An oven with a door that opens to the side is a rarity you will not find in your average appliance store. However, they are available in some upscale premium residential lines and also commercially. This article shows you where to start your search.
A side-opening door is especially handy if you are in a wheelchair. Doors that drop-down just seem to be in the way. It is difficult to reach in from the sitting position to pull out the oven racks.
Almost all microwave ovens have side-opening doors, but not one of the major appliance companies in the United States offers this option. Shame on them. It is a bad business practice. Lots of people would consider such an oven.
A potential customer has to spend a lot of money to get this feature. However, they will have a very nice oven and probably have both convection and steam as cooking options.
It is an excellent starting point if you need an oven with a side-opening door. The many manufacturers that provide this are listed below.
Gaggenau Ovens:
Gaggenau is a German company famous for the aesthetic appeal of its designs. A Gaggenau oven looks like no other. However, its design may be a little too modern for some people.
All Gaggenau ovens are side-opening, with one exception. They have one model where the base and the food are slowly lowered down from the main cabinet. Then, you load and unload the food at the countertop level. There are no doors. The rest of their ovens have full-width doors.
Fagor:
In Europe, Fagor is a major appliance manufacturer akin to GE in the type of appliances they offer. Most oven doors drop down, but they have at least one side-opening model. At about $1,000, this is about the cheapest you can buy in the U.S.
American Range:
Some makers of commercial ovens have backed into the upscale appliance market. American Range is one of those. In their residential units, they have one that has French doors. It only has one handle, but if you dig deep enough, you can find pics where both doors are open. They also offer several convection-only ovens that are side opening.
Blodgett –
These guys claim to be the leading provider of commercial ovens. You might be able to keep the price tag below $3,000. These are not designed to be built-ins. They are all stand-alone units. The oven models with the side opening doors are all convection ovens or a combination of convection and steam.
Blue Star:
These guys may be my favorite. They offer 190 colors plus different textures. That is awesome. Blue Star is your best option if you are customizing your kitchen and want your appliances to match.
They have a 24-inch model with a single door. Their 30-inch and 36-inch models have French doors.
I won’t claim my list is exhaustive. Certainly, in the commercial market, there will be other providers. However, these are simply the brands I found that provide side-opening ovens.
