I designed our kitchen to hide all but one appliance: our beautiful Ilve Range. If you’ve seen one then you know it’s not just an oven but it’s a work of art. It fits perfectly into our kitchen design and all the reviews say it works just as beautifully. I am here today to report back and let you know if they are right 😉
Our Ilve range was given to us but all thoughts and opinions are 100% mine.
OVERVIEW OF ILVE’S DUAL FUEL RANGE
APPEARANCE
Our model is Ilve Dual Fuel Nostalgia Range in Gloss Black and Brass. Obviously these things are very beautiful. Whatever your style, you can find the Ilve range to suit your aesthetic. They come in a wide variety of colors from red to blue to white to black and everything in between. You can customize the knobs and handles also in brass, bronze or chrome. With a variety of customizations just for the outside appearance, this is a huge selling point.
It also has an option to change legs. They usually come with standard stainless steel cylinder legs which seem to me to be an afterthought on a beautifully crafted piece. There was an extra charge but we decided to get the brass claws and I’m so glad we did. It makes it feel more like a piece of furniture and really completes the look IMO.
The Ilve range is also available in various sizes from 24″ to 60″. So whether you live in a small house or apartment or have a restaurant-sized kitchen, you’re sure to find the perfect size for your space. We ended up with a 36″ that we really like. It is slightly wider than our old stove and allowed for 6 burners on it. The inner space also feels big enough for our cooking needs.
PRICE
Compared to other European ranges, Ilve is actually a somewhat cheaper option, depending on the size and style you choose. Our custom model is just over $4k and for the smaller size at 30″ you can find them for around $3500. For Italian craftsmanship combined with modern power and efficiency, this is quite a bargain.
UTILITY
In the end, the most important thing is how does it perform? You can have a beautiful range but if it doesn’t work and meet all your cooking needs then it’s not worth it. For us, this is a winner. We absolutely love it – once we figure out how to use it 😉 That’s probably the biggest customization just getting to know all the ins and outs and functions it offers. Because it has a LOT. That’s awesome but I highly recommend reading the instruction manual all the way through before cooking.
I’m used to choosing between grilling or roasting on our old stove. The Ilve range has about 10 different settings to choose from depending on what you’re cooking. It is much more customized to create a complete cooking experience. The Multi-Function knob allows you to choose between things like pizza mode, conventional mode, rotisserie mode, and more. So if you’re baking a cake that needs to be heated evenly from top to bottom, or need to brown the top of a dish perfectly, 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 about a week of cooking, I know the best settings for all of our favorite foods.
FAVORITE FEATURES OF OUR ILVE RANGE
Our model also has an electric rotisserie where you can attach a spittoon to your chicken and it will slowly rotate and cook evenly. I admit we haven’t used this function yet but Dan is eager to give it a try! He’s back on a meat diet 😉
One function that we use almost every day is the wok. Our 36″ model comes with 6 burners with the option to place the griddle on top of two burners. Since we use it every day, we keep it there and it’s VERY convenient. We use it to grab eggs, pancakes, grilled cheese, steak – everything. Dan found that pouring water over it right after you turned it off and scraping all the dirt into the little catch on the end was the easiest way to clean it. Then let it cool and remove it with a paper towel.
The three-ring burner is my best friend. It brought the water to a boil in what felt like a minute. Very convenient for busy nights when I don’t have dinner plans made and everyone is hungry. I can take some pasta, boil it, throw in some vegetables if I’m feeling fancy and call it a night. So easy!
COUNTER
If I had to tell you any cons about the Ilve range, I’d say the only thing I don’t like is how high it is off the ground. And to some this might not be a gimmick but I don’t think I realized how high it was and while my FIL was patching on our tile floor he didn’t rip enough to continue the pattern staggered under the stove. Instead, we just made a straight line of joints along the way. It wasn’t until the stove was installed that we realized that it was visible and there was nothing we could do about it. Something we may just have noticed but I wanted to mention it!
It also makes it a great place for all of the kids’ toys to disappear. What we ended up doing was cutting a piece of wood, stained it the same color as our cabinets and placed it under the stove about 6 inches back to create a barrier. It keeps the toys out as well as blocks the view of all gas pipes and electrical wires. You can only see it when you are on the far side of the playroom but it looks messy and it creates a much cleaner look!
ILVE’S REACH RECAP
Overall we are very happy with our Ilve Range and would recommend it to anyone in the market for a new luxury stove! I know how helpful reviews can be to me when I’m getting ready to make a big purchase, so I hope this review on Ilve Nostalgie makes it easy for you to decide what’s best for you and your family!
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