There's an old saying:
It's quite an old saying so you maybe haven't heard it before. Maybe.
But there's a lot of truth to it. The stove (or range if you prefer) is the guts of your kitchen. And unless, like reader Susie, you only have a kitchen because your house happened to come with one, your stove is probably pretty important to you.
I told you before that I would be getting a BlueStar range. I got mine from Costco as opposed to from BlueStar because even though it doesn't have the same interior finish or quite as many BTU's it's also thousands of dollars less at Costco.
I paired it with an astonishingly powerful G.E. Cafe range hood from Home Depot.
And here they are ...
The BlueStar range (both the Costco and higher end version) have something that's called an open burner system. Most ranges have a sealed burner.
The open burner makes for easier cleaning of the stove because if a pot ever boils over it falls right through the burner system instead of staying on the surface of the stove and baking on there.
To clean up spills, you just slide out the tray underneath the burners and wipe it out. If I were to tell you this has made my life 14 million times easier you'd probably think I was exaggerating. I am not. 14 MILLION TIMES.
And the BlueStar open burner is designed so when you lift the centre grate out of the burner, you can fit your wok in there perfectly. The outer grate cradles the wok, keeping it right next to the open flame and stopping the wok from sliding around your stove.
I believe we're up to 28 million times easier now.
The other thing that changed my life was getting an exhaust fan. Or a range hood in fancy talk. I have lived in this house, cooking every single night, for 15 years without any range hood. If I ever made anything greasier than boiled water I had to run around the house opening windows and doors in a complicated pattern in order to get the smoke to suction out.
If I opened one window too little or a door too much I'd get smoked out of my own house and quite often spent the evening enjoying a pleasant dinner of grubs from the lawn while shooing away the well intentioned fire department(s).
This is a POWERFUL range hood. And that's what I'm recommending you buy if you're ever in the market. My mother for instance bought a cheap exhaust fan and it just doesn't work. It couldn't suck a meow out of a kitten.
Some things you can skimp on in the kitchen and other things you can't. Don't skimp on the range hood. I say that with all the confidence of someone who has owned one for almost an entire month.
What you *can* skimp on is the flue cover. That's the chimney looking part at the top of the hood. G.E. Cafe makes a narrow flue cover that just covers the width of the vent. I wanted something that ran the entire width of the range hood just for aesthetic purposes.
Buying one like that would have meant a cost of around $250-$300 and it wouldn't have fit perfectly (I have 9" above my range hood and the smallest one for sale is 12"). So I found a sheet metal worker to make me a flue cover for a grand total of $60.
I've been using the BlueStar range for a while now and I have to say I'm glad I didn't get the higher end version with more BTUs. I'm barely woman enough to handle the BTUs the Costco version provides. Definitely NOT in need of more BTUs. HOWEVER, if you're thinking of making the jump to a range like this don't be an idiot. Like I was.
I assumed that because I already had a gas range that I could just have this new range hooked up to my old gas lines. But because this range has a gas oven (my old one had gas burners and an electric oven) and is so much more powerful than my previous gas stove I couldn't just hook it up to my old gas line.
My old gas lines weren't big enough to provide enough gas to my new range. If I were to have all 4 burners going and the oven there wouldn't be enough power to have everything bubbling away at full capacity. So I had to have the gas line running from my basement to my range replaced at a cost of around $650 if I remember correctly.
A kitchen renovation is always full of surprises. Life is full of surprises. Some of them are bad. And some of them that will make your life 72 million times better.
OMG- I am laughing because this concept of trays below is not new! My 1958 Sears Kenmore stove that I still have and use, has the trays on either side under the burners! I just have to remember they are there and clean them! This stove even had a burner with a brain, unfortunately, it went braindead 1999. This stove has a griddle in the middle top, and a rotissarie on the side. What more could a girl want???
I am beyond envious of this stove, and your entire kitchen! DAMN! Now I want to take a wrecking ball to mine.
Question: I'm sure you covered this in an earlier post, but since I have a touch of ADD, I didn't catch it. I love your butcher block counters, and yes, I am so sick of granite and marble tops…they look beautiful but are so difficult to clean and maintain. Are the wood counters sealed? I love wood, but not sure about staining and nicks.
Love your post, it's sometimes the best part of my day.
Hi Kathy - Butcher block doesn't get sealed, but it does get treated. You coat it with mineral oil. 5 coats to start with as the wood will just drink it up. Then once a week, then once a month, then whenever it seems dry. Nicks you might get yes, and staining too. If that bothers you it might not be the right choice for you. The counter is hard and is difficult to scratch but it can be done and almost anything can stain it. To get rid of that it takes a light brushing with sandpaper and then more mineral oil. I prefer my countertop to have a patina and look used though so it isn't a problem for me. ~ karen!
Tell me more about your Fitbit. Do you use it to count your steps or do you run as well as the superwoman stuff? Yikes!
I use it both for counting my steps and running, lol. Yes, I run on occasion. If it makes you feel any better I'm not particularly good at it. :) ~ karen!
Everything looks wonderful, but I want the tea kettle. I've seen them, I've handled them and I want to own one. Maybe if I plaster pictures around the house, someone will get the hint!
Hi Debbie - I don't even know where it came from I'm afraid. I was at my friend's house and I said I love that Japanese tea pot and she said ... Here ... take it! ~ karen!
I am constantly surprised the small items that the responders pick up in your pictures. I think I am fairly observant, but when I begin to read the comments I go back forth from the comments to the pictures so often, I give myself a serious bout of vertigo! Maybe I just need to slow it down!! Slow it down!
My husband and I were admiring your stove...major stove envy by the way. Anyway, I also was admiring what appears to be a reasonable distance from the counter to the bottom of the range hood. I thought it could be 36 inches. My husband thinks it is about the same distance as ours, a measly 25". When you consider that I am 5'10", you can see why I frequently bump my head! So, can you settle it for us? How far above the counter is the bottom of your beautiful hood?
Hi Julie - The height of your hood is determined by the height of your ceiling and the width of your range. Mine is at 28.5" from the stove top. It's what worked for my ceiling, my stove and my head. ;) ~ karen
Oh...forgot to mention that this range hood is over the island, blocking my view of anything or anyone on the other side. It certainly sucks to be me!
I'm in high state of Blue-Star-Range envy now. It looks awsome, Karen. Blue-Star range will be in my dream from now on.
It's pretty great! ~ karen
Looks really, really nice Karen. I'm sure that I'd blow up the house if I had a gas stove. i live in fear of the gas furnace downstairs in the basement. Irrational? Perhaps.
LOL. Perhaps. ~ karen!
I made a sqeaky breathy sound like the one my daughter makes whe I tell her we are having ice cream for dessert. So nice! I have all my rolling pins in a basket on the low pantry in our kitchen. One day I want to hang them on the wall to display them & make them really easy to grab, but no wall space here-all window on the south & on the backsplash wouldn't work either...
Moose-ass gracias for sharing!
Oh! I just had an idea-take it or leave it-what about a post on your readers favourite part of their kitchen?
Ooooh, Ooooh, Me, Me, Me...can I be first? My favorite part of my kitchen is the door that closes behind me when I'm on my way out to eat somewhere else!! Karen, I'm so tickled for you with all the wonderful details of your new kitchen. It's obvious you have put a lot of thought and planning into your space. Congratulations, and thanks for sharing the details.
WE'RE HAVING ICE CREAM FOR DESSERT???!!!!!!! ~ karen!
I think you should leave the TV right where it is. Mine is about the same place and very handy. But then, I do carry it out to the garage, so that may be a qualifier for "handy."
I am stunned that you were cooking this entire time without a range hood. I'm glad you have a new kitchen for that reason alone.
It looks like it would be very easy to clean your range. What a clever idea. I wonder if Blue Star makes similar cooktops...Your kitchen truly have Scandinavian feel now. I love it. Pat on a back Karen!
They are awesome for you Karen..me..I'm afraid of gas.....bad moose..bad bad moose..no TV for you..turn around..
Bad Moose, lol. That got a bona fide guffaw. ~ karen
This post is full of stainless steel, gas fired goodness. Niiiiiiice.
Suck a meow out of a kitten....hilarious and exactly our hood fan, which we bought at Costco. Hate it, loud and doesn't suck, well any steam, odors or smoke out of our kitchen, but it does SUCK in other ways. Looking at ripping it out, chalking it up to experience and investing in a good one. Will look at this one, my big complaint in all of them is the noise level, I love to have music on when I cook and what's the point if it's getting drowned out by the obnoxious hood fan.
It looks gorgeous! If I ever get my dream kitchen I'll go for that (presuming it's available here). I have a 6 burner professional gas range, with gas oven, in my kitchen. I LOVE the star-shaped burners, and I can see how the open burner system would be great for a responsible person. However, it is way too much stove for me to manage responsibly. My potential new cleaning lady quit when she saw it.
I am so relieved you didn't buy that über-btu blue star stove - your earlier announcement had me worried. Also I like the drawer that slides out it can be cleaned. It all looks very nice!
Three observations and a question:
1-open burner=new concept. Might even sell me on a gas range (I love the clean up of the electric ceramic top)
2- "suck a meow out of a kitten" = Karen, you can turn a phrase like no other!
3-The moose hiding behind the rolling pins! LOVE!
Question: is the oven convection? I became a convection fan years ago after inheriting an oven that had that feature...
I have some serious gas stove envy going on. I'm close to being in the market for a new one and that one is definitely in the running.
Love the pull out drip catching tray! Could have used that the other day when my lentils boiled over. What a damn mess that was! I had to pull the burner out and shove my towels down there to soak it all up. One time I even got a little jolt! Nice feature for sure! And the exhaust fan! I run around like you use to opening everything up, turning on fans etc. I love your setup there!
Looks awesome Karen. Gorgeous stove. I love the look of all the corners. It appears that we have very similar taste. I love how clever and strategic your photos are as well. Now clean your damn camera lens girl!!!! It's driving me batty.