aesthetically they are fine...but what about energy efficency

susrith...I doubt they cook a lot. but yeah, they look beautiful.

Love the look. But I love that sink in the second picture even more. That house tour was amazing.

Oh, that first pic still gives me chills! But it's true about the energy issue, esp. with old electric stoves. I had an adorable vintage Philco that we ultimately had to replace b/c we're everyday cookers and while I think it would have lasted forever, I couldn't afford to keep it running! As far as I know, it still lives on. Ended up giving it away on Freecycle.

hmmmmm. not really sure about this....

first pic: i would not be able to stop scrubbing it to try and make it clean.

i had an old stove, something like Rachel Ray had. It was super cute but I had to light the burners with a match and the oven had one temperature, 275 degrees. Since I am a cook, I could not deal with it. THe previous owner was furious about it and told me "it would have been worth so much if you had it fixed" and believe me I tried. So, cute but not functional in our house!

I grew up in a home -though in New Zealand, not New England- with an old Aga my parents had taken off the hands of some other couple, and that my father converted to gas. It was, and still is, used every single day in our house, and serves also to keep the house warm as it's lit for long periods each day.
It is one of my most beloved childhood memories, and is still the best oven I have ever known. So in my case, I would pick our beautiful old cream enameled aga oven, that made fantastic food and some of my favourite memories, over shiny fancy new ones anyday.

Besides, after having grown up with an oven that was always warm, I still can't figure out how to turn on most modern ones anyway!

LOVE. Absolutely love them. And they're even better if they've been converted to gas. I used to live in rural Maine, and always loved the idea of having a wood burning version of these. They stay super hot though. So they're one of those things you use in the (perpetual) winters of Maine.

i want kitchen #2

kimkej, that was probably a Chambers. I have one, and yes, they are a pretty penny if you get them working. You have to follow certain rules about cleaning and upkeep, but they are so very worth it. I pre-heat the oven, put whatever I need to into it, leave it in for 15 minutes, turn off the oven for an hour. Anyone who wants to argue about the energy efficiency of my Chambers can look at the fact that to keep it hot for an hour it only needs to be on for 25ish minutes. Also, the broiler is fabulous and the well (built-in crock pot) is inanely neat.

That stove will go everywhere with me, even if it is so heavy you need 4 people to lift it.

*insanely neat, not inanely.

I bet the energy efficiency of a small vintage stove (that managed to feed families daily) is probably not any worse than one of those commercial-grade stainless steel Wolf monsters that half the time are for show.

In a place that's cold all the time, I get it. In my neck of the woods, though, these guys would heat the house beyond human-tolerable levels for about half the year. As much as I love the look of these old ovens, I appreciate the insulation of new ones.

Beautiful, and from my memories on an old farm, very efficient. The one like pic #3 had those 2 ovens, the best baking for bread, pies and roasts ever, and enough room on the range for complicated party multitasking. I often am nostalgic for that ease and beauty in a stove.