I have a reto stove, which at first excited me when I found the apartment. Now, I despise it for its lack of functionality. I want it replaced so badly!!

My stove is from the '60s. LL built this particular studio for her mom back then, and never update the appliances. I have a love/hate relationship with my stove, because like it says this just doesn't hold temperature well.

I ended up buying a portable temperature gauge thing from Amazon, so it would at least allow me to be aware of how hot my stove is getting. But, even that it's hard to adjust the oven to a desired temperature.

Does anyone have a good way to handle it?

My retro stove is one of the only sweet things that came with my apartment. Everything else is just kind of old or gross or broken. It took a little getting used to though. The oven runs 50 degrees hot which I found out after buying an oven thermometer (one of my best buys for baking ever!) and you have to be careful not to lean against the knobs or the gas turns on a little bit. I also had to figure out the broiler on the bottom in the drawer, I was used to it being on the main oven part up top. I love it now and don't want to think about when we move!

I bought a late-40's/early-50's buttercup yellow Chambers range that's been sitting in my living room looking pretty. Why in the living room? Well, I had to knock out a wall and renovate my kitchen to accomodate it. So I guess you could say I love them. (The white stove under the chalkboard is a Chambers.)

I don't like retro stoves at all. They seem drab to me. I can't tell you what it is, but I don't find them appealing at all.

oooh, I love retro stoves. My old apartment had one and the landlord offered to replace it, to which I said no. I had many dinner parties and every time it came through. I dreamed of having it refurbished with blue enamel finish but never got to that point.

I would love, love, love a restored vintage stove. We had one in an apartment once, but it definitely needed some restoration to function properly.

I had the most awesome 1940/50s O'Keefe & Merritt in my last apartment. Double ovens, double broilers, double goodness!! It had to be re-calibrated at one point because the right oven ran waaaay hot but, once that was fixed, it was the most amazing stove ever! I hosted a bunch of holidays and could bake pies and roast a turkey all at the same time. Plus, the design aspect seriously kicked a**. I think the key to these ovens is just having a professional (one who actually knows about old stoves) to do a once-over and make sure its running at an accurate temp. I miss that stove. Sigh....

I have an old O'Keefe & Merritt (one with a griddle, oven, and "grillevator") and I love it. I've had it for 11 years and plan on having it forever.

i can't wait to get a vintage stove! What is the cost of reglazing/refinishing the porcelain enamel?

I have a fantastic white vintage GE stove in my rented apartment. It has 3 burners and a soup-pot insert, 3 storage drawers, and a large work surface that I use constantly. One of the only downsides to moving into a soon-to-be-owned house in a couple of weeks is that I'll have to say goodbye to it! Though... the stove at the new place is natural gas whereas my vintage one is electric...

We bought a new place that actually came with an old O'Keefe & Merritt that sounds just like the one mei-ling has. The good: I absolutely adore the griddle! Sunday morning means the griddle's on, cooking those hash browns and sausages cook up so nicely... And the flat burners are great for warming up pita triangles!

The not-so-good: The grillevator really doesn't and the stove has a hot spot, which we've learned to work around. Oh, and the broiler door falls off every so often. So hubby (he's a serious cook) really wants to chuck it all and get a Dacor. I hope he doesn't!

I loved the way my retro stove looked in my old apartment, but man...once I moved...my brand new modern stove is definitely better! It's reliable, even, and the burners are much more powerful. The oven has a timer, delay start, etc....I wouldn't trade it back!

My 70s oven in our house is the best thing...very large and self-cleaning to boot. It is a builtin model and I never have to bend over to use it. Sure like it better than the free-standing stove in the SF apartment.

My first house came equipped with one of those ceramic-top stoves... hated it. The 1940s bungalow I bought 5 years ago came with a HUGE GE relic, which I adore. There's more than enough prep space just between the burners and the push-button controls are not only ascetically pleasing, they're much easier to use than those stupid knobs.

Love the look, but I'd rather have a new retro-look stove (could you guys do a post on sources?) than an actual vintage one. I've run into enough headaches with old rental stoves, I'd ideally like one that just works 100% fantastic.

I have an acme and it works great. It's also super beautiful but I have my share of issues with it.
The broiler recently broke. After 40 years, I guess that's not bad.

Bakes well, warmer is useless, love the burners...

The best part of it is the spoiler on the back.

With renos coming, it's going to be a difficult decision.

I paid a ton for my Wedgewood and it was well worth it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/spins_lps/3730945132/

I love Retro stoves, and one day, dream of owning a Chambers. In bright red.

An ode to Chambers...

http://www.antiquestoves.biz/gas%20stoves/images/red90c1/1.jpg

I first fell in love with Chamber's stoves, specifically red ones, after seeing one in the kitchen of Lydia Shire, in the pages of Metropolitan Home (still in mourning over its loss!).

Here is another article on her kitchen (and home):

http://stylecarrot.com/2009/04/30/spotlight-lydia-shires-kitchen-collection/

LOVE the look. But if you are worried about functionality, don't forget Hearland's line. To see a photo of heartland's legacy stove, click here: http://www.lynninteriors.com/assets_d/7673/portfolio_media/comfortbyrnereshoot-009_182_big.jpg

I have a wonderful 50 year old Caloric that came with my house. I'd love to keep it but it has an open pilot which worries the heck out of me. I've tried to find someone to fit it with new "innards" but so far have been unsuccessful. Any leads? (Boston area)

Love the retro gas stove look . . . have had a painful amount of experiences with electric coil tops to turn me off them forever.

Oh man... a few years ago I lived in a rental with a 1940s Chambers stove (almost exactly like picture #7), and it was awesome, even if you had to light the burners and oven manually. Man, I miss that stove.

cute looking but gas guzzlers and oven parts not usually good for cooking

I'm with the love the look, want modern functionality.

I've also had a few mid century retro stoves in older apartments I've lived in. I must agree that although really cool to look at, they weren't always in the best condition and I had a difficult time baking in them. I did love cooking on the gas range though!

I have had two Chambers stoves. I love them and would hate to live without one.

I love the retro look, but what I really want IS a manual pilot so that if the power goes out I can still have my stove. Anyone know of some modern stoves that still have this feature? They all seem to be electronic ignitions.

For me, I'd like to know that any stove I used would be able to cook things quickly. I can't say for certain whether a retro model would be able to do this. If it could, I would be swayed, if only to keep a perfectly serviceable stove from going to waste.

I have lived with three Wedgewood gas stoves and they have always been great, solid workhorses. Compared to brand-new mid-range gas stoves, the burners give plenty of BTU's but the oven is not always going to work as desired for recipe-followers who want to dial up their dinner. To me, the quirks and inconsistencies make cooking more of an adventure (note: I am not a baker) so it is never a problem to adjust my technique to fit the tools on hand. I think you have to really love your stove and get to know it if you go the vintage route.