Overhead venting is the only kind that really works. Be prepared to do the window with inoperable safety glass, never have window treatments, and plan for extra depth cabinets to be able to have 6'' between the back of the range and the window.

Hollysprings, is the picture less gloomy if I install an electric or induction cooktop?

Anyone else have thoughts?

If you are planning on having the window extend all the way down to the countertop, follow what hollysprings says to the letter.

If your window sill will be above countercop level, you may have more flexibiity. You will want a non-flammable backsplash behind the cooktop. My recollection is that it will need to extend beyond the cooktop a couple of inches to either side and be at least 6 inches high.

That's assuming you live in a jursidiction that does not forbid windows over ranges and cooktops. Best check with the local building/permit department or your architect on that one.

If you can have a window, then a six-inch non-flammable backsplash would allow you to place your cooktop closer than six inches to the back wall and have standard depth countertops and cabinets.

Whether the window has to be fixed/inoperable next to/above a stove or cooktop also seems to vary by jurisdiction according to past postings here and in the kitchens forum. Again, check on your local rules and how the locals apply them.

How high/tall is the window? How wide is your planned cooktop? The wider the cooktop, the wider the hood you'll want.

As hollysprings says, window treatments are a major and scary hazard above a stove or cooktop. If you want to close off outside views sometimes, you might consider a window with built-in blinds encased between the panes. (I think Pella and Marvin have versions of this set-up.)

Chimney hoods' chimneys can be extended so no worries about your ten-foot ceilings. When shopping for a hood, check on extension kits and also check with local fabricators and installers. Depending on what kind of hood you decide to get, it might be less expensive to have a local metal shop fabricate the chimney enclosure for you.

And hanging large island hoods will require that the chimneys be rugged enough to carry the load from hood to joists or beams above the ceiling.

If affordable, maximizing the view requires raising the hood to the practical limit (probably 36 inches above the cooktop) unless a really large hood is used on a medium sized cooktop (where one might be able to scrape by at 42 inches).* In any case, the higher the hood, the larger its aperture should be to ensure capture. The larger its aperture, the higher the flow rate (cfm) has to be to ensure containment. The higher the cfm, the more attention has to be paid to make-up air.

You are in the twilight zone between simple kitchen and kitchen "system," and scope of planning, design, fabrication, and unfortunately cost have to scale accordingly.

kas

* While success has been achieved when the angle between the edge of an outside pan and the internal aperture edge of the hood is only 10 degrees for heights in the 30 to 36 inch range, higher mounting will move the size requirement proportionately toward the free air effluent expansion angle of typically 22 degrees, half-angle. And this angle (and hence the hood) may need to be yet larger if there are drafts.

Thanks for the feedback! No one is commenting on downdrafts; I guess silence speaks volumes.

Is a tall pop-up exterior venting downdraft better than a recirculating downdraft/hood or no venting at all? Or one of the ceiling mounted vents? I know there is a recent thread about omitting venting altogether (not gonna do that).

It's the natural light that is so hard for me to give up, view is bleh. Plus, repairing exterior stucco gets costly and usually looks obvious. The KD is drawing a plan with a fixed window above the current window sill (8.5 inches above countertop) and below a built-in hood approx 36 inches above the cooktop, a sort of window backsplash.

Tradeoffs...

Kaseki, the info about the free air effluent expansion angle makes complete sense. We will need to have a wider hood if it is more than 36 inches above the cooktop, an appealing thought for me.

I have a dacor downdraft for my 30" cooktop in my peninsula. Love it. It pulls 1000 cfm and does do the job. I refused to have anything hanging from my ceiling. I wanted a totally open, light and airy feeling. So this solved my problem.

CanadianLori,

Thanks for the feedback! It's good to hear from someone who uses a downdraft. What is your cooktop?

Downdrafts work, just not as well as overhead hoods. Also, pop-up downdrafts work MUCH better than cooktops that have downdraft built in like the JennAir you have now.

However, I'm not a fan of using downdrafts with gas because of their tendency to suck the flame and therefore heat away from the bottom of the pan. But I guess if you have one now and are fine with it, it shouldn't be a big deal, and again pop up should be much better in this respect than integrated.

'recirculating' and 'downdraft' should not be used in the same sentence.

IMHO

My cooktop is an old Kenmore ceramic top with the large burner being a halogen. Haven't seen halogen anywhere else since so I keep crossing my fingers that this cooker keeps lasting. My downdraft works better than any previous set ups I had with the overhead - but then again, they weren't top quality ones!

A downdraft that recirculates is useless. Worse than useless, you're paying a big premium for that uselessness. Downdrafts are marginal to begin with when you use gas. If there is enough airflow to suck the naturally rising heat and vapors downward against the grain, that's enough airflow to suck the flame on the cooktop and pull the heat away from the pot, or even have the flame go out.

The motor for my downdraft is OUTSIDE the house and draws the air to the great outdoors! How could that possibly be recirculating?

^It isn't. There have, however, been recirculating downdrafts offered on the market (not sure if there are any available today).

In the past I had an early Jenn Air, downdraft was pretty much useless. Next a Thermador telescope downdraft. It worked very well on the back burners. For the front burners I tilted a lid to direct steam to the back so it was decent. Now I have an overhead hood/vent and it is better yet.

I have a window behind my range, but it is a small window. Below I linked you to a Houzz search for ranges and hoods before windows.
I think you can make it look wonderful.
There are more pics on Houzz. Just type in variations of the search words.

Here is a link that might be useful: Houzz on range hoods before windows

This post was edited by Bellsmom on Sat, Sep 13, 14 at 9:41

Wow, you all are so helpful. The wisdom you share is really appreciated.

Bellsmom, I love the pictures on Houzz. Thank you for sharing. It is so nice to see some chimney style hoods over cooktops, especially in some not-so-modern kitchens. My eye goes to the window, not the hood. How about you all?

I also like this
https://www.houzz.com/photos/main-street-traditional-kitchen-boston-phvw-vp~41164-Street-traditional-kitchen-boston
I would like to have the hood built into a painted wood cabinet.

Building to code is an absolute necessity. We will determine the local requirement.