Luxury, With a Pop of Color

Ilve Brings the Wow Factor to Ranges 

If the kitchen is the heart of the home, the range is most certainly the heart of the kitchen. Ranges, once a stainless steel, black, or white force of nature responsible for food — if not necessarily design — are taking over the look and feel of the kitchen. The range can be a showstopper. And it may be time to consider making it the focal point of your kitchen remodel.

One of the premier appliance makers at the center of the tack toward design-oriented, colorful kitchens is ILVE USA, a company founded in 1952 with a manufacturing headquarter in Venice, Italy and a distribution headquarter in Brooklyn, New York. “The iconic look and feel has always been ‘country-style,’ as even some of the first ranges were glossy black with brass trim,” says Hannah Pregont, brand manager for ILVE USA. Ten years ago, Pregont says, custom colors were introduced, providing consumers with an astounding 213 color options, which, she says, “was really a first in the industry.” The company’s ranges also come in nine standard colors, like blue gray, emerald green, and burgundy. 

In recent years, consumers have moved toward bolder colors and hardware, placing the range at the center of the kitchen. “Blue gray with brass trim has quickly become one of our most popular color and hardware combinations,” Pregont says. “It’s interesting how appliances were once the last piece to fit into a kitchen, but we’re hearing more and more that designers are starting with the range selection and designing around it.” 

The ILVE, for what it’s worth, comes in three main series: the Majestic II, the Nostalgie, and the Professional Plus series, which range in widths of 24 to 60 inches. The newest of the three models, the Majestic II, offers what Pregont describes as “all the bells and whistles,” including easy-glide oven racks, soft-close doors, 20,000 BTU dual burners, steam cooking, and a warming drawer. All models also come with a pizza function and rotisserie function. 

In addition to color, customers can customize the hardware on their appliance, a burgeoning trend that has exploded in the appliance market. ILVE offers four different trim options, including brass, bronze, chrome, and copper. Metals can also be mixed: brass trim with chrome knobs and bronze handles, if that’s what suits you. The idea, in a sense, is that a range can be two things at once: a functional appliance that outperforms, and a piece of art that acts as the visual centerpiece of the kitchen. 

A range, in the modern kitchen, is far more than just an appliance. It’s a cornerstone of design, and that’s a really important part of the approach to how we feel about the space of the kitchen, Pregont says. “As a nod to ILVE’s mantra, ‘Live, Cook, Love,’ the idea of really loving where you cook — and, ultimately, where you live — is wrapped up in the idea of a cooking instrument that is truly custom, but also equipped with all the functionality to simplify cooking,” Pregont says. The luxury, it turns out, is in the colorful details.