I have spent the last few days researching all of the ranges you recommended a couple of months back. The good news is I did most of the research for our new kitchen and I think we have the range selected we will be purchasing… bad(ish?) news is I won’t be talking too much on the individual ranges as I want to encourage you to do your own research based on your family’s needs and use.

We cook three times a day most days, so our range is something that gets a LOT of use and is an important investment for us.

Top Recommended Ranges

01 Smeg Dual Range – Smeg is mostly known for their retro aesthetic small appliances and their refrigerators, but they do have some sleek designs like this range. It was hard trying to find specific reviews from this brand but Christine with For The Home has a review on this model which you can read here.

02 Hallman Range – From what I have gathered, Hallman and ILVE are two brands where their products are now made in Italy for half the price of a traditional European range but with a similar traditional European aesthetic. I have heard many negative reviews on both the Hallman and ILVE where the ignite switch or burners have gone out after only a few months of use. I have also heard of ILVE having a loud fan motor issue. I cannot personally talk on either of these, but Hallman was one that was recommended that people do seem to love. Hallman, ILVE, Bertazzoni, and ZLine are on the lower price end for pro range appliances.

03 Thermador Range – I didn’t look too much into this range but it seems to have fairly decent reviews and falls right in line price-wise with some of the other ranges on this list. This range was recommended a few times by our readers.

04 Wolf Dual Range – As many of you know, my parents sold their home of 20 years and just built their last home. They had Viking appliances in their last home and had some issues with both ovens never quite working the same. This time around, they chose a Wolf cooktop and Wolf double-ovens and they have been such great appliances. I personally can speak on this brand as I have used them while being over there and am currently trying to decide between purchasing the 36″ Dual Range or the 48″. I really am drawn to the second oven that is available on the 48″ range as much as we cook and bake.

05 Lacanche Range – In a perfect and ideal world, this would be my dream range… right down to the aesthetics. I did inquire on this range as I wanted to know the specifics- price, timeline, freight… this specific European range is $16,650 before tax with a sea freight of $1500 and 15 month lead time. I ruled this one out pretty quickly… not because of price (the Wolf is fairly close), but because of the lead time and also the service technicians being limited should there be any issues. It is such a beautiful range though.

06 Big Chill Range – Big Chill is a similar brand to Smeg in that they are known for their retro style appliances, but they do also have cooking appliances and ranges that have seemingly become more popular over recent years. I did come to learn their ranges are made and shipped right here in the US which is a plus especially when it comes to customer service! Their ranges also offer a variety of colors to choose from. You can read Sarah’s (Room For Tuesday) review here.

07 ZLINE – As I mentioned above, ZLINE offers a more cost effective range that are similar design-wise to Wolf ranges. As with any cost-effective options, there are going to be pros and cons. The biggest con I have consistently read are recalls due to carbon monoxide emissions from the oven… I have also read there is quite a bit of inconsistency with the heating of burners and customer service on any repairs.

08 Lofra Dolcevita – Lofra is another Italian-made brand where the aesthetics are similar to Hallman and ILVE. I had never heard of this brand until a couple of readers recommended it. In contrast with the Hallman range, Lofra seems to have better performance ratings overall.

09 Viking Dual Range – Viking is a top of the line brand along with Wolf, Thermador and Lacanche. From what I have read the main differences between Viking and Wolf are that Wolf is more known for their superior precision temperature control and sleek design while Viking is more known for their powerful burners and more customization options. As I mentioned above, my parents had a Viking induction cooktop in their old home along with two wall ovens… I found the wall ovens to be a little bit difficult to operate at first. I will say after using both Viking and Wolf, I would recommend Wolf.

10 Bertazzoni Range – Founded in 1882, this is another Italian made brand. They have three lines- Professional, Master and Heritage. I don’t know too much about this brand other than it was recommended by an Insta friend of ours. The main con I have read is customer service access being limited in a lot of areas.

11 Fisher & Paykel Range – F&P is known for their quality and luxury and they seem to have pretty reliable reviews for their ranges. While I don’t know much about their ranges, I can attest their refrigerators are great and we will be purchasing their fridge for our new home.

12 Aga Elise Dual Range – This range was another top contender for us… it’s beautiful, no doubt, but I loved that it also offered two ovens AND a broiler drawer. The main con for us was the size of the oven… it wouldn’t fit our cookie sheets or a large size turkey should we host Thanksgiving. You can read more about this range in Emily Henderson’s review here.

Personal Experience

While we are on the topic of ranges, I wanted to share about our personal experience with a top brand- GE Cafe. When we first moved into our home, 12 years ago now… we purchase all GE Cafe appliances. This was BEFORE the Cafe line launched as it’s own modern line into the popular line you see today. After replacing our 3 of our burners on different occasions and our oven going out altogether, we had to purchase another range a couple of years ago. Come to find out from our local service guy, he said Cafe is the number one appliance line that he constantly has to work on. All of this to say, I personally do not recommend GE Cafe ranges.

A Fun Mockup of Our New Kitchen Layout

Want to see a very basic but fun mockup of our new kitchen layout? Below you can see the layout with the 36″ range… if we decide to go with a 48″, we would essentially remove the small drawer stacks on either side of the range currently.

I hope this was helpful if you are in the market for a new range! I will be sure to keep you updated on which range we end up choosing and the design of our new kitchen! So many more updates coming soon!