Replacing the existing duct work is a big deal. As I said before, there are 600 CFM hoods that work with 6" ducting - that would be your best and least expensive option at this point. Is it a perfect solution - no - but it is a reasonable solution. I was in a similar situation - I have a 600 CFM hood with a 6" duct over my DCS 30" gas range. It is quite powerful enough - the only drawback is that it is only 19" deep so some stuff escapes the front of the hood. I occasionally have to clean some grease off the front of the hood. Not a big deal.

cjc123, sabjimata, flwrs-n-co, jkom51, mtnrdredux thanks! We are really enjoying the new space. It is so much more functional and easy to work in. Ginger25 and jenhp: "Blizzard" is warmer than the pure white or organic white from Caesarstone. I think it works better with the rusty Danby marble than those purer whites. Here are some closeups of the Caesarstone, as requested (these are in artificial light): You have to get REALLY close up (3 inches in this case) to see the fine speckles. From farther back but as close as a foot, it reads solid white: Elba1, the uppers are 37 inches tall. The trim between the cabinets and ceiling is under 2 inches, just enough to tie the cabinets to a little bit of a crooked ceiling. There is also a 1 inch light rail underneath the uppers, to hide the under cabinet lights. The ceiling is 8 feet. I thought about incorporating some glass, but I wanted to avoid breaking up the space, for a more contemporary look. If my ceilings were higher, I would have considered a top glass section as well!

No, sorry, I don't know how to post or even scan photos. And our kitchen won't be started until the end of Aug at the earliest. I do have great plans drawn. I'll try to verbally describe. Kitchen is in the front, looking out to the street. We have three doorways in the k, one to foyer, one to dr, and one is the back door. Entering from the foyer- is the cooking half of k-with cooktop, double ovens, sink, dw and peninsula-the peninsula kind of divides the k into halves. The fridge is a tad down on the double oven wall, 18' long. I know, I know, the problem is where to dine. I thought we'd have to eat standing up! So on the fourth wall, in the eating area, which is 10' long, and also has the back door, we will have floor to ceiling cabs built, about 15" deep. They will be slapped up on that now blank wall EXCEPT there will be a 31" wide space with only partial cabs on the top and bottom, and open to the wall. The wall opening will have the 30" side of a 30 x 66 rectangular table-kind of looking built-in. The table will jut out from the wall. On the open part of that wall, will also be a flat tv. Just above the table will be two shelves spanning the 31" open space, and they will probably be 15" deep. I will put my laptop there and probably salt/p. The shelves may turn out to be a clutter collector. Summarizing, four walls. 10' wall, doorway entry from foyer, has cooktop and otr mw with cabs. 18' wall has sink, dw, peninsula end, and three large windows. There are 17" between the end of the window and the tv wall. 18' wall has double ovens, fridge, 2 15" pantry pullouts, cabs. At the end of that wall is the doorway to the dining room. Just next to that doorway will be 4 feet of upper and lower cabs, giving us 4' of counter space. The peninsula will stay but tucked into the end of the sink run, and facing the eating area, will be an undercounter fridge.--in what would otherwise be a dead corner. And the fourth wall, 10', includes the back doorway to the outside, and the new cabs and tv and 30" side of dining table. I know I've been repetetive but I'm trying to be clear. oy oy

@Trail, my husband laughs and says these aren't mountains just hills. He's from California and thinks I'm funny calling them mountains. It's the Georgia hills around the Civil War battlefields, different ones on different days.. There are definite trails and lately have just been going straight up the paved road with all the rain and then it is just so vertical running down. I haven't got the stamina to run up but do walk it fast. It's so cold I want to go as fast as I personally can which is more like the St. Petersburg shuffle but I'll take it. It took me almost a year to work up to being able to do it nonstop both ways without resting, gaining some speed. At first I would come home and nearly pass out the rest of the day but now I find it is giving me more energy. I always walked but never this hard and then one day I just thought I would like to start running and so I did a little more each day. I could only go a little way at first and then worked up to it. I ran a lot when I was way younger but was always getting hurt with either ankle, knee, hip. Something. I would go for miles but had to stop with the injuries. I admire people who I see out there older than me running straight up that mountain, that is my goal. I envy that their body is still able to bear it. The old joints just don't hold up that well. My neighbor still runs marathons in her 50's and there are many way older also. I'm so envious of them.