Choosing the oven for our last kitchen was pretty straight forward. I went to Harvey Norman (that’s a whole other story here), looked at fridges, looked at 900mm stainless steel ovens and bought the last Glem 900mm gas oven in stock at a special price. Done and dusted in one trip.
Now this kitchen we have just electric to work with, so I’ve been to look at ovens and wasn’t wowed with the electric top of the Glem which is what I was going to go with. So then I saw a Belling and liked it in black but didn’t like the price tag. And then when you look at the price of them in the UK you wonder why you are paying 2.5x the price here AND still have a 16 week on the oven.
Then 2 different people told me about importing the oven myself. John Lewis even have an export team (thanks a beach cottage for that hot tip) and they can arrange everything for you. Well that just opened a floodgate because of course the range of traditional cookers over there is huge. Thanks to one of my lovely readers Julie for letting me know about their range here………I love this one, just love it. With an electric top of course because I can’t do gas.
And then I decided well I might as well look at AGAs and another gorgeous blogger told me about where I could get one. But that’s starting to get a bit complicated because I would have to organise an agent and have it picked up from their warehouse (which is overseas) and there are lots of models and choices and I’m thinking I just want the look of a country cooker but modern electric oven.
So then I’m back at the electric ESSE model which I discovered on the weekend and which I love because it looks like a big old traditional oven but you have an electric or induction cooktop with those gorgeous stainless steel hob covers. Love those. And I can buy one of these in Australia but they aren’t cheap but they look fabulous.
And then of course more googling revealed a brand new electric model in funky colours that just looked gorgeous here and just arrived in the ESSE range but not in Australia. And then I just come back to the realisation that maybe I should just save my money and go with the stainless steel 900mm. Which of course is a whole lot better than the 1972 Whirlpool oven that I’m cooking with at the moment.
Decisions, decisions………………………..I’ll report back to you with my final choice as I’ve paid the deposit on the kitchen and can’t leave it too long to decide. And lets not forget that any oven choice needs to go past the boss. Well I’m the boss but you know what I mean………………..the Chief Financial Officer of the house.
Oh my! I see your dilemma. There is an incredible amount of choice. And why is it the ones we fall in love with are ALWAYS the most expensive? I’ve always dreamed of having a cream coloured AGA. Can’t wait to see what you choose. x
correct, I always do this! go for the most expensive!
We’re building a new house and we’re putting in the Black Belling…… I never thought I could love an oven, but I love this one on looks alone! Let’s just hope it works well too…. 😉
you have good taste!!!!
I have no gas on the street and am planning on getting gas bottles so I can have the stove that I want. It’s not too expensive and quite worth it I think. Good luck!
yes, a few people have said that!
We had gas bottles added so that we could have the gas cooktop, it was the best thing we did, 18 months later and we haven’t even used 1 bottle! (Touch wood it doesn’t run out tomorrow)
L xo
a few people have mentioned that actually!
I’ve got the cream Belling Richmond cooker with gas cooktop & love it. I was undecided on it when we renovated the kitchen due to the price, but I’m so glad we went with it. It makes the kitchen & we get so many compliments on it. Do it-you won’t regret it!!
ohhhh sounds lovely!
If you love cooking the oven is definately the heart of the home. When you think of how much this will help nourish the soul as well as all those hungry little bodies its hard to give it a budget isn’t it.
Let us know if we need to arrive with placards and chanting if you don’t get your way!
haha can you imagine, like calling in for reinforcements:)
Corrie,
good luck with choosing an oven. It’s such an important item in a kitchen and if you get it wrong it just sits there and reminds you everyday how much you wished you’d chosen something else. I don’t envy your decision but I bet you will get it right!
oh yes you’re so right!!!!!!! I’m sure I”ll get there!
thanks:)
Yes, I know what you mean. Those English ones look so fab and it is so unfair that we have to pay so much more here. And that is if we can actually get it here. I am English and it annoys me soooo much. I stock up on lots and lots of stuff when I go back, but I feel it is far too complicated and risky with something like an oven. It will just cost far too much and you won’t have things like warranty and servicing. Sometimes we just need to keep it simple.
A few years ago we shipped our stuff over after being here a few years and I took the opportunity to buy a couple of big boxes of Emma Bridgewater and put that in the container which I am so happy about. They ship here anyway for a lot of £££s.
What if when your oven arrived it was marked like the last one? Just extra stress I suppose. Good luck and I am enjoying the kitchen reno already!
you are so right, I’ve decided not to. A bit too much work for me and too many risks so going local with the full warranty
What a lovely decision you have to make, best of luck with it. After much faffing around and vacillating and confusing myself with all the fabulous choices I bought two 600mm stainless steel multi-function electric wall ovens which fitted into the enormous space left by the old 1983 Westinghouse wall oven/griller combo thingo. Very happy with the decision. One oven is for cooking and the other for baking. And yes I know just how OCD the separate cooking/baking thing sounds, but I love it and they go all the time. As an aside the self-cleaning bit of the multi-function is a whole lot of hogwash. Why do they sell us such fantasies?
yes I’ve always wondered about the self cleaning bit?
Ooooh I’d better wipe away that drool from my mouth! For what its worth I love the look of the black Belling and the retro coloured Esses. Yes they do come with huge price tags BUT if it is to be the centerpiece of your kitchen, cooking for 7 (when not using your Thermomix) and with long-term plans for staying in this house I think you could probably get it past Retro Daddy. Also shop around and don’t be afraid to push suppliers for their truly best price and mention your blog if you have to
yes I’m working on it, don’t you worry:)
I talk often about ovens with my husband for when we build – but never actually delved into it, thought I would wait until we start. But looking at your dilemma maybe I need to start my OVEN scrapbook now!
yes! get on to ovens now my friend:)
So many lovely ovens Corrie. I love the first black one. You must be so excited to be getting a new kitchen and replacing the 70’s one.
like you wouldn’t believe! I am missing about 3 or 4 cupboard handles and no desire to replace them:)
Corrie have you looked at Falcon? They have a similar look to the ones you’ve pictured but they’re readily available in Oz. I bought mine at Xmas from Winning at Waterloo on sale, it’s a 900 electric. Can’t report on it’s cooking as it’s yet to be installed as our kitchen is being done next month. Falcon are still made in GB and accord to Winnings are a cook’s oven!
oh how exciting for you, kitchen next month! enjoy! yes I did look at falcons, I think I’m going to go the esse electric. fingers crossed.
Good for you! The esse is lovely! I didn’t know about them until your post, where were you months ago when I was choosing my appliances! Lol! The decisions for our renovation are killing me! Next for me is to decide on floorboards. I long for easy decisions such as which cute outfit to dress my little boys in at the moment rather than all the house-related choices. And you’ve done this more than once!! Don’t know how you do it!!
So many gorgeous ovens! Those traditional looks are simply drool-worthy! But I do notice they are mainly no see through… Would it make baking harder as one can’t see the going-on? I moved into my new house 1 year ago, but simy dislike the kitchen set-up.
Dear Corrie, Why can’t you have a gas cooktop? We don’t have natural gas here in rural Tasmania, but I use a gas top/electric oven here. We just use 9kg bottles, we have two for when one is emply. I realise your family is bigger than mine, but I use mine all the time and a bottle of gas lasts us three months. I make lots of soups, casseroles etc, and am an old fashioned cook so use the top a lot. Just a thought for you.
Hi Corrie I am in exactly the same dilemma and yes losing sleep which seems crazy! I love the esse 13 amp cooker in cream but its very expensive. Also looking at the 900mm falcon elan and the belling richmond. All have some iffy reviews on the web which is making me nervous. Love to know what you choose and why! Be
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Sharing this tip about exporting the oven yourself has just changed the oven shopping game completely for me!
The range we have to choose from in Australia is so limited