Kitchen: does the hob need to go above the oven?

[Mrs Trellis]

As we are starting with an empty kitchen, we are trying to plan it.  It occurred to me it might be better to have the oven separate from, instead of below the hob.  Is there any  reason why they are nearly always together? (I've watched a lot of house programmes on TV recently!)  Not much different from a cooker except it looks neater.

There is the issue of the extractor fan but I think the oven could manage.  Come to think of it, when I was young I don't remember anyone having an extractor in their kitchen and they managed.

I'd like to have a high level oven, easier to see the grill and better for my  back, but OH says there isn't room....

 

[HoneySuckleDreams]

No it doesn't. We are going to be doing our kitchen in the next couple of years and we are planning on having eye level ovens with a separate hob on an island. I've never really gone a bundle on low lever ovens, especially with my knees.

There is a theory called the Kitchen Work Triangle which you might want to look at. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitchen_Work_Triangle

[Russethouse]

We are changing from a range cooker to I hope  an eye level oven with a smaller oven/grill and a warming draw. Then I want an induction hob and there is something new called flexi induction which looks quite good.....

To tell you the truth I'd really like the oven they have on Great British Bake off with the slide under door, but I don't need the steam facility...

We have a small problem in so far as to get things out of the oven and place them on a work surface will cross a walkway, but we are four adults, I think we can cope.....

We started looking last Saturday and it may be a long process !

[Gardengirl]

We have our hob on top of the oven in France, but that's just how it

worked out - we don't have room for a high-level oven, which I really

wanted.

In England, we had the oven and hob separate for many

years, then about 18 months ago we had a new kitchen installed in such a

way that they are still separate something I insisted upon. I love not having to bend to reach

into the oven in England. This time we went for oven shelves which pull out so far

and then won't come out any further - a good refinement which didn't

exist on our previous oven. I've just used the grill here in France, first time since returning, and I hatedc the bending!

Go for it Mrs Trellis!

[idun]

I always have a hotte, when I haven't had one the kitchen has steamed up

terribly and the house has smelt of food for hours, and some foods do

not smell nice when cooking, like cabbage.......... frying too, either to seal

meat or simply frying leave a smell that I do not like continuing for

hours and hours. And I do not like opening the kitchen window when

cooking, in summer lets flies in and in winter lets the cold in.

Have your cooker how you want. In our last house I had an eye level oven and hob. In this one I bought the most awful Canon gas cooker, a proper cooker, did I say I HATE the useless thing. When I replace it, I'll get another cooker, don't know why, I just fancy full cookers these days.

[Dave&Olive]

[IMG]http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j311/daveolive/P1000354.jpg[/IMG]

put it were you want

                       Dave

[Chancer]

I find that hottes are completely redundant when there is une buche d'extraction for the VMC in the kitchen which there should be, if its a large kitchen then it should be strategically placed where the steam/cooking smells are going to emanate.

Only when I have left something on which has burnt whilst taking a phone call etc have I ever needed to use the second speed of the VMC, even that never happens now that I use a cyclonic halogen oven/grill.

There was talk recently about WC's being beside a kitchen, my bathroom is so the logical place for the VMC hi-low switch is beside the bathroom door in the kitchen.

As I said it never gets used now for the kitchen but I do sometimes use it in the bathroom if I have company, otherwise the VMC evacuates all nasty niffs in a few minutes.

Oh back to the subject, hobs and ovens wherever you want them, they are usually in the same vertical plane for aesthetics but when you use them ergonomics is king, when I installed high end automatic gate systems most of my customers had their trophy kitchens that were bigger than my house but very very few of them actually cooked in them.

[Russethouse]

I love not having to bend to reach into the oven in England. This time we went for oven shelves which pull out so far and then won't come out any further - a good refinement which didn't exist on our previous oven.

Which oven did you choose GG ?

[mint]

I must say I love the "Bake off" ones with the slidy doors!

Alas, my new kitchen is still in the wishing-and-planning stage....

[Russethouse]

The Bake off cookers are Neff - those have a steam function and are over £1000! http://girlabouttech.com/2012/09/04/favourite-things-great-british-bake-off-appliances/

I don't need the steam function but I would like the slidy out shelves however the chap in our local shop (not a million miles from GG [;-)]) said their position was fixed - in which case how could you cook a turkey ? I think I need to go somewhere where there is a woman who cooks assisting rather than a man who knows all the technicalities but poss not the practicalities !

[Gardengirl]

We have similar Bosch ovens in both kitchens, RH, but can't find the book about it; and I suppose models have changed by now - they usually do! The UK oven and hob came from John Lewis at High Wycombe - I found that staff there were more clued up than at our local branch. I ordered it all and Simon and the fitters worked around the date. I seem to remember that you could buy telescopic shelves separately if the oven you chose didn't come with them as standard.

[mint]

Nice link, RG, and I enjoyed lookiing at it.

I asked OH's son about steam ovens as he moves in MUCH more exalted circles than ourselves and he reckoned that they were just a gimmicky must-have for now.

The price wouldn't put me off if I really wanted one as my last oven(s) cost the same as a small car (seriously).

I'd have to somehow keep the price tag out of OH's view but I reckon I could wangle that.

Seriously, I'm prepared to spend a bit on my kitchen-to-be (don't you just love that phrase I've just made up?) because a) it's titchy so a real limit on how much you CAN spend and b) I do pass an awful lot of time faffing about in the kitchen.

Guess that's excuse enough for a real splurge?[:P]

[Gardengirl]

I've never had an extractor hood in any kitchens I've owned. Never suffered from cooking smells floating around the house either - apart from when I've cooked curries. But like Chancer mentions, there was a good VMC installed in our apartment in France, in our bathgroom, WC and kitchen - too strong to start with, and much noisier than everyone else had that we knew here. My husband installed one in our bathroom and kitchen in England about 30 years ago, and that deals with smells and steam beautifully.