I am on the point of ordering a black LaCanche Cormatin and am looking for a custom made hood. I'm willing to go with a Modern Aire, or a Vent-A-Hood, and am looking for a custom made one only because the Modern Aire and VAH internet sites are so intimidating. My understanding is that the hood should have at least a 600 cfm fan, that it should extend forward over the entire range 30" from back wall, and that it should be 30" above the top of the burner grills. Am i right so far? ginger in georgia

First, I must say thank you to all who share their knowledge! I have learned so much...maybe too much.:) I too am in a quandary about appliances... researching my life away! I value your experience! Essentially everything we eat is made from scratch. My husband and I both enjoy cooking- he makes magic with a wok and anything in the fridge! I love to entertain and serve elegant meals that I know our guests would never put the effort into or enjoy making. My Italian heritage also requires that I make lots of comfort food-eg. BIG pots of "gravy", risotto etc! I can't imagine cooking with out the availability of "simmer". I host 5+ course sit down holiday dinners for 5-15 people. With that in mind, here's my situation: For a whole house remodel, I am deciding between a CC or BS range top. Probably 36" due to space issues. Either 6 burners or 4 w/grill. Here are my questions: 1. Love the CC but am concerned about having only 22K BTUs and the simmer reviews. 2. Love the BS but had ruled it out due to service issues. I am a rural 2 hrs drive from Reading PA. and initially thought BS proximity might be a plus. Just put them back in the running since I read their service has improved. Really? 3.A bit of a clean freak, I vowed never to have a hood but have decided to deal with it in order to have the CC or BS range top. I read another thread to learn about cleaning a baffled hood like a Modern Aire. OK- I can do it - when I'm not cooking I'm cleaning so what the heck? BUT: With heavy cooking, how often must they be taken apart to clean the fan and degrease? Does the SS lining discolor after a year or more, or turn that "cooked grease brown" (like what happens on sealed burners). My 10 yr old Viking cooktop looks terrific but it takes time and elbow grease (especially post a DH cooking extravaganza!)I am wondering how painful it will be to keep it up to my standards.(sparkling clean and no odor) How does one keep the grill clean and free of gunk and greasy odor? Thanks in advance for your advice and for helping me set reasonable expectations. I am so afraid of making a very expensive mistake!

Wow, was not expecting this many responses! Answering some of your questions: This is a full remodel of a small kitchen There isn't much width to work with. I could buy more countertop space by resorting to an undercounter oven and/or a narrower fridge, but would prefer avoiding either I live near Washington DC where you get sweltering summers and sub-freezing winters, and lots of rain, so outdoor grilling not a good option most of the time We rarely use more than 2 burners at a time, and usually only one. I don't mind keeping a portable third burner (either induction or a cheap coil hotplate) in a drawer for the occasional times it's needed Resale is an issue, as I'm not planning on living there for more than 2 years What I'm planning on using are Gaggenau's "Vario" cooktops which are available in 12" wide 2-burner or 24" wide 4-burner configurations, with woks, grills, steamers, and downdraft vents (either conventional or pop-up-and-swivel) available. Here are some examples: Here are the options: - a grill next to 2 burners; 24"w total, which is the most space-efficient configuration. They could easily be replaced with the 24"w 4-burner cooktop shown (available in gas or electric smoothtop). I had the 24"w gas cooktop in a house I used to live in, and found it plenty large - note how the burner grates take up nearly the entire surface, with only a small area in front needed for the small knobs. Many 30"w cooktops use the right-most 6" for the controls, leaving no more room for the actual burners than the 24"w cooktop shown here. Some 24"w cooktops make even more usable room by moving all four knobs to the right, allowing the left front burner to reach the very front of the cooktop. - a grill next to 2 burners, with 6" countertop space between them so pan handles and such wouldn't overlap the grill and for a roomier feel overall. For resale, I could cut out the 6" wide countertop divider between them and drop in a 30"w cooktop with 4 burners - Or, I could devote 36" of countertop space to 4 burners and a grill, as in the top photo (either as shown with a 2 burners/grill/2 burners configuration, or by using a 4-burner cooktop next to a grill). I'd probably go the 24"w cooktop next to the grill, since the cooktops are thin enough to allow a drawer directly beneath them but the grill isn't, so I could drop these into a 36"w cabinet and one of the two top drawers would be functional. - If I opt for just 2 burners and a grill, I could also use a divider grill as shown in the bottom photo to keep the cooktop and grill further apart but needing only 3" of additional countertop space (these are available with or without downdraft exhaust fans). My inclination is to go with the 12"w 2-burner cooktop and 12"w grill set 6" apart in the countertop for roominess now, with the option to cut the countertop divider out and drop in a 30"w cooktop later if needed for resale, and keep a portable induction burner handy for the few times we'd need one. Option B is a 24"w 4-burner cooktop next to a grill, which is 36"w total. How does either of these options strike you? And given the paucity of countertop space, are having 4 burners worth losing 6" to 12" of countertop width?

Hi Laurie--the range is pretty, isn't it? It's a Lacanche (the 'Cormatin' model). There are many enthusiastic posts on the Appliance forum if you want more information. The hood is from Modernaire ventilating--they were able to color match to the range color, since it is a standard 'RAL' color (RAL 9001). For the dishwasher and fridges, I went with cabinetry overlays as other have suggested. Since my kitchen is teensy (7x10-ish), I think the cabinetry overlays give a better illusion of longer runs of cabinetry. In a normal or large kitchen, probably not as much of a consideration. I'm really happy with how the overlays turned out--very discreet! Here are a couple of pictures (sorry, I haven't gotten around to taking new pictures with the backsplash complete....) Here is my dishwasher (18" wide model next to the sink) And here is my undercounter refrigerator setup--fridge/freezer drawer set, plus a second 15" unit (you do what you can in limited space!)