The microhood is terrible (they are awful, perfectly fine in small kitchens where space is a premium but they aren't good as microwaves or as hoods...) The chimney style hood terminating into a upper row of cabinets look odd too. In this case contrast is your friend, either get a custom hood cover in wood to match your wood floors (or something else wood...) or get a stainless steel hood https://www.build.com/zephyr-ak7542b/s1167274?uid=2793451 something like this

Thanks for your input! I agree that the chimney style hood feeding into the top row of cabinets looks odd. Though it seems like quite a few cabinet manufacturers suggest it. I’m leaning towards a custom hood.

Gee I bet I know what Hallett sells. Unless you have a HUGE kitchen a hood as pictured is just not needed. It certainly isn't needed above the stove it is pictured with. My REAL LIFE experience LOVES the microwave over the stove and its fan mechanism can be vented out of the home which works well. Both work FABULOUSLY for every day nuttin too fancy use. It's become the pretentious thing to fancy up a kitchen. Just say NO.

Arcy, I don’t sell appliances (or anything real really…) and my last few houses had micro hoods. They are too high for most people to use safely, you have to lean over another hot appliance to access them, and the capture area is minuscule which makes them function poorly as a hood. In a kitchen with space you can get much better function by separating the two functions. As I said, they are a good option in certain situations but I am thrilled to finally have a ‘real’ hood in my new home.

Your cabinet doors look great together! I totally agree with Hallett & Co. Don’t get a micro/fan combo it IS usually used to save space. You are fortunate not to have that issue so why not go with the stainless hood (as pictured in the photo). The coolness of the SS will look fabulous with your cabinet door colours and the height of your walls will make it that more dramatic. Good luck, I believe you’ll be thrilled with the end result.

I do like the stainless steel version. My only concern was the length of the exhaust since the walls are quite tall.

@arcy_gw…there are a gazzilion threads on how inefficient microwaves are for ventilation…even if they’re vented to the outside. They are essentially worthless. Do a search, and you’ll see for yourself.

I speak from experience. The kitchen in my former home had such a setup. Even vented, the cabinets on either side of the mw always had a greasy film. The ceiling in front of the stove, was discolored, and had to to washed periodically.

Fast forward many years…we finally moved into our ”forever” home. Now having the funds to make a substantial upgrade to this kitchen over what we had in our former home, and having spent years and years on the GardenWeb (precursor to Houzz), I knew enough to move on from an over the range mw, and install a proper vent hood.

The difference is night and day. We are now in this house almost 6 years. Never have the cabinets abutting the rangetop been greasy. The ceiling shows no eveidence of effluents having escaped the hood. I can cook fish, and the odor won’t travel into other parts of the house.

Proper ventilation is not some hoax. It’s not about being ”fancy”. It’s about doing what’s best for the health of your family, your home. Do some research.

Another vote for a proper hood. Micro hoods scream low budget/starter home and they’re also not as effective. If you do serious cooking (sautéing/high heat) a good hood is the workhorse, not a fashion accessory. With what you’ll be spending on your custom kitchen you’ll be glad to end up with a custom look. Good luck with your project!

One option would be a stainless vent a hood with a straight top. The chimney can be obscured above and behind the cabinet doors which you would still be able to run up to your ceiling.

Have you checked out Archways and Ceilings online? They offer custom hood kits. I purchased one for my kitchen because I have low ceilings and wanted it to be a certain size. You provide measurements and they send you a kit. You (or your contractor) put it together and finish with a material of your choice. We used wood and drywall and painted it to match the cabinets (just color matched my cabinet door at the paint store.)

I did look at their website. Very cool concept. Thanks for the info!😀