<p>Well it appears that from what I have read on this page, I made the correct choices. Our wolf gas rangetop has 6 burners. We opted NOT to get the griddle or grill since we heard about the issues mentioned here. I will purchase instead a two burner griddle pan to put on top when we make the pancakes. I love the height of our corner microwave but it does take up a lot of space there. The shelf idea sounds like a good one.</p>
<p>We have an “appliance garage” at the end of one countertop, next to a pantry cupboard. Our toaster doesn’t fit in there and we really don’t have any other appliances to stick in there so it’s pretty much wasted space. It would probably make a great spot to “build in” a microwave. I hadn’t thought of that before. We have plenty of countertop space that the extra couple inches that would be taken up by a full sized microwave wouldn’t be noticeable.</p>
<p>Very Happy
One range is in our permanent residence and the other in our Lake home.</p>
<p>^ Laketime, did you mean a covered gas burner? Didn’t know those were available.</p>
<p>^^ Veryhappy, thanks for the antique appliance link. If I had the resources for several homes I’d do one in that style - love the vibe . . .</p>
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<p>Just wondering how durable a cork floor is and the feel of walking on it. Is it soft or hard? Can it be easily cleaned? We put in a bamboo floor in the kitchen and it does show wears after a while.</p>
<p>I went with the five burner wolf because I wanted the controls on top and not on the front (grandchildren). I can’t imagine ever needing six burners at once anyway. I have a six burner at our vacation home and have never used more than three at once, and in five months here with our new kitchen, same thing. I wasn’t interested in either the grill or the griddle so didn’t get either.</p>
<p>The difference between sealed and open rangetops is explained here</p>
<p>[Cooking</a> Appliance Questions - Viking Range Corporation](<a href=“- Viking Range, LLC”>Frequently Asked Questions about Viking Cooking Appliances - Viking Range, LLC)</p>
<p>For my purposes the differences in output is negligible.</p>
<p>To head back to the original questions:</p>
<p>We have a faux stone laminate floor in our kitchen and I love it! It replaced a tile floor which I despised, cold, hard, difficult to clean. The only problem I have with my new floor is that the pattern hides the dirt so well that sometimes I feel like it isn’t really clean.</p>
<p>We have a small galley kitchen and didn’t have an unlimited budget. We used laminate for most of the counters with Silestone in a few places. It has a continuous molded backsplash and rolled edge. Since it is a galley kitchen we completely eliminated all of the issues with seams showing or the seperation you can get, particularly along the back edge and around the sink. Laminate comes in a million different patterns now, from funky to traditional. We used Silestone for the breakfast bar and a section of the counter that is lower for rolling out pastry, kneading bread (I’m short!). It looks great and functions beautifully!</p>
<p>I hate double doors and roll out shelves. Our old kitchen had them and they drove me crazy. Why not just use drawers? With the double doors you always need two hands to open and close. We have drawers now with a single center pull and it is so much simpler.</p>
<p>And FWIW I’m madly in love with my microwave drawer in the lake house. It will be included in the remodel. My biggest quandry is whether to keep seperate 36" fridge and freezer units or go to a side by side. The nest will be empty, so the volume of food will decrease, but my freezer is always stocked.</p>
<p>Another note about our new kitchen: I am not liking the French door/bottom freezer (GE Profile again) as much as I thought I would. We had been coveting this style for a while–had started researching refrigerators a few years ago in case we needed to replace the fridge in our old house (we did not). I find that if I have a large baking dish or platter to put in the refrigerator I have to open both halves of the French door to get it in without tilting, and they don’t necessarily stay open as wide as I need them to. There is also a limited amount of tall storage. The bottom freezer has fairly sensibly designed rollout shelves so accessing items isn’t an issue, but overall not as much room as I’d expect. I am not sure if this is specific to the GE or in general to the design. I think I’d opt for a side by side if I were to buy another refrigerator, which I do not plan to anytime soon</p>
<p>I have a kenmore french door refrigerator and I love it! My kitchen is narrow so it is nice to have the narrower doors. I see what you are saying about having to open both doors but that doesn’t bother me (this after I complained about opening the doors to cabinets with roll our shelves!). I love that you can fit platters and a whole fish in the drawer at the bottom!</p>
<p>If your current fridge doesn’t have enough interior room, the LAST thing you should do IMHO is go to a side by side. There is no room in them for large platters or other large items: not in the freezer, and not in the regular part. My mother has a new french door fridge, and it’s great. The key thing is, I think, NOT to get ice through the door, because in those models the ice maker takes up too much room in the regular fridge part.</p>
<p>If I were able to remodel my kitchen, which desperately needs it, I would just put in a microwave shelf somewhere and just replace the microwave when needed. I need a really good hood with a high-powered exhaust fan for my cooking, and you certainly aren’t getting that with one of those tinkertoy fans that come with those over-the-stove microwaves.</p>
<p>I’m going to put in a plug for American Gas stoves. Great quality, much cheaper than Wolfe. What I want, if I ever get to do the remodel…</p>
<p>We have a side by side and you do get used to its set up. I have to say…it really cuts down on large leftover “stuff” that used to just get shoved into the fridge. It fits our location very well.</p>
<p>My husband is a design engineer (electrical) and when it came time to redo our kitchen he was adament that he did NOT want it to have a “commercial look”. It’s our home…not a restaurant kitchen…he said. So…we have white appliances, not stainless steel. We do not have a commercial looking stove…just your regular old stove (white). I have to say…it’s nice and bright.</p>
<p>Re: the floors (and I put this on the “other” thread as well). If you are putting a clear POLY on your wood floors you have nothing to worry about in terms of clean up. If you put bare wood or oiled wood down…then yes…you could have staining issues. Clear poly makes your floors as easy to clean as tile or vinyl or any other surface, in my opinion.</p>
<p>I think all of this is personal preference. I wanted a white sink…that took me longer to pick out than my granite for the counters.</p>
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We got a 30" five-burner Capital, and I couldn’t agree with you more! We love it, particularly the mega-BTU wok burner in the middle. The design is simple (no electronic controls, just the old-fashioned knobs), elegant, and it works beautifully.</p>
<p>It was also $2000 or more less than a comparable Viking or Wolf.</p>
<p>As far as flooring, we put bamboo through the entire lower level, including the kitchen. No thresholds. It’s warm, easy to clean, and easy on the legs.</p>
<p>^ yes, but some people just “need” that Wolf or Viking name…lol</p>
<p>In some areas, it’s basically a requirement, just like a SubZero refrigerator.</p>
<p>Although I have never been able to comfortably afford a Viking range I’ve been intrigued by the Viking story–based in Greenwood, Mississippi, so I assume if you get a Viking range you are both buying an American product and getting the fun of a name brand and impressive appliance. (I think my GE items are made in North America at any rate–there seems to be a heavily Canadian tilt in the consumer information.)</p>
<p>A friend swears by Wolf, partially because it is made in Wisconsin. In her view, that is a superior workforce to anything in the South. American is
made in California, I believe.</p>
<p>Oh dear; I have no idea which part of the U.S. has a more capable workforce, but I do know there are some great schools in the South that don’t get quite enough respect some of the time on CC:)</p>
<p>I suspect both Wolf and Viking are perfectly fine brands…</p>
<p>I have lived with many upscale brands of kitchen appliances and Viking ranges are my all time least favorite kitchen appliances. If you’re tall, they re very tough to get food in and out of. I have permanent scars on the top of my right hand from burns. I’ve had the appliance repairman out 4 times in 2 years for various problems. It’s only a few years old but I so want to throw it out! We recently built a second ome and put in a Wolf range and Thermador ovens which are my absolute favorites.</p>
<p>When i win the lottery, a Le Cornue will be my first purchase! I go to Williams Sonoma just to pet them.</p>