SHOP PRODUCTS
Houzz Logo Print
karena_2009

Wooden Hood Design Mistake

karena_2009
14 years ago

I absolutely love my kitchen, but I think the wooden hood as lovely as it looks is now a design mistake. I specifically went with Schuler because I thought it solved my ventilation requirements and by using a wooden hood that matched the cabinets, aesthetically, it made the beautiful La Cornue Fe Albertine the focal point.

I'm thinking that this may have been designed more for 9 foot high ceilings and not the 8 foot high ceilings that I have and it is taking away the enjoyment of cooking on my new range. Although, the manufacturer did allow for a custom modification of the hood, which I did to meet the necessary clearance as specified by La Cornue.

Here's the problem:

* The mantle hood has very sharp corners and my dear husband has already nicked his balding head a few times and drawn blood. He's not a large man, he is only 5'8".

* My dear son hates it, too, because it juts out 24 inches from the wall and he is 5'10" and it makes the top of the range dark and the range is really only accessible to him in the middle where the arch is, so the clearance and visibility is a problem.

* I paid to have the maximum modification on this cabinet and had it cut down so that I could meet the 30 inch clearance requirement from the top of the range to the bottom of the ventilation liner.

I have made this problem known to Lowes, the KD sent the cabinet installer back out to see if he couldn't find a solution for it. The only solution he really has is to elevate the hood another 1 1/4 inches, but that would ruin the looks and still doesn't address the sharp corners. To do that, he would need me to call the contractor who hooked up the metal shaft to the outside, he (Lowes cabinet installer) would have to remove the crown molding, Vent-a-Hood, cut down the cabinet some more and then re-install the whole unit. Some of the crown could get damaged in the process and then it would need to be re-ordered.

I love the Vent-a-Hood liner, but the sheet metal is at least 22 inches in depth, so it can't be cut down either or modified because it is needed for the capture rate for the pro range.

I am now wishing I went with the Modern-Aire barrel shaped hood, but it was at least $1,000 more than the wooden hood with the Vent-a-Hood liner. I think the black coated Modern Aire was somewhere around $3,500 without the towel rack or any bands.

I think I would be most happy if I could get Lowes' to refund me on the wooden hood and the liner, but I'm not sure they will do so. Do you guys have any thoughts or suggestions?

Would the flared vent hood look better and be less intrusive than the barrel shaped hood?

Comments (47)