Appliance Review: Our Ilve Range

I designed our kitchen around having all the appliances hidden except one: our beautiful Ilve Range. If you’ve seen it then you know it’s not only an oven but it’s a piece of art. It fits so beautifully into our kitchen’s design and all the reviews pointed to it being just as functional as it is beautiful. I’m here today to report back and tell you whether they were right 😉

Our Ilve range was gifted to us, however all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

ILVE DUAL FUEL RANGE REVIEW

THE APPEARANCE

Our model is the Ilve Dual Fuel Nostalgie Range in Glossy Black and Brass. Obviously these things are gorgeous. No matter your style, you can find an Ilve range that fits your aesthetic. They come in such a wide variety of colors from red to blue to white to black and everything in between. You can customize the knobs and handles as well to be brass, bronze or chrome. With that variety of customization just for the outward appearance, this is a huge selling point.

It also has the option to change out the feet. They typically come with standard stainless steel cylindrical legs which to me seems like such an afterthought on such a beautifully crafted piece. There is an upcharge, but we decided to get the brass clawfeet and I am SO glad we did. It makes it feel even more like a piece of furniture and totally completes the look IMO.

The Ilve ranges also come in a wide range of sizes all the way from 24″ to 60″. So whether you live in a small home or apartment or have a restaurant size kitchen, you’re bound to find the perfect size for your space. We ended up getting the 36″ which we are super happy with. It’s a little wider than our old stove was and allowed for 6 burners on the top. The inside space feels large enough for our cooking needs as well.

THE PRICE

Compared to other European ranges, Ilve is actually a somewhat cheaper option, depending on the size and style you choose. Our particular model was just over $4k and for the smaller size at 30″ you can find them for around $3500. For the Italian craftsmanship paired with modern power and efficiency, it’s a pretty good deal.

FUNCTIONALITY

At the end of the day the most important thing is how does it perform? You can have a gorgeous range but if it doesn’t work and keep up with all your cooking needs than it really isn’t worth it. Well for us, it’s a winner. We have been absolutely loving it – once we figured out how to use it 😉 That was probably the biggest adjustment was just learning all the ins and outs and functions it has to offer. Because it has a LOT. Which is amazing but I highly recommend reading the instruction manual all the way through before cooking.

I was used to choosing between bake or broil on our old stove. The Ilve range has about 10 different settings to choose from depending on what you’re cooking. It’s much more tailored to create a well rounded cooking experience. The Multi Function Knob allows you to select between things like pizza mode, conventional mode, rotisserie mode and much more. So if you’re baking a cake that needs to be heated evenly from top to bottom, or need to perfectly brown the top of a dish, there’s a setting for all your cooking needs.

It took some getting used to at first to figure out what settings work best for what, but after a week or so of cooking I knew the best settings for all our favorite meals.

FAVORITE FEATURES OF OUR ILVE RANGE

Our model also has the electric rotisserie where you can attach the spit rod with your chicken and it will slowly spin and cook evenly. I admit we haven’t used this function yet but Dan is dying to try it! He’s back on his meat diet 😉

The one function that we do use pretty much every day is the griddle. Our 36″ model came with 6 burners with the option to place the griddle over the middle two. Since we use it daily, we just keep it on there and it’s SO convenient. We use it to took eggs, pancakes, grilled cheese, steaks – literally all the things. Dan found that pouring water on it right after you turn it off and scraping all the gunk into the little catch all at the end is the easiest way to clean it. Then you just let that cool down and scoop it out with a paper towel.

The triple ring burner is my best friend. It boils water in what feels like literally one minute. Super convenient for those busy nights when I made no dinner plans and everyone is starving. I can grab some pasta, boil it up, toss in some veggies if I’m feeling fancy and call it a night. Easy peasy!

CONS

If I had to tell you any cons about the Ilve range, I would say the only thing I don’t love is how high it sits off the ground. And to some this may not be a con, but I guess I didn’t realize how high it would be and when my FIL was patching in our tile floors, he didn’t rip up enough to continue the staggered pattern under the stove. Instead we just made a straight joint line all the way across. It wasn’t until the stove was in place we realized that it was visible and there was nothing we could do about it. Something probably only we notice but I did want to mention it!

It also makes it a great place for all the kids toys to disappear. What we ended up doing what cutting a piece of wood, staining it the same color as our cabinets and placing it under the stove about 6 inches back to create a barrier. It keeps the toys out as well as blocking the view of all the gas pipes and electric wires. You could only see them when you were on the far side of the playroom but it looked messy and this created a much cleaner view!

ILVE RANGE RECAP

All in all we are very happy with our Ilve Range and would recommend it to anyone in the market for a new fancy stove! I know how helpful reviews are for me when I’m getting ready to make a big purchase so I hope this review of the Ilve Nostalgie makes it easier for you to decide what’s best for you and your family!