OK, kitchen gurus, I have a question about stoves.

[babylonsister]

We have a double decker electric oven and a separate stove top. The brand name is O'Keefe & Merritt, and they are about 30 years old, pre-dating us owning this place. Did I mention they are harvest yellow?
Anyway, everything still works okay except the burners are crooked; no pots sit level on them.
For X-mas, we're thinking of getting the whole shebang replaced, but we have to get something that fits the specs for what's existing. I googled O&M, and their products are now considered antiques!
Does anyone have any suggestions for a replacement, or somewhere I can start looking? We will be going w/gas for the new appliances; house is already plumbed for it.
Also, what color appliances do you prefer? I'm leaning towards black/chrome color but is that more of a trial to keep clean? I have a black/chrome dishwasher and replaced the linoleum floor-finally!- with terra cotta tiles, so I'm slowly trying to get a more up-to-date look.
Next up is the harvest yellow countertops, beige frig., and then cabinets. Given the prices of everything, it's a daunting project so we're going slowly.
Thanks for any tips!

[NMDemDist2]

1. i like traditional white for appliances myself. classic never goes out of

style and easy to keep clean IMO

here's a store run by progressives who advertise on Air America, check it out and get some ideas....

http://homeappliances.com/hadealer/StoreDisplay.do?STORE=Phoenix

[SoCalDem]

2. Love love love love my new stove & refrig

Control Panel Features
UltraSoft™ Backguard Design
http://www.frigidaire.com/products/cooking/ranges/free-...

Cooktop Features
Electronic Ignition
Front Manifold Controls
Full-Surface, 3-Piece Cast Iron Grates & Caps with Pro Matte Finish
Upswept Cooktop


Elements
1 - 12,000 BTU Sealed Power Burner
1 - 16,000 BTU Power Plus™ Sealed Burner
1 - 5,000 BTU Sealed Burner with 500 BTU Low Simmer
2 - 9,500 BTU Sealed Burners


Oven Features
Smudge-Resistant EasyCare™ Genuine Stainless Steel
5.0 Cu. Ft. Self-Cleaning Deep Sump Oven with Auto-Latch™ Safety Lock
EasySet™ 510 Electronic Oven Control with Key Pad Entry
Professional-Style Stainless Steel Handles
Self-Cleaning System with Speed Clean and Maxx Clean™
3 Heavy-Duty Flat Oven Racks
Automatic Convection Conversion
Convection Broiler Pan & Insert Included
EvenCook3™ Element Convection System
Extra-Large Clear Glass Visualite® Window
Vari-Broil™
Automatic Oven Light
Sabbath Mode (Star-K Certified)


Warmer Drawer Features
Warm & Serve® Drawer


Cut-out Dimensions - Min.: W 30" x H 36" x D 25"

Nominal Product Size: W 29-7/8" x H 47-3/4" x D 25-3/4"

Oven Capacity (Cu. Ft.): 5.0

Oven Interior Dimensions: W 24-3/8" x H 17-5/8" x D 19-3/4"
More Information
Owner's Manuals
Cutout Dimensions
Extended Service
Dealer Locator
Product Registration
Accessories Store

[babylonsister]

8. That's a beaut, SCD! How do you power your electric

ignition, batteries? :shrug: I love the way that looks, and am really looking forward to having a gas appliance instead of having lopsided electric burners!

[SoCalDem]

9. It's a mystery to me...Must be magic..

Seriously. I never read the manuals.. I just blunder through..discovering things as I go.. It must plug into the wall somewhere in back.. The big husky men who delivered them set it all into action for me :)

Whatever you get, DO get the "sooper-dooper powerful burner" kind.. It;s so nifty to actually fry stuff crispy instead of greasy :)

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

3. To me it's a draw,

black shows fingerprints.white shows food. I've had both & both have drawbacks.

I don't think black or white will ever go out of style. Not like avocado, or harvest yellow. So whichever you prefer should be fine.

I can't help for choices. There's so many. And you already know to very carefully measure to make sure the new pieces fit.

Have fun. Getting new stuff is overwhelming but also a blast.

:hi:

[wildeyed]

4. I have a black and stainless stove.

I think it is easier to keep clean than my old white stove. The stainless dishwasher is a biach to keep clean, but so pretty, it is worth it.

Check out Consumer Reports for ratings on stoves. I have one of the highly rated GE's, which I can personally recommend.

[Stinky The Clown]

5. Okay .... couple of things .......

First off, those O'Keefe & Merritt appliances are built like tanks and last forever. Too bad yours are in a color that's very dated. If you generally like them, except for the color, consider getting them refinished. There area number of comanies that restore old stoves and they can get a near-factory finish in most any color you want ..... but ..... you'll be without the appliance for a while. I don't know if you would be able to tolerate this.

If you're gunna get rid of the old stuff, consider selling it rather than allw the installer of your new stuff to just haul it away. Chances are, he'd sell it rather than dump it. With the current popularity of Mid Century style, even newer O'Keefe & Merritt stuff has value.

Next, your appliances were made at a time when size standards were just starting to be developed. New appliances may or may not fit the spaces/cutouts that the old ones occupy. With luck, they will, but be careful. Nowadays, any 30" cooktop will fit any other 30" cooktop cutout. Same for 36", 48", etc. Ovens are 27", 30" and 36". The heights may vary a bit, but it is usually easy enough for a good installer to make things work.

So ..... first thing ...... measure the appliances you have. If it is at all possible, measure the cutouts, too. If you can't remove or get behind/below your existing stuff to measure the actual cutout, measure the outside dimensions and subtract one inch (allows for 1/2" overlap in all directions. Chances are your actual cutouts are no larger than this. Too small a cutout is a non-issue - just enlarge it. Too big a cutout and you're screwed.

The color and finish of your new appliance is really a pretty subjective thing. Upthread here is a picture of a black and stainless range. I like that style personally, but you may not.

[babylonsister]

7. H2S, thanks for

sharing your expertise. I sent this to my husband and he'll be taking hopefully accurate measurements tomorrow; then we'll go looking.
How would I go about selling these, ebay? I imagine it would be daunting trying to find a cardboard box big enough!
I'm going for new though I had heard this was/is a great brand. It's age attests to that. But this yellow is getting real old.

[Stinky The Clown]

10. Selling the old stuff ........

Ebay actually has a way to advertize in a specific geographic area or you can sell it with pick-up only or with shipping arrangements the buyer's responsibility.

Sparkly and I do antiques a lot and know many dealers, so we'd just call one who may be interested in it. This won't get the best price, but half value is better than giving it to the guy who already made a profit from the sale of the new appliances.

[babylonsister]

6. You folks are great! Thanks for all the tips and opinions! nt

[SammyWinstonJack]

11. We had the same set up, same color .

We took the oven out and built shelves in it's place. We took out the cook top and removed the cabinet and replaced it with an oven range . We removed the overhead vent hood and replaced that with a microwave with a vent. Much nicer and not that expensive to do.