A Rumford is just a fireplace that roughly adheres to the proportions recommended by Count Rumford who was interested in the radiant heating qualities of a tall shallow firebox rather than the appearance. They are usually as tall as wide and sometimes they are so shallow that wood must be stacked vertically against the back wall instead of horizontally. I have seen examples where the shallowness caused excessive smoking and wood embers to roll onto the hearth. A 48" firebox opening with a height taller than 36" should not cause smoking; smoke is controlled with a properly formed smoke shelf and the correct dimension from the damper throat to the face of the firebox. It's an esoteric an art. Here is a link that might be useful: rumford fireplace info

I have never had a subscription to a cooking magazine - the only subscription I did have was to Illuminatrice, an Italian lighting magazine, and that was at work. The only magazines that I buy at the newsstand are Italian design magazines, some of which are quite expensive (I used to buy men's Italian fashion magazines, when I was more fashionable), and I have saved every one of them. I also buy Architectural Digest, Interiors, Veranda, etc. when they publish photos of my furniture designs, and I keep these also. My old magazine collection takes up one shelf in my garage, and I do refer to the Italian magazines from time to time for inspiration. I do collect clutter, but books and magazines are not part of that. I have one shelf of cookbooks in the hall next to the kitchen. I once bought a magazine on Feng Shui, but I decided that the magazine was clutter and got rid of it. I spent last week-end trying to declutter my bedroom because I also bought a new mattress that will be delivered tomorrow, and I want my room to look nice. Yesterday I made a runner with the fabric left over from making new drapes for my bedroom (to be able to block out light) and put it on the wide dresser beside my bed. The dresser on the other side of my bed has a runner I made from fabric left over from when I made my bedspread. I find that decorating or trying to coordinate rooms helps me get rid of clutter. However, I did put a bunch of books on the wide dresser using bookends. I don't have room for another bookcase. If I need to get more books, I will get rid of old ones that I have. Lately I have been buying and reading books on Anthropology and early human evolution. I read them at night to help me get to sleep, and so it takes a while to get through them. I cannot stand to watch Hoarders, but I will watch Clean House if I need inspiration to declutter. Making my house and yards look as beautiful as possible is one of my top priorities, and this helps me let go of clutter. I haven't gotten rid of it altogether, however, and so I think it is an on-going process. I have a hard time getting rid of old clothes that no longer fit, and I am convinced that sometime in the near future, they will fit again. Anyway, that is my goal. They may be terribly out of style or inappropriate by that time, however. Getting rid of old clothes is my biggest problem. One of the things I came across yesterday while decluttering was a printout from a Cooking Forum thread from 2005 that I started asking what was in everyone's freezer. It included a post by Ann_T on pitahaya (I happened to have some in my freezer at the time) that she had copied and pasted, bad Google translation and all. The translation was hysterically funny. Lars

I don't remember exact dimensions of the island at my cottage. It's bi-level, so not as wide a piece as yours, but the counter level definitely has a seam in it. I knew there would be one, and my fabricator assured me it's done all the time. You would never know the seam was there, as he matched up the pattern of the veining so it looks like one solid piece. I have granite countertops here at home and the guys stippled some type of paint to help blend the seam. It helps, but I can still tell where it is. Not so with my soapstone seams. Not only is there no difference in appearance, but there's no evidence of a seam to the touch at all. I can feel a slight difference on the seam of my granite. If you search "Lake Cottage Kitchen" there are some close shots of my SS island top. I hope if you'd set your heart on soapstone you won't let the fear of having seams dissuade you from that choice.

I'm hoping it clears up what part is what - it's just a sample using two different hood inserts. So the liner fits into the wood hood, the insert fits into the liner, the duct attaches to the insert and there is a back draft damper that is either already attached to the insert or purchased separately and fitted to the ductwork. A blower is fitted to the insert or is mounted outside if external or is fitted near where the duct exits, but still inside the house if in-line. The blower is generally the part that makes the noise - so mounting it elsewhere is usually quieter but also more expensive. The filters are mesh on this unit, but they could just as well be baffles. Mesh filters can have issues with clogging because its like using metal cheesecloth. Baffle filters are closer to using a drying rack - more air through bigger holes. In real life, and for this particular unit, the blower is built-in to the insert, and the entire insert is 38+" wide. Lower on the page is a selection of liners implying that the size can start at 48" wide and end at 60". The liner is the metal part that wraps around the woodwork. If you look at the closeup of the liner, it takes some distance on both sides to slant up towards the insert, so I think this insert with its liner is likely too big to fit into a 42" wood hood. The wood hood itself will take some of that width - maybe 1.5", the liner looks like 1"-2" per side and the insert is close to 38.5". It might be a phone call to find out if there is a 42" liner. So you might be better off with this insert, even tho it says its 33-3/4" wide. You can order the 42" liner, choose your blower and it has baffle filters. There is an option for the stainless backsplash with tilt-up shelves. It's not very tall, so if you have slanty sides on the wood hood, it should fit just fine. This might be similar to your parts list or it might not. A 33" base insert with a 42" liner, internal blower for the insert and baffle filters.