We've selected our hood (a 42" wide Best by Broan WP29 with an 1100 cfm in-line blower) and are trying to determine the best depth (24" vs. 27") and mounting height. It will be installed over a 36" Wolf rangetop with charbroiler. Our GC is recommending mounting 30" above the countertops for best exhaust efficiency, but at that height I think the 27" deep hood and my head would become too well acquainted (I'm 6'0", or at least I used to be before gravity started catching up with me). One of the reasons we chose that particular hood is that the most likely "contact area" is angled in such a way that striking it would distribute the impact over the largest possible area. That assumes, of course, that the hood's "crease" is above the danger zone. The height decision is also influenced by the 6" and 12" soffit chimneys available from Broan. Our GC would prefer that we use the 12", as doing so would make the transition to the duct to the outside world easier for them (and less expensive for us). Comments and suggestions? Here is a link that might be useful: Best by Broan WP29 Hood

Its my first time working w kitchen designers on a kitchen that we had so much options, so I never realized the inherent issues. If I were to do it all over again, I'd probably just extend the cabinets all the way up. One of the reasons we didn't was we have upper valence lighting on our current home and we love how much brighter it makes the kitchen. Anyway, I spoke to the kitchen makers and they seem to be willing to accomodate any change. I'm meeting with them onsite in a few days to go over the specifics. I'll let you guys know how it goes. Really appreciate all the feedback. I wouldve hoped that the cabinet makers would have told me the consequences before they made the cabinets...

The duct cover for the Zephyr is 10.5" wide by 10.5" deep. Cat_mom's does look a bit beefier. I was thinking about doing the white oval glass tiles just under the cabinets and to the bottom of the hood, then having a light to medium blue paint behind the hood and above the cabinets. I probably shouldn't rush the hood decision with several months to go before project completion. I just hate to pass up a deal, LOL. As of yesterday, I have purchased the fridge column, range, steam oven and undercounter wine fridge, which will soon be sitting in our garage. We don't even have bids from contractors yet (other than custom cabinets), but we have to do the kitchen now. DH likes that I have at least made some decisions and we are more locked into my last design now that appliances of a certain size have been ordered. I have fallen in love with slabs of white quartzite with blue veining, although I will not purchase those until we have a GC and counter sub hired so I can get pricing and they can verify my counters will fit on the 2 slabs. I have been trying to schedule a meeting with the architect for the last few weeks so we can get revised drawings and move onto the bid phase. He seems to have lost some interest in the project since I didn't immediately accept his proposed layout of how our house should look.

- Are you a solo cook? For daily meals, will there be two cooks? For dinner parties, will there be multiple cooks? Mostly solo, with occasional interference, um, assistance in prep, etc. from others. Mysteriously, no matter which way I turn, there always seems to be somebody in the way. Perhaps there are additional people living here I haven't met yet. - Do you typically serve food family-style (at the dining table), buffet-style (dining room sideboard or kitchen counter?), or waiter-style (plate in kitchen, serve each guest individually at dining table)? Buffet style? Horrible dictu. Either family-style or plated, depending. - Any quirky needs for where and how you prep? Like my "sink on my left" fetish? I like my sink on the left, too. but perhaps I'm just used to it. I would love vertical prep space, like an 8" shelf to put stuff on as needed so it doesn't end up ten feet away. But I may not be able to achieve that. In any case, I like cockpit cooking--everything I need in arm's reach, nothing in reach that I don't need. I like to expel things out of my way when I'm done with them, so I thought a long time about a garbage can accessible through a hole in the countertop. Then I realized the danger of breeding Swamp Thing on bits that get stuck in dark crannies. In addition to getting rid of garbage, I do not like to touch or see cooking implements once I'm done with them. I want them out of my way. Sounds weird, I know. But that video of an iron pan careening into a Kohler cast iron sink at top speed held special meaning for me. - Are you a big baker? How important is a baking center? Occasional baker. My mind doesn't really work that way. But I bake for holidays or just when I feel like it. A full-blown Iron Confectioner Baking Stadium would be nice, but I'd settle for a place to keep baking stuff out of the way of other prep tools. - A big oven user? Need double ovens? Speed? Steam? Need venting over the oven? Yup, I'm an ovener. Double would be fun for those Yorkshire Pudding occasions. I'm actually liking my tiny Easy Bake. It will be horrific when company comes, but for the two of us to roast the odd chicken, it heats up fast and works well. I do need someplace to cook my Christmas seven-hour pork shoulder. - A many-burners user? Need four, six, eight, ten? Six would be nice. I'll live with four if I have to, but what really bothers me about four burners is the crowding. - Any preference for range or cooktop/wall oven? No preference, though obviously a range is generally cheaper. - Are there any unusual tools you plan to include? Grill, griddle, deep fryer, wine cooler,(swing oven, blast chiller, immersion circulator, live fish tank . . . ) I'm not much of a nanotechnologist, so if I ever get the hankering for a molecular gastronomy experiment I'll just use the basement workbench. I'm a little old school, so I need to keep out my vintage Osterizer and two no-control toasters, one of which was my parents' wedding present in 1938, on display. The blender gets the most use. I need a place to securely clamp things, like apple corers and pasta makers. The chitarra can stay in the cupboard; I think it rusted, anyway. I need a place to store two sets of pasta board and pins. One is mine and oversized; it's a piece of plywood a counter deep, with a long dowel that can hang from a cup hook on the end somewhere. My mom's I'd like out on display; it's an old breadboard with a smaller roller. Plus there's her wooden spoon that needs to hang on the wall somewhere nearby. Never had a grill, I think I'd like one. - What size refrigerator is ''necessary''? How much pantry (linear feet of shelf) is ''necessary''? An unusual size is OK but not too small. The fridge always seems to fill up with wine and salad. Of course, even with French door fridges I can never find anything. I wish they were all six feet wide and a foot deep. I do have a root cellar in the basement, where I can store overflow cans of tomatoes once we get the paint cans out of there. I should mention the spice thing. You know when you go into a supermarket and see that huge rack of spices? OK, trim it down to one jar deep. That's what I've got. It's in an upper cab now, on those little step shelf inserts, and it's horrible. I want alphabetical. Neat. Accessible. All in a row. - Is a bar/beverage area important, for mixology, chilling, decanting, jello shots? Way. I may be able to find a nice bar for the DR or LR. But mixology has to happen somewhere. - How many people do you want to seat at this dratted ''eat-in'' zone? Two? Four? Two comfortably, 3 a little awkwardly, possibly 4 with permanent sciatic damage. Just to appease the future toddler moms. - Do you prefer pots and pans to hang or be stored in drawers? I loathe hanging pots and pans. In my apartment pots and pans were in a super susan, the kind where the door is attached and you just push it in, right next to the range. Worked well, except for flat pans, which you had to stack to infinity. So, I want them hidden, but I don't want to unnest two hundred pounds of metal to fry an egg. Appliances to live on counters or be hidden away? I imagine the stand mixer has to stay out, unless you figure out a way to lower it from the ceiling on command. Toaster and coffee maker out but out of my way. The Cuisinart should be accessible--the days of jamming my hand into a cupboard to find a sharp blade really have to be over. - All things being equal, do you prefer lots of upper cabinets or fewer? Lots of windows or fewer? The light here is great, but houses are somewhat close together. I want to keep at least one window on each wall (size may be flexible), but a wall of windows would not really be that pleasant. I do like uppers, but some need to be glass and I desperately want to avoid that oppressive Great Wall of China look. - Are you a "can't live without double dishwasher'' sort? No. - How ''traditional'' a look do you want? For example, in the 1920s homes didn't really have fixed kitchen islands. I'm thinking serious vintage, with allowance for creative interpretation. My inspiration is that online collection of 1920s kitchen photos, but I'm not going to replicate an entire dysfunctional '20s kitchen--I just want the charm. I don't 100% need a fixed island, either, but I'm not opposed to one.