I have a double oven at home and to be honest only use the top oven for toast. I never use it for baking. All my baking/roasts are done in the bottom oven. My freestanding microwave is situated in my island. I also have a property in Somerset and in that I have a single oven and an integrated microwave. I guess it depends how much you cook and whether you'd need a double oven because you need the extra cooking space. I have 3 racks in my bottom oven and 1 in the top so 4 racks altogether. My son has a single oven and integrated microwave above and would never have anything different. If you only plan to use the top oven for the likes of toast (when in fact you could just use a toaster anyway) perhaps the best option is a single oven with microwave over it.

The advice above is right because very few manufacturers make a double oven now so there is not much choice and they don’t seem to have controls or handles that line up. I think that you have a few options- you could stack the microwave and the double oven in a tower which is likely to be the cheapest- again the double oven may not match the compact appliance. You could have your microwave built under the counter somewhere else in the kitchen so that they don’t have to match. You could have a standard single oven and by the side a 45cm appliance with a warming drawer. Or you could have two side by side 60cm ovens with two 45cm appliances. Don’t forget that your appliances both 45cm and 60cm can be conventional or steam ovens or microwaves or grills or do more than one function. Or they could be sous vide ovens or coffee machines. Look at the Siemens website for inspiration and have a think about how often you need the various functions- for example you might decide you use a microwave so rarely that a cheap counter top model in the utility room would do and you fill the kitchen space with another full sized oven that gets used more. Alternatively you might add a single oven in a less convenient position for the rare occasions it is used- again this could be the utility room.

Neff, Miele and Siemens are all good brands. Gaggenau are more industrial in appearance and have odd cabinetry sizes so be careful with their size specifications. They also stand proud of the cabinet so you don't get a flush appearance (if that is what you want to achieve). Most of our customers opt for Neff for ovens and hobs and sometimes Bosch for washing machines and dishwashers, but it is really down to personal choice and what your budget allows. On a personal note I have had Neff ovens for over twenty years, but recently mine stopped working. We replaced it temporarily with another brand but I can't get on with it - unreliable temperatures and cooking times etc etc. I would buy a Neff Slide and Hide every time!

If it’s ‘slightly different from the norm’ - you’ll probably find detailed drawings will convey to your installer exactly what you want . That way they can’t do it their own way and you just have to live with it ! We draw things as people want them ( as long as it’s safe and legal !!) if you are interested in working on this one to one with a designer ( we don’t sell products - so you shop around with your one plan ) just click on my name or icon to find out more on my Houzz pro page.