Hi calynn, We have an open air cooking spot. Maybe what you need is a low noise ventilation fan. Most fans have noise decibel rating at the back panel. , Here is a link that might be useful: Outdoor Kitchen Guide

I don't have a warming drawer, but am planning on one in our new home. I want it for proofing bread, making yogurt, keeping foods warm till serving time, warming plates, I'm looking at the DCS because it seems to be the deepest and should be able to hold my crock while proofing bread dough. If the temp goes high enough, I think it could also hold my canning jars while waiting to be filled. So I'm sure I'd be using it several times daily. Currently I use my Excalibur dehydrator for a good deal of defrosting of frozen foods; and I also use it for quickly drying my blender container, my olive oil jar, and plastic tupperwares. But I think the warming drawer might function almost as well and would hold a lot more.

We've been in this house for 26 years and the original kitchen was small and poorly designed with 6 - yep that's right 6 doors or hallway openings. When the 5 of us sat down for meals only the 2 on the end could get up. So we ate in the dining room most nights on a plywood table that DH made until we renovated. Both of us cook and we enjoy having guests so we put on a large addition and at 30 x 18 my kitchen is the largest room in the house and we love it. It mimics our formal dining room with dark cherry cabinets and Oriental rugs on the ceramic. We usually have all our meals there. We've made lighting the candles and saying grace (or a few woods to mark the day's events) a ritual.But there's still nothing like sitting down as a family for meals in the dining room which now has a real table and china cabinet and using the silver and china. There's a different feeling to using the dining room that makes it special. But when we designed our vacation/retirement home in the mts. we made a large great room so it's a combination living - dining- kitchen area.

That can’t be the position you’ve decided on. It’s a fire hazard, and an asphyxiation one too. Show the location you’re planning? What style are you planning for the hood? Are you aware that proper clearances to combustible surfaces is measured in feet for a bbq grill? Non combustible construction is required. Not standard wood stud construction. Thats usually block, or steel studs. The decorative cladding material is usually brick or rock. The top is usually a dark non porous granite. Not a highly porous stone that will have huge grease spots within minutes of first use.