Gosh, sounds lovely to me. Any thoughts to something on the backsplash behind the cooktop? That might be all you need. I know what you're saying though. Those lovely gas ranges with their big knobs are definite eye candy. But, that said I think you are going to love cooking on your cooktop. The ease of cleanup alone has made my induction range so very worth it.

This is my 36" cooktop with decorative hood over. Not sure if this is what you're envisioning.

we will eventually be putting some sort of decorative centerpiece on the wall, if I can ever pick out a BS. This wall is 20+ feet with a window on either side of those long cabinets. My double ovens are on the opposite wall.

If it were me, I'd make the island the focal point and not try to beef up the cooktop's looks.

beanpiele, Thanks for your input. Cooking on a flat surface (without stainless edging, even!) is one of the big draws for me: I am endlessly boiling over my pasta water, or splashing dressed pasta all over my grates and cooking surface (Italian spouse). I will either have a tiled-in shelf behind the cooktop or a round marble tile Rooster mosaic, so that will certainly help. Avntgardnr's photo is very helpful -- thanks very much! I plan to have a plaster hood with a wide but plain trim around the bottom, but I appreciate seeing your cooktop and hood, as the proportions are the same. Really pretty cabinets and hood, avntgardner. Picking a backsplash can be really hard -- I remember from my last kitchen 10 years ago! Crl: Thank you for your input: I planned the kitchen with the cooktop in the middle of the outside wall between two walls, without upper cabinets, so no matter what, it's the most noticeable part of the kitchen; I tried over and over to change the layout, but nothing made sense except this… I had hoped that an induction range with two ovens might come to market, but it didn't.

I put my induction cooktop in my island and personally, I would never put it anywhere else in the future. Cleanup is incredibly easy with no worries about having to clean the backsplash as well as the countertop..

I made a couple focal points in my lower cabinetry by putting "spice pull outs" on either side of the main cabinet. So, in the case of the cook top, I have a 36" drawer base for my (gas) cooktop, and then on each side there is a spice pull out. Mine are simple inset fronts (like all my cabinets), but some people make them look like "furniture legs" and that looks really great, IMHO. If you make them 6" wide or so, they can look really pretty, and are handy for storing bottles, spices, etc. Check that idea out and see what you think. To me, it's a subtle way of delineating an area, and it pulls things together nicely.

Look at British design magazines. Induction is used more frequently in Europe, and when I was coming to grips with using induction vs. gas, it was very helpful to see induction used in the fabulous kitchens in design magazines.

Def agree and ditto what no soccer said.

And I, a voice of one on this topic, do not think that big heavy gas grates deserve to be a focal point. I love the simple clean lines of induction. And I love my induction. And its always clean.

I always wondered why anyone - even those with Wolf ranges & fancy cooktops - made their range the focal point of the kitchen. Aren't ranges & cooktops utilitarian tools? Not that they can't be beautiful, but that feels to me like making a lawnmower the focal point of the yard. I know I'm probably different from most in that. To me, a natural focal point is something intended to be beautiful, or naturally so: a window out to the woods, a painting, maybe even a vibrant paint color or back splash.

I always wondered why anyone - even those with Wolf ranges & fancy
cooktops - made their range the focal point of the kitchen...

Easily explained. It' a primal thing...fire and all that. Home & hearth. A cooking range replaces the campfire, the open fireplace. And it's hard to imagine a cooker like an Aga, some of the French ranges, a Chambers or even an Okeefe & Merrit NOT being a focal point. It's not like they can hide away (unlike an induction cooktop).

Conversely, I can't imagine a refrigerator--not even a Big Chill nor a glass front SZ--ever being a focal point--without it being disguised as something else, like say an elaborate armoire. Even though a refrigerator contains Life's Blood (food!), it's just cold and doesn't have the ambience of fire.

All that aside, perching a huge plastered hood over an induction cooktop does seem a bit incongruous...kind like wearing a Ten Gallon hat with ballet slippers... I vote for something sleeker and making the island the focus.

https://www.houzz.com/user/barbaspal what did you end up doing? I am in the same dilemia! I want double ovens with induction cooktop but also want a beefy focal point hood and worried it will look out of place with a piece of glass. Came here for help and found your post.

Hi Karen, We did pretty much what ci lantro mentioned in his/her last paragraph: put a massive hood over a 36” induction cooktop.

We don’t have a contemporary home: it is a melange of styles, a bit of Gothic and Mediterranean Revival, but pretty simply detailed w/ limestone window sills and staircase, a lot of espresso-colored walnut cabinets, so a minimalist or contemporary stainless hood was not considered.

My husband, a hobbyist woodworker, installed all the limestone trim and built the faux beams for the kitchen and foyer.

So even though we no longer have a Lacanche range (last kitchen), we went with the style of a hood that I had loved in a Gardener’s Web kitchen from ~2004, as it went with our home’s personality, even if NOT the cooktop… plaster w/ Indiana limestone trim and supports that my husband fashioned like wood.

It is a bit imposing, but I wanted ventilation overhang left and right.

Hope that is helpful.

https://www.houzz.com/user/barbaspal Very helpful and it is gorgeous!! WOW! absolutely beautiful, the whole kitchen! Thanks!

Good luck with your project!