I like the way my Bluestar looks. And my husband likes it so much he won't let the KD move it to the side of the kitchen -he wants it front and center.

The black front and brass handle improve its looks, tho I think my dh is a easily impressed. ;)

I still don't get commments like BUTT UGLY with regards to the Bluestar. It looks exactly like a Viking without all the confusing clutter of the diagrams on the front panel by the control knobs. I've had both Wolf and BS and I honestly prefer the look of the BS better. The top looks amazing; all clean lines and efficiency, and as shallow as it may seem, the blue lights are cool.

Sorry I didn't mean to offend anyone, but we just saw the Bluestar side by side of several other 48 inch ranges. In my opinion the others all looked sleek and pretty with their seamless stainless tops. They looked like they should go in a show kitchen, not a cook's kitchen. The Bluestar looked like a piece of restaurant equipment. It looked like a working machine. It is exactly what we want. We feel that it is a matter of choosing function over form. IMO I think it isn't attractive but I am THRILLED of the possibility of getting one. And ours will be front and center, too!

I understand it and it is funny. That the first thing my wife said you want that stove? You could pretty it up by getting one that was painted. Stay with the humor of butt ugly wouldn't a painted one be like putting lipstick on a pig.I buying one to cook on and I dont want scrub through the paint when I cleaning. This range is a lot like a pickup truck as compaired to a luxury car .

First, calling some one's range butt ugly can't be anything but offensive. We traded Wolf in our last house for BS in this house. As far as fit and finish go, I agree that Wolf has the definite edge but not by yards. Both have seams in the same areas but Wolf is a bit more fitted and I actually like the grate system on the BS better from a look perspective.

The BS certainly has the performance edge and in my opinion, by a larger margin than the looks advantage Wolf has. Wolf is a great product but we have been absolutely thrilled with the BS. I look forward to using it at every opportunity.

So, I am very happy with our very handsome BS.

I'm going to try to post a picture so you can see for yourself! From the front the Bluestar looks as good as any of them, but when you step up close and look down on the cooktop, the multi-pieced cast iron grates and burners just can't compare with the sealed burners of the other models. Add to it the dull finish and what you get is a heavy duty piece of restaurant equipment.

REMEMBER I LOVE THIS RANGE and won't even consider anything else. I just think that it's not as aesthetically pleasing (is that better than butt ugly??) than the other pseudo pro ranges. By the way, the picture attached was taken on the showroom floor.

I am glad you love the range. It is an excellent one and the raw power is unparalled. First, my burners inserts and grates have never looked like that one. They are the matt finish but they are pretty much jet black and resemble the finish of a well seasoned cast iron skillet and the finish is similar to the Wolf grates. Next after heavy cooking over the past 6 weeks, they have cleaned extremely well. The porcelain inserts that the Wolf grates fit into eventually stain to the point that nothing I have tried will remove them. It is for this specific reason I do not want to have anything to do w/sealed burners. I can only imagine the cleaning nightmare of those and what they will eventually look like if the Wolf porcelain inserts are any indication.

Maybe with a little TLC, you get yours looking well seasoned and not mottled like the above pic. And lastly, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. I stand by my earlier comments.

BTW, which size/model are you gettng? And I suppose you know BS has recently come out with a porcelain finish for their inserts and maybe the grates too but not sure about that one.

Good luck and enjoy:)!

Well hey...the above pictured range is what I was shown at the very upscale showroom that I drove several hours from my home to see. I was just saying it like I saw it! But I am really interested in hearing what you did to season yours to make it look like a cast iron skillet. That totally makes sense. We are getting the 48 inch RNB with both a griddle and a grill (I think.) Husband wants a salamander but we think that it just adds too much money. You know it all adds up because then we would need the higher back. I don't mind the looks and don't really think I would want anything shiney even if they do have other options. We like the utilitarian look....but we are considering a color. :-)

Yeah, I have to say, I've been really messing mine up for about 5ish? weeks and it looks nothing like that. I put the whole stovetop assembly in the DW every Sunday morning. All parts are jet black and clean looking at the start of every new week before I trash it again over the course of the next 7 days cooking. And when it's dirty, it still doesn't look like that. It just looks kind of shiny where there's grease. In that photo above the range looks covered in dust. I second breezy's opinion that the Wolf was a nightmare to keep clean comparatively.

ncamy..... Firstly that is the worst looking cooktop i have ever seen, if that was on my shop floor i would be disgusted. The owner of that store should be embarrassed.

How to keep a Bluestar cooktop looking good is easy.

1) washing in a dishwasher or sink when needed. If your dishwasher has a true drying cycle run the full cycle, if not put them back on the range and turn all the burners on for 10 mins until completely dry.

2) when cool apply a very very light coat of peanut oil to the center circle and the bowl ( and i mean light coat).
over a period of time this will season your grates and turn them from gray to black with a slight shine.

We have at least 2000 people per year cook on our range in the store and ours has never ever looked like the one you viewed.

Some posters on the GW know who i am and i am sure they would not mind posting the link to my slide show which shows you a 48" on the shop floor and also a 2 year old bluestar range in our kitchen. once you see this you will know what a shop floor range should look like but more importantly you will see what a Bluestar cooktop looks like after 2 years and 4000 people cooking on it should look like. I would post the link myself but that would contra vein GW rules.

We put in the 60 inch RNB and I was going to to with 10 burners. I did my research on the french top and knew I wasn't going there but 10 burners and NO variation kept eating at me. I considered the griddle or chargrill but then asked Trevor's (Eurostoves) opinion if I were to select just one, which one. I did this b/c of all of the previous posts from others that went to Eurostoves and the comment was "out came the veggies and on the grill...". Trevor advised me to go with the chargrill if I was going with 8 burners and only one variation. His point was that you can get a griddle plate to fit over the grill to convert it to a griddle and then you have the best of both worlds.

Well, that was indeed sage advice. I have already found a griddle plate that will be a great fit for the grill to use it as a griddle. Its about $20 and cast iron so it will season well.

We have elected to limit the chargrill to veggies and chicken to reduce mess (and smell), and, if I am going to grill beef or fish, it is going to be over charcoal. Anyway, the grill is absolutely incredible. Asparagus, portebello caps, chicken tenders (I am sure we will find others) are incredible. Not as good as if you had fired up a charcoal grill but close for those light item.

This opens the range top up for more burners. The grill also gives a good parking spot OR it doubles as a really good simmer section.

HTH, but from my experience, I would do one or the other but not both. Our Wolf was a 6 burner and we ran out of burner room routinely but I was completely comfortable with 8 burners and an alternative cooking source. I have put the BS through a holiday gathering and never ran out of room but did have the range top at least fully involved...not full but as close to it as I will ever want it to be. It was "comfortable".

breezy2,

With 60", why not get the 24" Chef King griddle (see link). It will be far more useful than a 12" griddle. This thing is very heavy duty and being carbon steel will season over time as well.

Note that I have no connection to Chef King or Dvorsons.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chef King griddles

Trevor, thanks for the cleaning advice. I'd love for someone to post your showroom pics! Although I really liked the showroom where we saw the range, they made a comment that their Bluestar was the one with the least "bells and whistles" and that the other ranges down the line got more expensive. So maybe they purposely were trying to steer folks toward more expensive models. Although the guy we talked to clearly acted like the Bluestar was the superior product. Of course he could have just been reading us very well realizing that the BS was what we wanted.

And also thanks to Breezy for the advice on burner configuration. Hubby got pretty excited when I shared your suggestion. He said it totally made sense. He had previously said that if he had to choose, he would have chosen the griddle because we've never grilled inside or out on gas (like you, we always use charcoal!)

Here's a link to several slide shows- stainless only, and colors. There's also photos at the Bluestar site.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bluestar pictures

Ok - I saw mwntion above of "The black front and brass handle improve its looks". Also saw mention in another post of new blue handles.

Any of this true and if so, anyone have pics of either they can post or link to?

Thanks

Not blue handles. I have blue lights i.e. there are 3 indicator lights on the front of the range. One indicates the preheat, one is a switch for the convection fan and one is a switch for the oven light. All of these lights are blue. Everything else is stainless but for the Bluestar logo on the bottom of the range door. The knobs on mine RNB304 are straight black as is the stovetop - no brass. As far as I can tell, the only changes are the blue lights and the (very smooth and easily moveable) rolling rack in the oven. Perhaps I'll post some pics when the grates are done in the DW later this morning.

The brass accents are an optional upgrade. The range is available in an assortment of colors, and knobs come in black or chrome (optional). The indicator lites were red, and are now blue. The blue handles was a miss-type that I posted. (I meant lights).

Here is a picture of one.

Here is a link that might be useful: