for what it's worth... In the Twin Cities, I was able to look at the Broan Allure models mounted right next to a Vent-a-Hood in the Stellian showroom. I can't recall what the VAH model was, but it was comparable in price to the Allure III, about $350. My cooking is done on a 30 inch regular electric range. Standard cooking; some broiling but fish is usually done on outside barbecue. For our family, the sound of the vent is of much more significance than the airhandling capacity--background sound prevents conversation or hearing of other things when you're slightly deaf. Loud sound is unacceptable to us and would prevent us from using the hood altogether. The Broan Allure III, which I can purchase at Stellian for a little over $300, has a very low setting which is barely audible to me, remember I'm somewhat deaf. The Vent-A-Hood was also fairly low in sound, but my (eccentric) ears said that the Allure III was quieter on low and on pretty low, and those are the modes I will be using much of the time. The Allure III on high and on ultraboost mode is med. loud and very loud and their cfm movement will suffice for occasional short time use for big smoke/stink I think. Salesperson, an old hand type, says he prefers the V-A-H but not because of sound issues. He likes the mechanical stuff with the VentAHood because it collects grease and you wash it out afterward and he says the air collecting area is better size. The Broan has a dishwasher washable grease filter and will be fine for my purposes. I have steam issues more than fat. My Broan from the 1970s still works but it's too noisy for my old ears. I generally run it on lowest setting now, unless I'm blanching veg, etc in summer. I should have bought a replacement years ago, but at least now the quietness technology is improved. As for over-the-range microwave hoods, I don't like them. Short people can't reach them and the air handling is not as good or as quiet as a dedicated unit can offer. Also, as your kids grow up, you will be saying "excuse me" all the time as two people try to do different things in the same space. If the microwave goes belly up, your vent hood goes as well. How many microwaves have you already owned in the last few years? Broan vent connections seem to be problematical; plan to buy some specialized vent ducting. In our case, we think we can recycle the old vent connection.

After weeks of looking and recovering from the sticker shock in the plumbing stores I finally went on line and ordered one. Some of the vanities I saw in the shops ranged from $2000 to over $5000 for a 36 in vanity! I'm only a poor hard working Civil Engineer and I'm not paying thousands for a @#$%# vanity! You could also try Costco or maybe Sams Club. I finally ordered this one. http://www.menards.com/main/bath/vanity-ensembles/fresca-caro-natural-wood-modern-bathroom-vanity-w-mirrored-side-cabinet/p-1729847.htm It's not actually American oak it's made from parawood or rubberwood which turns out to be an excellent wood choice for a bathroom. See http://www.ehow.com/about_5098656_rubberwood-furniture.html The vanity is very well made, has excellent cabinet hardware, and comes with everything including the faucet and p-trap. The mirror and and the side cabinet are included. Fresca does have other styles and colors. By the way here is something interesting. Over the space of two weeks I kept going back to different sites looking at vanities. By doing so the the price dropped from $900 to $760.00 for the one I bought. Be careful of anything less than $500. Most of it is particle board or is cheaply made. Check to see if the doors and drawers are square and how well the drawers close. Good luck.

@jclee77 @shead I found this product today that is intended for this purpose; have the same issue: https://www.build.com/windster-we30/s985450?uid=2432737 2" x 6" x 30" metal filler to help push forward range hood. (Product is Windster WE30 or WE36, for 30" or 36" wide ranges, in case the link dies). Seems to be available from numerous sites.

I have this range hood, had it installed in 2012. Setup is not optimal as I vent straight out the back wall, but it works well enough in my 12x14' open kitchen plan. If I do something really strong smelling/smoky, I do have to run the fan for a couple of hours afterwards. But that's an open plan characteristic; odors go everywhere, LOL. I don't cook as much as I used to, so am not "stressing out" the vent system as I would have done in my younger days (formal dinner parties including 10-course Chinese banquets). Still, I'd give it a solid "B". Considering I don't have the ideal (through the roof) setup, it does a good job. Not too noisy at low speeds, but on high fan noise is noticeable. After 7 yrs I can't say the clean-up is ideal. The grating is just to keep things like paper towels or plastic film from getting chopped through the fans; it doesn't catch grease by itself. Spraying the fan blades with Windex works okay but eventual grease build-up on them is inevitable. If you cook a lot, it's always going to be better to have a heavy-duty vent hood, with the type of fan blades that can be taken out and run through the DW. I'd say for 80% of cooks the Zephyr Tycoon would probably work just fine. But if you stir-fry a lot, do Cajun cooking, etc., then even 850 cfm, especially on a straight-horizontal install like mine, is right at the edge of being underpowered. HTH.