I've been proven stylistically challenged here :) but I don't think chimney style is overly modern or contemporary. The picture you posted looks disproportionate to me. The bottom of the hood will be higher off the bottom of the uppers than it appears here. Here's a picture of my hood - only 8' ceiling but I don't think an extra foot of duct cover would look excessive.

(It could probably be argued that the space between my hood and the uppers negatively impacts performance, but I prefer the look for this type of hood so it was an intentional choice.)

This post was edited by foodonastump on Sat, Sep 7, 13 at 18:50

Thanks to both of you for your replies! foodonastump, your picture looks great, but it does seem to have a different proportion than my kitchen. If the bottom of my hood is 30" off the range, then the ceiling is 42" from the bottom of the hood. The triangle part of the Broan I was looking at is about 5" high, so the remainder would be the flue. But when I look at chimney hoods with larger triangles, they just seem overwhelming. LWO, my house tends to traditional with wood trim and built-ins, but with a more simple style than is traditional, traditional. (LOL- can you tell I'm no designer!) The kitchen is open to the living room, which has a more modern feel than the library & dining room at the front of the house.

I would love to see more examples in this thread as I am facing the same question. Some days I like really sleek chimneys, some days more pyramidal. Other times, I think maybe I should look at the pro-style instead of the chimney. We'll also have 8 ft ceilings, which makes some of the larger pyramids look "stumpy" to me. So please include your ceiling height if you post a pic to this thread! (The vent hood decision is proving to be much harder than I thought it would be-- anyone else find that to be true?)

Foodonastump, do you mind sharing what hood you used?

I am looking for a chimney hood with 400 cfm or below that will work with my 89" ceilings and I have found exactly one in something close to 999 hours of research.

Lori, I've found it to be true for sure! I think I'm leaning this way (inspiration pic) Today anyway...

I agree, Lori, venting is hard. Venting decisions have been the toughest part of my remodel, and have consumed a disproportionate amount of my time and money. It doesn't seem to be as interesting to GWers as backsplashes, counters, cabinets, drawer organizers, or even brooms. Or it is interesting, but in a "good luck with that" way. Sorry.

Steph - It's a Kobe RA9230SQB.

I assume you're limiting yourself to 400 CFM because of code or MUA issues? If so, I'd seriously consider something with more capture area, ie not a flat bottom, if you are looking for more than marginal performance. That's harder to come by in chimney style. The further forward it protrudes the better.

I haven't really cooked anything demanding since the hood has been hooked up (I'm still moving back into the kitchen) but based on what I've seen when boiling water on the front burners I'm not expecting any greatness out of this thing even at the highest 760 CFM setting.

I knew this going into it so I'm ok with it; my decision was strongly influenced by aesthetics, cost, and house resale in mind.

kksmama - As with any appliances, you'll find plenty of range hood discussion over on the Appliances forum. I take a lot of the discussion with a grain of salt because their "conventional wisdom" does not always match my practical experience, but there is something to be learned there. Head on over to AF if you've not already done so. You'll see a lot of familiar faces.

the link below has some pictures of wall mounted hoods in 8 ft high kitchens

Here is a link that might be useful: vent hoods

Yeah, we just tightened the house with an energy audit and there's no way we can get by without adding make-up air, which we really aren't interested in doing. It seems like overkill to me and that's the feedback I keep getting from inspectors, contractors etc - though I know that's a minority view here.

The ONLY one I have found so far that is a pyramid chimney hood is a Whirlpool 300 cfm. They sell a 400 cfm but it is one of those low-profile hoods with glass curving down, which I hear isn't great for capture. So, you basically trade the cfm for the design, I guess...

Thanks so much, foodonastump. Yours looks really great.

One thing to check on the lower CFM - does it have a center fan or a fan on one side of the vent?
Our 350-450 Broan (OK, we put it in after inspection but it only boosts if the place is massively smoking away...) - but when I took off the filters - the fan is only on the left side...
I might end up replacing this downstream.

I also wish I had gone 2 inches wider than the cooktop - but didn't know any better at the time.

Thanks, a2gemini. I don't want to hijack the thread, but I am finding this info helpful.

We have tight space and are doing an induction range, so I've been consistently told to go with a 30" hood over the 30" range. That's the plan at this point...

I'll definitely check out the fans.

Hoods are forceful visual elements: they are large, and account for heat, air movement, light, noise, smells, and often a backsplash (with or without focal point).

I find pictures with hoods which are wider than the cooktop more aesthetically pleasing and I'm sure they are functionally superior. Negative space, or windows on either side, look nice to me, as does tile which goes up with the chimney like foodonastump's.

I strongly recommend starting an idea book on houzz dedicated to hood looks you like, so you can begin to see how ceiling height, cooktop width, adjacent elements, and materials used affect the overall look of the hood in the kitchen. Reviewing your sweeby test is a good idea.
I'm sure that some of this comes easily and naturally to kitchen designers, I have learned the tiny bit I know the long, hard way and still find it painful because it is so far from my wheelhouse.