I'm not into tearing up perfectly good kitchens, so all of these ideas about accommodating a 30" range with alternative cooking assists sound fine to me. Let me play devil's advocate. What about the oven? I have a friend with a 36" ordinary household range, which she loves. Nowhere near the power of a BlueStar, but the size serves her well. The oven capacity makes it possible for her to cook whole meals for a dozen or more people, including heating appetizers and breads while the mains are cooking, and starting pies as the first sides come out. Are you gaining any storage if you have to devote it to extra hotplates and warming devices? OTOH, will one 36" range be enough for your 5-6 dozen people meals? Will you need the extra devices anyway? And why are you getting a BlueStar? Because you're happy with the way you're cooking now? Yes, you're managing. I managed to cook and bake with an underpowered cooktop and an oven with no temperature control. I managed to cook and bake with two gas rings and a wonder pot. But how do you want to cook? Will having a larger range just plain make your life easier? Will it help cut down on the logistical planning of what your kitchen can do, rather than what you want to do? Or will you feel restricted with anything short of a hotel sized kitchen? Yes, cutting down the cabinets to accommodate a larger range and hood is a big mess, and once you start cutting up existing cabinets/counters you open yourself to potential problems. But is it worth giving up your desire for a larger range because of lack of will to go for it? A lot of people talk about putting in their interim best and never actually get the kitchens they really want. It's not worth ransoming your future for, but if you have the disposable income, is it worth forgoing a vacation trip for? I knew I had to redo my kitchen when the house was bought, but put it off for a few years to grow the money, and then a few more because of other life stuff. Looking back, though I'm thrilled with my new kitchen, I realize that I gave up an awful lot of stuff settling for the old one and being practical. I really did have the money before (just not so much liquidity, which could have been fixed), but didn't have the will to be less practical. Can't get back the lost opportunities and meals not cooked. Sigh.

I wouldn't do it. My boyfriend had a 30 inch cooktop right next to his wall oven. I hate it. There is no down space except to one side of the cooktop. The closest downspace for the oven is the cooktop. He has wood cabinets and the former owner tiled all over the side of the cabinets in order to have it be easier to clean and I assume to protect from flare-ups on the stove. As I said before, I really hate it. Not a fun place to cook at all. Go with a nice 30 inch range. There are lots out there. Perhaps you can fit a 36 in range into the same space? Even better!

I don't think you will notice after a while. Mine is off by about 1" on the left, because the *&^&%$ range hood is a full inch less wide than the rangetop (I swear I bought a 48" range hood, not 47"!). But then again, we are DIY so I wasn't about to make my poor DH uninstall then reinstall all of the lower cabinets after it took him a full day in the first place; if we were paying someone for it, it might be a different story. If you choose to keep it, just make sure you don't do a stacked tile BS - you would probably definitely notice it then. Example of what not to do: http://www.peeltile.com/img/media/backsplash/layout.jpg

I have a Bluestar 30" RCS v2 and a Zephyr Napoli 36" island hood (ZNA-M90CS). The stainless steel color match is very good. To my eye, they look as if they were made from the same batch of steel and brushed with the same tools and technique. I really love my Bluestar RCS but I have mixed feelings about the Napoli. It looks really nice but it is a lot noisier than I expected. Technically, the noise volume is relatively low and to spec -- ranging from about 40dB(a) to 66dB(a) depending upon the fan speed setting. The problem is not the noise volume, but rather, the quality/pitch of the noise. It is not the low frequency sound of air rushing through the baffles. It is a higher pitch whirring motor/fan sound right at ear level.. You can easily talk over it with normal conversation, but it is quite irritating to listen to. Also, as an island hood, its flat bottom capture area it is not very effective. If I place a steam kettle with its spout directly under the center of the hood (the baffles are 33" above the burner grates), a large portion of the rising steam hits the baffles and then just rolls around and up the sides of the hood to the ceiling. There is no effective storage volume below the baffles to capture and hold the effluent long enough for the air flow to completely exhaust it into the duct. In retrospect, I would rather have an island hood with an external blower and deep recessed, angled baffles.