I was able to see it--but not the other brands, which is one reason I went with this one. Gaggenau and Faber make some that look good on paper (although the Gag is sort of $$$$$) but weren't on display locally. Oh! If you want it flush, look at the specs. It's a little deeper than standard cabinets AND it kinda bows out in the middle so I guess it's not supposed to be completely flush anyway. My old one, clearly a less expensive model, had nicer features because it had fewer features. The only button it had was to control fan speed. To turn on the fan AND light, you'd pull it out--one step. That meant it was always put away when done. This thing you gotta pull it out, turn it on, turn on the light...it supposedly moves more air than the cheaper models, but they look just as good. There's nothing automatic on it either, which some hoods have (not sure about slideouts, but I wouldn't be surprised). No auto on or delayed off. That's fine for me. I'm a bit of a Luddite when it comes to ventilation technology, but some people like the cool features. :)

Beautiful tile pictured here from all! When I've done tile it seems the grout line ends up being slightly wider appearing than the spacer, perhaps since the edge of the tile is slightly curved, so I think with a tile as small as a subway tile, you may not want to go as big as 1/4". I was told by the tile store that the larger the tile, the larger you can go with the grout line if you want that look, but that generally, the smaller tile look best with smaller lines. Then of course, there's granite tile that uses razor blades for spacers even though they're usually 12" tile. So, I guess it's a lot the look you're going for. I've used DeLorean gray grout and putty and both work well--so much easier to keep clean looking than white grout. Your project sounds like it'll be beautiful! Good luck!

Boxerpups, I am thrilled to hear from you. I so appreciate your taking the time to research pics for me. It is MUCH more noticeable than the Broan pic you shared. I would be very happy if it were to look like any of the samples you posted. I'm also glad for the encouragement that it's possible to have the two pieces smooth and flat -- I swear talking to the contractor and carpenters made me feel like I was going crazy... as if my expectations were outrageously high. They insist that the pieces aren't manufactured properly, whereas the tech support team said they have received zero complaints of this type about this vent, with the caveat that the pieces are very easily bent. I don't know who/what to believe. Ahhh... this too shall pass. And, at some point it will all be done to my satisfaction.

Your stainless hood definitely fits your gorgeous kitchen much better! Thanks for posting. So far, the only non-stainless hoods I've seen have been bulkier than I think I'll like, certainly bulkier than all the stainless hoods out there. Stainless is *the* thing these days so it's really hard to find inspiration rooms with any other appliance color, especially in the magazines. But they've got to be out there somewhere (is that hoping for too much?). Anyone else?