Whether you cook from fresh daily or live on jacket potatoes, every beautiful bespoke kitchen deserves a decent oven (or two). The majority of Roundhouse kitchens are designed for enthusiastic cooks who require ovens with the latest tech and timesaving features and prioritise ease-of-use and safety. Roundhouse designers also pay close attention to how the ovens fit within the kitchen design, aesthetically, to ensure maximum style points. Here are our core considerations to help you find the perfect oven configuration to cook up a storm.

Freestanding vs built-in

Establishing whether freestanding or built-in ovens suit you best is a great way to start narrowing down your options. There’s no doubt a range cooker has natural presence and is often the way to go if you need high-capacity ovens and commercial-grade durability. For a luxury kitchen design we often recommend a range cooker that’s custom built to your exact configurations, enabling control over oven types and high end kitchen features like teppan plates and wok burners.

For the latest cooking technology and flexibility, built-in ovens are the way to go. Integrated installation can also prove a better fit for modern kitchen design, literally. The sleek, flush-fit installation of built-in ovens won’t disrupt the sleek, streamlined look of contemporary kitchen design. Luxury kitchen appliance brands, like Miele and Gaggenau, are often at the forefront of built-in innovation. For example, Miele’s Dialog oven uses radio waves for even, speedy cooking and has built-in support from expert gourmets to ensure sublime results every time.

Size matters

While there’s no need to go crazy and overload your kitchen cupboards with ovens, ensuring you have sufficient oven capacity can make all the difference to your stress levels when entertaining. The capacity of each oven is measured in litres; standard 60cm single ovens offer around 55-58 litres capacity, but some are better designed and insulated, allowing cavities in excess of 80 litres within the same overall dimensions.

If you are looking for family kitchen ideas, two single ovens will offer better flexibility compared to one 90cm-wide model, which will take longer to heat up. A steam-combi and/or microwave-combi oven, plus a single multifunction oven or two, ideally with at least one warming drawer, will ensure most keen cooks are ready for anything, from quick weekday suppers to huge family gatherings.

Stress-free cooking

The latest oven innovations focus on making life easier, leaving you more time to enjoy the best kitchen company and precious family time. Saving effort, energy and even brain cells, is at the forefront of cooking tech right now. Wi-Fi connectivity is leading the way and, with the addition of built-in cameras, can allow you to monitor cooking progress and control the oven from the comfort of your sofa, or office.

Built-in menus and temperature probes that provide the best time and temperature to cook different dishes, and automatically adapt as the food cooks, are also helping to take the pressure off in luxury designer kitchens. We also recommend seeking out ovens with pyrolytic cleaning, which turns dirt to dust at the flick of a switch, without wasting time scrubbing or using any harsh chemicals.

Design influences

In terms of kitchen trends, matt black, stainless steel and brushed steel are all popular oven finishes that are easy to clean and easy on the eye. Flush-fit and handle-less (push-touch) designs are also big news, and work brilliantly within Roundhouse bespoke kitchen cabinets, which are equally sleek and stylish.  

We often like to push the design boundaries when considering the installation and location of ovens. For example, the bronze recessed handles in this kitchen neatly frame the ovens, creating a stylish focal point. Compared to under-counter installations, ovens positioned at eye-level like this make it easier to monitor progress and get dishes in and out more safely, without bending down. Head to any Roundhouse showroom kitchens gallery to discover more attractive and unusual ways to incorporate ovens in your next kitchen design.

What to look for when buying an oven?

It’s easy to get wowed by impressive tech, so before you get carried away, start by thinking about your priorities and be honest. You may love drooling over Miele steam oven bread recipes or the perfect vanilla custard tart, but is baking really your thing? Ask our kitchen designers about what features and modes are available and then decide if they are relevant to you, and how you cook. For example, if you’re looking to improve your culinary prowess, an oven with moisture and crisping modes can seriously improve the results. And if space is an issue, perhaps go for a single oven with a smaller microwave-combi, which can be used to roast and bake, rather than two full-size ovens.

Our expert kitchen designers can help you make the best choices for your Roundhouse bespoke kitchen, furniture or wardrobes. Visit any of our seven Roundhouse showrooms; Wigmore St, Clapham, Fulham, Richmond, Cambridge, Guildford & Cheltenham and get planning!