outdated? I sure hope not because that is what I am putting in so as to minimize the blockage of the view of our ponds

Yes, I was concerned about grime too. Like you, I wanted a hood that "rested lightly" in my kitchen, so I wanted it to match the cabinets. So I took a chance that it would stay good looking even after being lived in, and so far I'm very happy. I'm not the most enthusiastic housekeeper, so I try to clean as I go, and I think that using the ventilation blower really helps. I have a Vent-a-hood BH228SLD liner in a custom cabinetry hood. The liner is 28.375" wide by 19.25" deep, and the decorative hood adds about one inch all around. The hood is flanked by 12" deep upper cabinets. The blower is vented with an 8" round duct straight up and out the roof. I'm happy with the Vent-a-hood, but I should disclose that I didn't do much research on brand since the Vent-a-hood was what was offered by the cabinet company. My advice is whatever hood you chose, make sure to use it. The blower motor draws air at up to 600 cfm. I know there are those who post here and in the Appliances Forum who can give better advice that I can about this sort of thing. I relied on an article about choosing a range hood to select the cfm rating based on the potential btu output of my range. The decorative hood and cabs were made by Crestwood, Inc. in Salina, KS. They're an off-white color called Antique by Crestwood. I found it closely matches BM Cream Silk. We have a freestanding GE gas range, 5 burner, standard 30" width, 27" depth. Hope this helps! Here is a link that might be useful: How to Choose a Range Hood

I'm not much help but...... I played with a Zephyr Cyclone that was set up at a store, and it was significantly quieter than others they had as displays. Granted, this has to do with length and shape of pipes and things other than the hood itself, but in that store, next to lots of other big name brand hoods, it seemed significantly quieter at each power level. Hope that is at least of some help.....

You probably looking at 900-1200 CFM they usually run anywhere between 2-11k. depending on the style. Make sure you have a makeup air provided for that size of a vent. Most brands I used were Wolf or Vent A Hood Designer Series hoods... Take a look at model PRH18454SS by Vent a Hood Designer series it's reasonably priced and it's a more basic model for that size and you can find one @ around 2k. Good luck