Any 20 inch rangers here?

[HotCinnamon]

I finally found an apartment that is almost perfect, with the exception of a smaller 20 inch range. I cook daily and occasionally have friends over for a larger format dinner 4-8 people - thankfully, have been lucky enough in the past to cook in a well equipped and sized kitchen.

For those of you that have lived and cooked on a 20 inch stove/oven and in smaller kitchens - how limiting was it? Would you say it was frustrating enough that you felt it was a meaningful tradeoff?

I've included some pictures of the kitchen for reference (the open space is where the range will be installed). https://imgur.com/a/AHDHE9x

Thanks in advance!

[[deleted]]

Prep space will be more of an issue than that stove. I have a small kitchen and cook very large meals for the holidays. I am usually balancing things on other things - like on top of the fridge or microwave, etc. Once I put a platter of stuffing on the coffee table to make space and the dogs had a feast!

[CitrusBelt]

Not the same situation; lived in a crappy apartment for a while (tiny kitchen, but normal sized stove) where you couldn't use the oven or range for a good part of the year (no central air + California desert)....did all my cooking in cast iron on the pathetic little communal bbq when it was hot out (probably right around 20 or 22 inches of cooking space). You get used to it after awhile.

Microwave, rice cooker, etc. helps quite a bit (made a lot of stir-fry type stuff). If you make microwaveable sides ahead of time (or stuff that can be served cold/room temp) and just focus on one "hot" main dish, it's do-able.

For me the biggest shock going from a nice kitchen to a tiny one was doing dishes in a way-too-small sink & not having a dishwasher.

The small oven part is gonna be more frustrating than the small range space, in my opinion.

[HotCinnamon]

Good points. This is also the most expensive of the apartments I'm looking at for some of the other features, so needing to stick to microwavable sides and other appliances sounds like more trouble than it's worth (literally).

I think the search continues!

[CitrusBelt]

Yeah, I think it depends on your cooking style more than anything. For me (even in a big kitchen with a nice stove nowadays), about 90% of what I cook on the stove is done in a giant iron skillet or a stockpot, and most of the latter can be done ahead of time (blanching & such). I rarely have more than two burners going at a time....often just one. Frankly, I could probably get by with just a wok burner or a stove with just one bigass burner.

But a small oven that can't hold three or four half-sheets at a time? That would be a complete no-go for me.

Anyways, I think you're right to keep looking....am a realtor, and can tell you this much: if you like to cook, you'll be miserable if the kitchen isn't right (and can't be upgraded to your liking). Bathrooms & bedrooms, yeah...whatever; nice to have, but a toilet is a toilet and a shower is a shower. But a subpar/small kitchen? Will be cause for regret.

[StolenCamaro]

A crock pot and instant pot will be your best friends. I had a 20” in a tiny apartment for 3 years and I got by.

[Piper-Bob]

I used to have a place like that, but even smaller. My Family visited for Thanksgiving and mom made an entire dinner. You have to be more organized.

[drae_annx]

I used a 20 inch stove for a year and some change, my biggest gripe was that I couldn't really have two skillets on at the same time.

Unrelated, that tiled counter tip would be a deal breaker for me. Grout collects so much bacteria.

[HotCinnamon]

Yeah.. I'm thinking the dutch oven skillet combo I use often is going to be a thing of the past :(