A four-legged table top at counter height would be a great addition. It would give you some extra counter space when cooking, would provide the protection you want, and would not block the heat. If you can't find it pre-made in the right size, you could just have a piece of maple butcher block cut to the size you want (maybe 10"X24", or so), and get a set of four legs that you could mount by screwing them into the underside.

I did this on a larger scale to make an island for the middle of my kitchen with a $40 set of legs I got at Ikea. You can get sets of legs at many places, including Amazon. Because this is a narrow space, you could also attach it to the wall for added stability with a small angle bracket on the underside at the back.

I agree, a cart or table with a butcher block, or better yet, heatproof soapstone top would be ideal for that space, and still allow the heater to vent.

FWIW, we have had an end range/cooktop for over 27 years, raised two boys and a dog, and never had any safety issues in all that time...

You could get a narrower cabinet for each side of the range and move it toward the corner a bit, but the narrow butcherblock is a good idea.

Thank you for the great ideas! We are actually looking at soapstone for all of the kitchen counters- maybe we can just add in a narrow piece for a little side table.

ctycdm- I'm curious about how you setup the kitchen- did you have a range hood? We have a gas stove so I would really like something that vents outside but I'm not sure what/how to do it considering the setup.

Replace the cabinet to the right of the stove with a smaller one and move the stove to the right. Remove the floor register and install ductwork to exit the toe kick of the new cabinet you'll install over it. Don't even think of compromising the casing.

Thanks Trebuchet! I don't think we can afford to go any smaller with the cabinet to the right because that's really the only good workspace near the stove and I think splitting it up would make it difficult to work. Can you explain what you meant by compromising the casing?

Can you post a pic of the fridge wall? Is there any possibility of switching out the fridge and stove?

mghnb, re: ventilation, in our case back in the mid '80s, I removed half a wall to help open up our small 10x10+ kitchen. At that time, I installed the then popular 36" Thermador gas cooktop with the pop up downdraft. It served us well for over two decades, and actually did a good job of venting, even with the grill, (contrary to what many on this forum say about pop up downdrafts;)
Then, last year when we changed the counter tops, I opted for a new 36" Bluestar range, and added an island hood to take care of venting. With your wall there, you might consider a chimney style hood that vents up through the ceiling and roof.

" Can you explain what you meant by compromising the casing?"

mghnb:

The painted white woodwork around your doorway is called casing. It shouldn't be replaced to gain space, nor should it be cut and be made to die into a countertop.

mghnb:

I suggest you think a bit more comprehensively before beginning your project. Post a sketch of your kitchen including adjacent rooms and windows with heights. You'd be amazed at what some of the folks here can come up with. I don't think they can help themselves, really.

Adding other views of the kitchen as requested, but I don't think there's another place for the stove to go. If we moved it next to the refrigerator there would be no workspace at all and it would be next to the door to the basement. I would love to be able to knock down walls and take up some of the dining room space but we just don't have the budget for that.

Another view of the fridge wall

I agree with trebruchet. You need to think of the bigger picture and get advice on your layout as a whole.

When you say you are updating, does that mean all new cabinetry or are you just moving around what you have a little bit and adding new counters?

If you are doing new cabs, you definitely need to get expert advice (and there are many here who have that expert ability). When you already have a kitchen with one set up, it can be hard for you to see other options, while others can see it with fresh eyes.

Things you think would be major cost or trouble to do, might be easier than you think and turn out to be a feasible option.

It's hard to tell from the pics, but it seems to me that if you put the fridge next to the window and had cabs running to the door (with ducting of the floor vent to come out the toe kick). Then you could put the stove on the fridge wall and have prep space to the right of the range. Is the door on the fridge wall used frequently? Less frequently than the doorway the range is next to now?

Our kitchen is also small with lots of doorways. We had to put our range next to the basement doorway, but have a tiny narrow cab on that side that I use for cookie sheets, etc.

I had a setup EXACTLY like yours- refrigerator, sink, all door locations, everything!- in our first home built in 1925. I never got to redo that kitchen, but I know what I would do! I would move the range to the center of its wall with soapstone counters on either side and a proper range hood above. If you can sacrifice the storage, I could see eliminating the upper cabinets just on the range wall, maybe replacing with shelves. (I turned part of my basement into a pantry area and put an over-the-door hanging shelving unit on the basement side of the basement door for frequently used items) It would make the kitchen feel very spacious. Good luck with your project!

Hi Kiwigem- It has taken a while to reply, but we ended up being able to do something similar. We weren't originally planning to get new cabinets (just update the existing ones) but realized that it wasn't worth saving what was in there by the time we started taking them down. Since we were able to start from scratch I was able to move the range over and fit in a small cabinet to the left. I decided not to center it because although I think it would look nice I felt like it wouldn't be as practical to have such small workspaces around the stove (total cabinet run is 30").

We added a cabinet on the wall to the right only but I am starting to rethink your suggestion of open shelves on that wall only. What do you think about moving the cabinet all the way up to the ceiling and adding 1-2 open shelves below?