The 6 Best Oven Ranges Designers Often Choose for Kitchen Renovations
In search of the best oven ranges? Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all option. Shopping for the cooking appliance has become more of a choose-your-own adventure, with options extending from gas or induction stovetop (or a combination), various cooktop configurations, and oven-door arrangements, down to the choice of a customized knob. Simply put, the options are, well, wide-ranging.
Cue some kitchen designer input. These pros are constantly in touch with how their clients live and the best fixtures to accommodate their needs. Host of large family gatherings? A dual-oven range can help speed up cooking time. Love cooking with the kids? Consider an induction stove, which is engineered to heat up only when in direct contact with cookware, leaving the rest of the stovetop safe to touch. Want a personalized unit sure to spark conversation? Peruse the colorful finishes or custom print capabilities that an increasing number of manufacturers now offer.
For more designer tips, find six of the best oven ranges that the pros recommend to clients time and again.
All products featured on Architectural Digest are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
1/6BlueStar 36-Inch Culinary Series (RCS) Open Burner Range
Form and function may play in harmony throughout interiors, but when it comes to the kitchen, function will always have the last word, says designer Sarah Blank, who puts as much thought into the cooktop engineering as she does the backsplash tile. “I am a cook. No matter how much they say a sealed burner works well on a simmer mode, there is nothing like an open burner, which allows air to circulate.” Her go-to? BlueStar’s Culinary Series, a stainless-steel unit that comes equipped with a 130-degree simmer burner (precise yet gentle enough to melt chocolate without burning); a large-capacity convection oven (with a enough room to fit a commercial-size baking sheet); and of course, the 15,000 BTU open burners that can be configured to the client’s preference.
2/6Wolf 48-Inch Gas Range
When a client’s kitchen renovation required a range that would help manage the scale of an already installed 48-inch refrigerator, the designers at Hendricks Churchill turned to a Wolf gas range of similar stature. “I know this sounds big for a small kitchen, but it worked,” says firm cofounder Rafe Churchill, who appreciates the model’s two gas convection ovens, as well as the compact cooktop made up of four sealed-gas burners and infrared charbroiler and griddle. “We’ve found this to be a good option without taking up too much space.” For an even grander statement, he recommends the manufacturer’s 60-inch side-by-side double oven paired with matching 36-inch refrigerator and freezer columns.
3/6La Cornue CornuFé 110
Presentation is a critical part of any meal, and French appliances maker La Cornue abides by the same standard when it comes to the oven range that cooks—or bakes, roasts, or braises—it. With 12 pigmented finishes, including four specially selected by designer Suzanne Kasler, and several metal trim options, the CornueFé 110 is a show-stopping piece. The 43-inch range is designed with French doors that open to dual electric convection ovens, as well as client pick of the five-burner gas or ceramic-glass induction cooktops. Says Kasler, “La Cornue’s ranges and ovens are timeless and beautiful—and most importantly, functional!”
4/6Viking 48-Inch Dual Fuel Range
“Viking is definitely our go-to for great cooking performance and great-looking design features that embrace traditional, contemporary, and modern design,” says Cristina Casañas-Judd, cofounder of Me and General Design. The unit’s 17 color or metal finish options, a rapid-ready preheat system, and nearly a dozen cooking modes make the convection oven and up-to-eight-burner cooktop help it “cross the line from commercial to residential with ease—which our clients love,” says Casañas-Judd.
- Architecture + DesignThe 64 Prettiest College Campuses in America
5/6BlueStar By Design Custom Range
Even in the kitchen, the design is all about the details. So when BlueStar began testing a new program that would allow customers to customize the finish on their range, designer Kendall Wilkinson became an early adopter. “They can literally wrap them to look like any textile or wallpaper should you want that extra pop, including the knobs,” says Wilkinson, who chose a blue kaleidoscopic pattern from her Fabricut textile collection for her own model. The BlueStar By Design program officially launches this summer, adding to manufacturer’s already impressive personalization offerings, which include the capability to color-match a range and pick from various cooktop and door configurations. Of BlueStar’s Culinary Range, Wilkinson shares, “It heats up quickly and cooks perfectly and uniformly. My boys and I love using it every day!”
6/6Gaggenau Vario 400 Series
Whether nixing an unwanted ingredient from a recipe or determining the desired cooking time of meat, the kitchen is where consumers get to be picky. It would make sense, then, that options for customization carry through to their cooktops—or so Gaggenau believes. With the Vario 400 Series, buyers enter a build-your-own cooktop experience, selecting from (or placing together) a range of flex induction, gas burner, electric grill, and TeppanYaki cooktop modules. Says Poonam Khanna, founder and principal of Unionworks, “The modular components give us so much flexibility. It allows us to customize cooking surfaces for our clients—and I’m obsessed with the gold finish on the burners!” Separate, built-in wall ovens complete Khanna’s ideal cooking station.
