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If you’ve used a freestanding range within your cabinets...


StaceyinLA
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We are doing a kitchen remodel and I am picking out appliances. I really want a slide-in range, but want a double oven (or oven and a half) option because that’s what I currently have in a freestanding. They just don’t have a lot of options. Many of the ones they offer have ovens that are equal size, but I really want one main oven that’s normal or larger, and one smaller; 2 smaller ones aren’t gonna do it. Samsung makes a flex oven where you can put in a divider and make it into 2 spaces, heated (supposedly) to different temps, but it gets horrible reviews.

 

I’m thinking of just putting a freestanding range, but I don’t want to spend thousands of dollars remodeling, putting in new cabinets, granite, etc., and have the finished product look, well, unfinished or cheap because I didn’t put a slide in.

 

If you have a freestanding range encased by cabinets, would you be willing to share what it looks like?

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We are doing a kitchen remodel and I am picking out appliances. I really want a slide-in range, but want a double oven (or oven and a half) option because that’s what I currently have in a freestanding. They just don’t have a lot of options. Many of the ones they offer have ovens that are equal size, but I really want one main oven that’s normal or larger, and one smaller; 2 smaller ones aren’t gonna do it. Samsung makes a flex oven where you can put in a divider and make it into 2 spaces, heated (supposedly) to different temps, but it gets horrible reviews.

 

I’m thinking of just putting a freestanding range, but I don’t want to spend thousands of dollars remodeling, putting in new cabinets, granite, etc., and have the finished product look, well, unfinished or cheap because I didn’t put a slide in.

 

If you have a freestanding range encased by cabinets, would you be willing to share what it looks like?

I had one in my last house because I wanted a double oven and the slide ins were so much more expensive. Unless it is in an island I think it looks fine. Oddly enough my parents just bought a house where a free standing range is sitting in an odd island. It looks horrible. It will not stay like that for long. Lol... Edited by Scarlett
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We are doing a kitchen remodel and I am picking out appliances. I really want a slide-in range, but want a double oven (or oven and a half) option because that’s what I currently have in a freestanding. They just don’t have a lot of options. Many of the ones they offer have ovens that are equal size, but I really want one main oven that’s normal or larger, and one smaller; 2 smaller ones aren’t gonna do it. Samsung makes a flex oven where you can put in a divider and make it into 2 spaces, heated (supposedly) to different temps, but it gets horrible reviews.

 

I’m thinking of just putting a freestanding range, but I don’t want to spend thousands of dollars remodeling, putting in new cabinets, granite, etc., and have the finished product look, well, unfinished or cheap because I didn’t put a slide in.

 

If you have a freestanding range encased by cabinets, would you be willing to share what it looks like?

I recently looked at a Samsung model NE58K985OWG slide in with double oven. The bottom one is 3.3 cf and the top one is 2.4 cf. It was $2199 on sale at Lowes back in June. Is that the one you say had bad reviews?

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Mine looks a lot like Scarlet’s, but it sticks out more. I haven’t gotten around to moving the electric box. Ovens with drawers in the bottom leave a space for this box, butcwith a double freestanding oven the power box thing has to be recessed into the wall or your unit sticks out like mine has . . . for years. I have a white Maytag. I LOVE having two ovens and I use that small one 80-90% of the time.

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We only have one large oven, but I do like our GE range/oven. The slide-in range in an odd island was the deciding factor against a house we looked at last year. It was so weird, and just made me anxious thinking of how we’d keep kids safely away from it with so many possible angles to reach the stovetop.

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Forgive my mess. But this is mine. No double oven but in my opinion it looks ok.

Btw, it does look better when not so messy!

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Ummm, you're callin' that messy?   :lol:

 

Love the yellow by the way...

Edited by goldberry
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Have you assessed which of the two ovens (big or small) you use more, and what you use each for?

 

I have a cooktop with a wall oven, and a very wide warming drawer.  That warming drawer is far more useful to me than a second, tall but narrowish oven would be, because I can put a platter of food in it, OR serving dishes of food.  Whereas the traditional narrow second oven (like my grandmother's) would not be wide enough for that platter.  Now, when she used it for rare company meals, it was great because she was roasting two beasts for a big crowd, but I just never feel the need for two legs of lamb or a prime rib AND a leg of lamb, so for me the aspect ratio improvement of having a warming drawer is dominant.  (I still have her speckled, tall but narrow covered oval roasting pan that she hunted up with difficulty to use in that narrow second oven of hers.  It was the only Large Meats roaster that would fit at all.)

 

Also, if you mostly use the smaller oven for reheating things but don't have a good space for a warming oven drawer, you might consider whether the newer high end toaster ovens would work for that.  Breville, for instance, has very nice toaster ovens that are better insulated than the traditional ones.  Those have the disadvantage that they take up counter space, but the advantage that they are closer to eye level and easier to move things in and out of, plus too high for kids to burn themselves on.

 

The last time I looked at stoves I was practically drooling over a gorgeous French freestanding, wide, double oven stove, blue with lots of chrome, and the sales person mentioned that if I was doing the last remodel I would ever do, I should consider whether I wanted to be bending over to move large heavy roasting pans in and out of an oven near the floor for the rest of my life or not.  And it IS nice, very nice, to have a waist height wall oven for my main one.

Edited by Carol in Cal.
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You might want to go to gardenweb and gab on the kitchens forum or get some software and draw some models so you can visualize it. Cheap is relative. In my kitchen, I could have gone way up or way down. My stove is on a corner and I have nice counters, custom cabs, etc. I could have done ANYTHING there and it would have been aesthetically fine. Freestanding, high end range, a cooktop at separate ovens, anything. I went with what I wanted, but yes I get comments sometimes about people expecting xyz instead.

 

I think it's ok to say you want something nicer or more expensive or whatever. It's fine. If you want the double ovens and want the slide in look and can't find it in a single unit, then it sounds like you'll need a separate cooktop and ovens. I didn't do that only because I would have wanted more burners and didn't want to have to deal with it being a non-standard size and hard to replace later. I personally would *not* want knobs on the front, but you're used to that.

 

Your other option would be to have your old stove in the basement for extra cooking space when you need it or to have a countertop convection unit. 

 

Have you gone to a higher end appliance store, maybe in your state capital, to see if you can get a freestanding unit that has the double ovens you want? Used to be all kinds of higher end manufacturers made them. They probably still do.

Edited by OhElizabeth
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I'm not sure why you want a range as opposed to a cooktop and wall ovens, so this may not be helpful, but have you googled "under-counter oven"?  There are a number of pictures of single or oven-and-a-half wall ovens installed under a counter, including directly under a cooktop.  It's not a range, but it would function as one, and maybe the pics will give you some ideas.  I don't actually have much to add because I cannot fathom, given a choice, wanting your oven(s) directly below your cooktop!

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I recently looked at a Samsung model NE58K985OWG slide in with double oven. The bottom one is 3.3 cf and the top one is 2.4 cf. It was $2199 on sale at Lowes back in June. Is that the one you say had bad reviews?

 

No that's not the one. The only thing about that one is the bottom oven just isn't that big. I would like one of the ovens to be bigger - I need to be able to cook a turkey sometimes. ;-p

 

The one that had the bad reviews looks like a single, but there's a divider you can put to create two areas that supposedly will cook things at different temperatures. Apparently that doesn't work as well as it is supposed to.

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I'm not sure why you want a range as opposed to a cooktop and wall ovens, so this may not be helpful, but have you googled "under-counter oven"?  There are a number of pictures of single or oven-and-a-half wall ovens installed under a counter, including directly under a cooktop.  It's not a range, but it would function as one, and maybe the pics will give you some ideas.  I don't actually have much to add because I cannot fathom, given a choice, wanting your oven(s) directly below your cooktop!

 

The reason is that I don't have a space on the wall I'd want to put them where they would look good. I've always had my oven under my cooktop, so that's really not gonna be an issue.

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You might want to go to gardenweb and gab on the kitchens forum or get some software and draw some models so you can visualize it. Cheap is relative. In my kitchen, I could have gone way up or way down. My stove is on a corner and I have nice counters, custom cabs, etc. I could have done ANYTHING there and it would have been aesthetically fine. Freestanding, high end range, a cooktop at separate ovens, anything. I went with what I wanted, but yes I get comments sometimes about people expecting xyz instead.

 

I think it's ok to say you want something nicer or more expensive or whatever. It's fine. If you want the double ovens and want the slide in look and can't find it in a single unit, then it sounds like you'll need a separate cooktop and ovens. I didn't do that only because I would have wanted more burners and didn't want to have to deal with it being a non-standard size and hard to replace later. I personally would *not* want knobs on the front, but you're used to that.

 

Your other option would be to have your old stove in the basement for extra cooking space when you need it or to have a countertop convection unit. 

 

Have you gone to a higher end appliance store, maybe in your state capital, to see if you can get a freestanding unit that has the double ovens you want? Used to be all kinds of higher end manufacturers made them. They probably still do.

 

I'm not really worried about cost at this point - my issue is I can't find a slide-in range with double ovens that has the size ovens I'd like. I can find freestanding ones all day long. My current freestanding is exposed on one side, so it doesn't have to "fit" its space, per se. I was wanting to see images where a freestanding was fit within counters/cabinets.

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Thanks for the pictures for those of you who posted them. I actually think it looks fine. I was concerned about having gaps and/or how high it would stick up past my countertops. We are putting granite and all new cabinets and I just really don't know what to expect. Right now our cabinets aren't standard height, which is why we've never been able to install a dishwasher (but we will be installing one now), so I'm just not sure what they'll be like - can't seem to picture it all!

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Have you assessed which of the two ovens (big or small) you use more, and what you use each for?

 

I have a cooktop with a wall oven, and a very wide warming drawer.  That warming drawer is far more useful to me than a second, tall but narrowish oven would be, because I can put a platter of food in it, OR serving dishes of food.  Whereas the traditional narrow second oven (like my grandmother's) would not be wide enough for that platter.  Now, when she used it for rare company meals, it was great because she was roasting two beasts for a big crowd, but I just never feel the need for two legs of lamb or a prime rib AND a leg of lamb, so for me the aspect ratio improvement of having a warming drawer is dominant.  (I still have her speckled, tall but narrow covered oval roasting pan that she hunted up with difficulty to use in that narrow second oven of hers.  It was the only Large Meats roaster that would fit at all.)

 

Also, if you mostly use the smaller oven for reheating things but don't have a good space for a warming oven drawer, you might consider whether the newer high end toaster ovens would work for that.  Breville, for instance, has very nice toaster ovens that are better insulated than the traditional ones.  Those have the disadvantage that they take up counter space, but the advantage that they are closer to eye level and easier to move things in and out of, plus too high for kids to burn themselves on.

 

The last time I looked at stoves I was practically drooling over a gorgeous French freestanding, wide, double oven stove, blue with lots of chrome, and the sales person mentioned that if I was doing the last remodel I would ever do, I should consider whether I wanted to be bending over to move large heavy roasting pans in and out of an oven near the floor for the rest of my life or not.  And it IS nice, very nice, to have a waist height wall oven for my main one.

 

A double oven under a range would not have a tall, narrow oven. It's a larger, pretty square typical oven on bottom, and above it, right under the cooktop, is a shorter oven the same width (probably about the size of a warming drawer that's normally under a freestanding oven). It's perfect for cooking casseroles, baking pans of cookies, warming things, etc. It can also be used as a toaster on the unit I have now. It is an extremely useful oven for sure. I use both pretty regularly.

 

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Not my kitchen, but in this image I pulled from a quick online search is very similar to our layout: similar tone/style of wood cabinets (although our top cabinets are not quite as tall as these), and instead of chrome, the stove is white with a black oven panel, and the dishwasher is black. The stove top is flush with the top of the cabinets, and sticks out about an inch from being flush with the cabinets to aid with door swing. Because the door is black, it seems to just fade into the cabinets and makes it feel like it is flush with the cabinets.

 

My oven is NOT a double oven. (Don't want one.) Instead, I have a regular full size oven, and then a Cuisenart countertop convection/toaster oven. I'm not a big fan of things on my counter tops, but I only have this convection/toaster oven and a utensil holder on the counter by the stove, and then a dish drainer over by the sink.

 

Love the separate convection/toaster oven! It's not that big, yet I can roast a whole chicken AND 4 baked potatoes all an one time! Casseroles, pizza, oven-fries and roasted vegetables -- even desserts! I use it far more than I ever guessed I would, and it is not bothersome having it on the counter -- it's in a spot to the left of the oven, under a second window, where there is unusable counter work space. :)

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post-600-0-55708400-1510597515_thumb.jpg

Edited by Lori D.
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We have a slide in. I was looking at replacing our single oven with a double oven one since ours is not working all that well. For me I decided I would not want to bend to the ground to use the bottom bigger oven. And for as few times as I would like a 2nd oven, it wasn't worth it to me.

Edited by LifeLovePassion
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We have a slide in. I was looking at replacing our single oven with a double oven one since ours is not working all that well. For me I decided I would not want to bend to the ground to use the bottom bigger oven. And for as few times as I would like a 2nd oven, it wasn't worth it to me.

 

I've seen people mention that, but I just don't have that issue with the one I have now. It's not like I put my stuff at the bottom of the oven when I cook; it goes on a rack in the middle. And honestly, unless I'm making something big (like a roast or turkey), I use the top.

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Not my kitchen, but in this image I pulled from a quick online search is very similar to our layout: similar tone/style of wood cabinets (although our top cabinets are not quite as tall as these), and instead of chrome, the stove is white with a black oven panel, and the dishwasher is black. The stove top is flush with the top of the cabinets, and sticks out about an inch from being flush with the cabinets to aid with door swing. Because the door is black, it seems to just fade into the cabinets and makes it feel like it is flush with the cabinets.

 

My oven is NOT a double oven. (Don't want one.) Instead, I have a regular full size oven, and then a Cuisenart countertop convection/toaster oven. I'm not a big fan of things on my counter tops, but I only have this convection/toaster oven and a utensil holder on the counter by the stove, and then a dish drainer over by the sink.

 

Love the separate convection/toaster oven! It's not that big, yet I can roast a whole chicken AND 4 baked potatoes all an one time! Casseroles, pizza, oven-fries and roasted vegetables -- even desserts! I use it far more than I ever guessed I would, and it is not bothersome having it on the counter -- it's in a spot to the left of the oven, under a second window, where there is unusable counter work space. :)

 

I currently have a toaster oven that is a nice size, and we use it almost every day. The problem is, with my remodel, I am going to lose a lot of counter space (knowingly and willingly - I'll have a nice island for working, but it may not have electricity, and I wouldn't want a toaster oven or small appliance sitting on my island anyway), and I don't want to keep a toaster oven on my counter anymore, which is one reason I REALLY don't want to lose my second oven.

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I currently have a toaster oven that is a nice size, and we use it almost every day. The problem is, with my remodel, I am going to lose a lot of counter space (knowingly and willingly - I'll have a nice island for working, but it may not have electricity, and I wouldn't want a toaster oven or small appliance sitting on my island anyway), and I don't want to keep a toaster oven on my counter anymore, which is one reason I REALLY don't want to lose my second oven.

 

That makes sense. :)

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Can't figure out how to post pics ...

 

But I have a free-standing range in between cabinets/counters, with microwave/vent (between upper cabinets) above it and looks similar to other pics posted above. It's not my first choice, but it was brand new when we bought the house and it wasn't worth replacing something brand new. My first choice would have been a slide-in, but I don't think the free-standing one looks terrible. And if a free-standing range is all you can find with the functionality you want, I think you should prioritize that. 

 

Also, it really is worth it to have at least 1 outlet on an island, and the cost/inconvenience to do it during a remodel is so much less than trying to add it after the fact. 

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No that's not the one. The only thing about that one is the bottom oven just isn't that big. I would like one of the ovens to be bigger - I need to be able to cook a turkey sometimes. ;-p

 

The one that had the bad reviews looks like a single, but there's a divider you can put to create two areas that supposedly will cook things at different temperatures. Apparently that doesn't work as well as it is supposed to.

The Samsung I mentioned has a larger bottom oven but not by much

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I have a double oven that slides in between the cabinets.  It works great.  I've had it about 7 years.  I can cook turkeys in the bottom and casseroles in the top one and the cook top part works well, too.  They don't make mine anymore, unfortunately.

 

I used to have a cooktop and wall ovens.  I MUCH prefer this, TBH.  I have very little wall space and the double oven location works really well for our layout.

 

I would say keep looking.  There has to be one out there that will work for what you need.

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Can't figure out how to post pics ...

 

But I have a free-standing range in between cabinets/counters, with microwave/vent (between upper cabinets) above it and looks similar to other pics posted above. It's not my first choice, but it was brand new when we bought the house and it wasn't worth replacing something brand new. My first choice would have been a slide-in, but I don't think the free-standing one looks terrible. And if a free-standing range is all you can find with the functionality you want, I think you should prioritize that. 

 

Also, it really is worth it to have at least 1 outlet on an island, and the cost/inconvenience to do it during a remodel is so much less than trying to add it after the fact. 

 

It may happen. I mean my husband IS an electrician, but we'll have to cut into our concrete under our flooring to get the electricity to it, and I'm just not sure it'll get done. It has electricity now, because the stove is there, and because there's a couple ugly posts and a wall blocking my den. I'm so thrilled about getting rid of the wall I don't really care about the electricity. I'll have space on my counters to use my small appliances (blender and instant pot) - that's what I do now.

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We have a slide in. I was looking at replacing our single oven with a double oven one since ours is not working all that well. For me I decided I would not want to bend to the ground to use the bottom bigger oven. And for as few times as I would like a 2nd oven, it wasn't worth it to me.

 

See, we have neighbors who remodeled and installed that kind of range, and I also wondered about having to get on my knees to use the lower oven. o_0

 

I'm thinking that a cooktop and two separate ovens, installed side by side below the cooktop instead of on the wall, might work.

Edited by Ellie
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I have not read other replies, but we just bought this one, and I love it! I can easily fit two racks of food in the bottom convection oven and have them cook evenly. I love the different sized burners on the front burners and the warming burner in the back. 

 

We got it ours on a scratch and dent markdown, so we got it about half the price. There was a dent on the side which is barely noticeable once it's slid between cabinets.

 

Whirlpool 30 in. Double Oven

 

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We just bought this kitchen range this weekend. The reviews I saw for it were all good but now I am worried! We don’t have it yet because we have to put in an electrical outlet for it. Our old range was wired directly into the house.

The one I mentioned is different than the one Stacy was looking at. Did you get the one with the over that has a divider in it to make it into two?

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The one I mentioned is different than the one Stacy was looking at. Did you get the one with the over that has a divider in it to make it into two?

 

Yes.  You can use it as one big oven without the divider.  Or two smaller ovens.  Plus it has a warming drawer.  Samsung.  No matter what, it will be an improvement over my 40 year old range that has only had two burners for the last 20 years and no broiler for the last 19 years.   ;) 

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I've seen people mention that, but I just don't have that issue with the one I have now. It's not like I put my stuff at the bottom of the oven when I cook; it goes on a rack in the middle. And honestly, unless I'm making something big (like a roast or turkey), I use the top.

I agree if I did get one I would use the top the most. I just became more aware of it as I am 8 weeks post op from abdominal surgery and even bending that low holding something would be challenging. :)

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I have a whirlpool range with double oven. The bottom is full size - fits my 24lb thanksgiving turkey and the top fits my largest 4qt casserole dish with room to spare. It has 1 large burner, 2 normal size and one small for my espresso pot. I love love love it. It's a whirlpool wgg555sobs. Though that is a Costco number so may not be the same number in other stores. I don't know how to load a pic but it is stainless with black burner top. Easy to clean easy to learn. I have had it a little over a year and use it constantly. Can't say enough about it. Got it as a set with the matching microwave which I also love. Good luck with the remodel. They are terrible. But we survived and I love the results. So happy with it all that I kind of enjoy cleaning it. Sort of ...😜

Edited by gracefor5
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Well, for anyone that isn’t totally bored with my dilemma, I have made a decision. I am gonna go with a freestanding Kitchen Aid with double ovens and the matching microwave. I visited one of the old, family owned appliance stores around here today, and he had some great things to say about the Kitchen Aids. They actually do have a lot better reviews than some of the others, so I’m feeling pretty good about my decision. Sadly, they don’t make a matching 18†dishwasher, so I’ll have to go with the super quiet Bosch model for that. I told my husband he couldn’t complain about the $900 half-dishwasher since I’m “saving†us over $1000 by going with the freestanding range.

 

At least I’m over this hurdle. I KNOW it won’t be the last.

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