I don't claim to be a hood expert either but in general, if you are doing a decent amount of stirfry, pan fry, or saute, then make sure you get a hood between 600-1200cfm. Just as important to the power of the blower is the capture area and volume of the hood. One can make up for the other but it's not ideal. If the install is not on an island or peninsula, then 600cfm with a 36-42" wide hood would work fine even if you saute frequently. On an island, there is no back wall or surrounding cabinets to contain the smoke so you should definitely consider getting a 42" hood with 900 or 1200 cfm. If you really don't saute or stirfry much, then 600cfm would do. I'd still get a 42" however. I had a cooktop on an peninsula and with a 42" 600cfm vent-a-hood, it was not sufficient for wok cooking. For light pan fry or steam venting, it was fine. In the new kitchen, we are getting a Prestige with a remote blower. Good Luck.

I am also at that point. Try checking out Hubbardton Forge. Love the look. Very clean and simply, but classy at the same time.

buffettgirl-how long have you had your top? Is is the Durata finish? astridh--I have a sample of wenge in the durata finish from Grothouse (that's their water-resistant finish). It's spectacular. And I do mean SPECTACULAR. Wenge is a very dark, dense wood. I'm completely torn over this decision, which I have to make soon. My GC and DH are very, very resistant to the idea of a wood top. I was all ready to compromise--even found a granite I love. BUT now I read this thread and the agony is back!!

We've had a couple of stainless counters installed over the years - we had a marine edge in our last house which was great, but chose not to do it in this one because I think it gives a vintage-y look I wasn't really going for. I'm sure ours was 1/4 inch. We welded a sink into that one as well, and I never really noticed a difference in the color/grain of the stainless. In this kitchen, we did the counters around the existing stainless cooktop, and again, I haven't really noticed a difference in color/grain either.