If you’re just joining in, we filmed an episode of a home renovation show called In With The Old on Magnolia Network and it’s available to stream on HBO Max and Discovery+ now!
Today I’m talking about our antique-inspired oven range from Ilve. Why a whole post about our oven? Because I like to dig into the nitty gritty of it all. Big appliance purchases are understandably a big deal and I went through every single scenario. Are you an over thinker like me? Read on!
You can see all the before and after photos here
You can see the kitchen renovation here
Materials:
Ilve oven range review
For the look and feel of our kitchen, I wanted an oven range that would looked like it had been there forever, like it was from another time. I did a lot of research and stumbled on Ilve, an Italian company that manufactures gorgeous ranges. They have a US presence, which meant that I wouldn’t have to worry about special shipping or customs–a big plus!
Our previous oven range
To remind you, here’s what we were working with before the new oven. This big 48″ commercial oven range was one of the few things we inherited from the previous owners (it was a totally blank canvas!) and while I liked it, it was quite large for the space. It featured 8 burners plus a pancake griddle, which we didn’t really need. It also had two ovens and we didn’t really need to ovens.
I think the oven looks a bit worse in this photo because we hadn’t found the bottom panel yet.
Brittany’s checklist for an antique-inspired oven range:
- A smaller oven to economize on storage elsewhere
- an oven that fit in better with the look we were going for
- Something with sparkle and shine!
- something that looked old but had modern features
Specs of our Ilve oven range
Majestic II 36″ duel fuel
What I loved about the Ilve ovens was the character and color choices. In particular, I loved their Majestic II series that has those beautiful legs and metallic detailing on the trim and knobs. They have another series that’s called Nostalgie that’s less expensive with as much character (I would even try to figure out how to change the legs).
I actually quite love the look of a wider oven range so I looked into a size from 36-40″. , but it came down to cost for me so I decided to go with the smaller option of 36″.
36″ oven options
They had just a few in stock in that size that they could ship out immediately. I looked back into the emails and these were the ones. I’m curious what you would have picked, not knowing what you were going to design for the kitchen yet!
From top left going down each row:
- grey/blue with brass
- black with copper
- graphite with brass
- black with bronze
- grey/blue with chrome
- white with brass
Which one would you have chosen?!
As I was weighing my choices, not knowing where the design was heading and feeling the pressure of so many decisions, I did what I always do, and that’s look at my favorites.
Enter Claude Monet.
Monet’s Kitchen at Giverny
I’ve probably mentioned this over and over, but Claude Monet was a childhood hero of mine for many reasons and especially after I got to visit his house when I was 13. He had a black oven with brass details that you may not be able to see too clearly because of the reflection of the sun.
This photo was taken by Jane on our team when we visited Giverny in September.
The perks of black, or graphite, in our case, with brass details, is that it can basically go with anything. It left me free to try out something more adventurous elsewhere. Plus, I love that it adds depth to the feel.
My review of the Majestic II Ilve Oven range
Admittedly, I’m not the hugest chef in the world, but even I have surprised myself at how much I’ve been using–yay! It actually worked! I’ve had a great experience using both the oven and the stove.
One thing I’m surprised at is that there’s no child lock as my 2 year old son likes to hang on the bar and can easily open it himself.
Another thing to note is that the oven functions using a touch pad electronic screen rather than knobs. I think there are some perks to this like setting the exact temperature. Again, my 2 year old son can easily come over and start touching it. He can turn on the screen, but it would be rather challenging to actually turn it on.
There’s also a warming drawer, which we use to store our cookie sheets.
Overall, I’m a big fan of both the looks and function and would highly recommend it.
Let me know what you think! I’m happy to answer questions!
You can find the Ilve oven range here.
Want to read more?
You can see all the before and after photos of our renovation for the show here
You can see the kitchen renovation here
The Ilve oven range was provided in exchange for a review but all thoughts and opinions are mine!.
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