Kitchen counters and the range

[Stephen Tashiro]

What are some good ways to fit kitchen counters around a "free standing" gas or electric range?

The seam where a kitchen counter meets a "free standing" gas or electric range usually becomes a nasty place. The more customized the fit of counters to the range the harder the job of replacing the range with a new one. I think a good solution is not to have counters that touch the range. Surround the range by counters that are on movable furniture instead of counters that are on fixed floor cabinets.

(Of course, one can avoid a free standing range entirely and use a stove top with a separate oven. There are also "slide-in" and "drop-in" ranges. I've never examined that type of appliance. I don't what is involved with them as far as seams with a counter top goes.)

[Wayne Lomman]

Research how commercial kitchens do it. They cannot have the grime traps. Otherwise, under bench ovens and cook tops are ok. As far as replacement goes, ranges are in a small number of standard sizes here, so a neat fit is no problem. Cheers

[Jamie Buxton]

.. Surround the range by counters that are on movable furniture instead of counters that are on fixed floor cabinets..

There was a time when kitchen furniture was not built-in. You could do that again. You'd probably choose to tie the sink cabinet to the wall, but most of the rest could be freestanding. Electricity could be unmoving on the wall. Or you could put plugstrip along the fronts of the tables, connected by flexible cable to the wall.

But one of the arguments for built-ins is that if you do it correctly, there are few places for grime to collect. The countertops seal to the wall. The sink seals to the countertop. The cooktop seals to the counter. Nothing moves.

I suggest you look further at cooktops and stoves that are not freestanding. Drop-in and slide-in appliances can seal quite well to the counter, keeping the "nasty places" to a minimum.