources who can help you select appliances that best suit your aesthetic and budget. Determined to find a beautiful, efficient, and cost-friendly range with side-by-side double ovens, I turned to three talented designers for advice. The trio of experts suggested an impressive array of professional grade freestanding gas ranges with double ovens that cost under $10,000.

REBECCA REYNOLDS & BERTAZZONI

Rebecca Reynolds

Rebecca Reynolds is the president of New Canaan Kitchens in Connecticut. She is also the Co-Founder of the Kitchen Design Network, an online design source for kitchen obsessed consumers, designers and brands featuring kitchen design inspiration, resources, trends, food and cooking culture, travel, industry luminaries and so much more. Kitchen Design Network will premier in April. As a nationally acclaimed designer, Rebecca has created award-winning projects throughout New England, the South, the West Coast and Europe during her 20-year career. Her design aesthetic is a blend of traditional and modern, always with an artistic eye to use neutral palettes with color, unique materials that suggest a past and present that create thoughtful smart designs that live well.

Rebecca met this design challenge by selecting a Bertazzoni range. She explains, “Designing hundreds of kitchens over the past 20 years has given me an inside perspective on a lot of ranges, their changing styles and the advancement of the latest technologies. When it was time to renovate the kitchen in my home, oh my goodness… decisions, decisions. When designers make choices for their own homes it can be very difficult. Like many of our clients we too have a budget, a spouse or partner to compromise with about selections and project deadlines to meet, however it’s even more difficult because we’re aware of many more options than the average consumer (or we were at least until Pinterest and HOUZZ came along).

Rebecca adds, “I have never been the type of designer that needed to follow trends, so when renovating my own kitchen I was looking for a range that was stylish, cooked well and was affordable. As a woman that loves anything Italian, once my suppliers introduced me to the beautiful Bertazzoni range it was love at first sight. I fell for the sleek styling of the knobs and simple detail to the front lines, the choice of the fiery bold colors and the pro style cooking. It was the perfect fit for me and now for several of my projects. Buon Apetito!

Bertazzoni Ranges

DUNCAN HUGHES & LACORNUE

Duncan Hughes

Duncan Hughes runs an award-winning design firm based in Boston, Massachusetts that is synonymous with timeless but forward-thinking designs that cater to the unique aesthetic and functional needs of each client, whether traditional, modern, or commercial. Trained in architecture, Duncan spent years collaborating with other designers before launching his own firm in 2003. The impressive scope of his completed projects over the past decade includes properties and spaces throughout the Boston area, Newport, New York City, Utah, and Los Angeles.

When I spoke to Duncan recently, he said, “I was just talking about the LaCornue ranges with a client, which I absolutely love. You can spend upwards of $40,000 on the LeChateau series but the CornuFe 110 will run you about $8,800. LaCornue is a family-owned company that was founded over 100 years ago. I love the CorneFe 110 because it is made for a modern cook, yet maintains all the magnificent beauty of the original. It has five gas burners, two independent electric convention ovens, which all my baker clients much prefer over gas – because it has such superior temperature management over gas ovens and one large storage drawer.

Duncan adds, “It’s also such a gorgeous range, a real work of art. It is available in seven colors, and three trims. It is, in my opinion the best choice for a homeowner looking for a professional-grade performance in a classically beautiful package. Oh, and the inside panels of the stove come out, and can be washed in the dishwasher! Plus, I love the swing doors, don’t you?”

La Cornue

Read the full post on Artisans List — A business directory website