I'm kind of surprised at the direction of this thread. I didn't open it before because I don't know anything much about the induction ranges, then thought I should learn about them. Joshct, I agree with the advice to get a countertop model and try using it awhile. Realize that it's not going to have the speed and power of a built in, but it will have the responsiveness. Get used to it and learn what you do and don't like about cooking on induction so that you can make the right choice of range when the time comes. And maybe by then there will be a model of range, or cooktop/oven combo, that suits you. Maybe I missed it reading through, but I don't think anyone has completely addressed the noise issue. There are two kinds of noise with induction: the fan, which I think is for keeping the electronics cool, and pots whining. The pots whining is really a well known thing, and most manufacturers will mention it in their manuals. It's caused by the different layers in clad pans having fits. Cast iron is a great, even conductor, and solid cast iron doesn't whine. Neither does my enamelled steel tea kettle. I haven't seen any solid, cast stainless steel pans, however. There are solid stainless with aluminum or copper bottoms (Farber and Revere) to make for even conduction, which don't work on induction. All the rest seem to be clad with aluminum and/or copper. I don't know enough about the physics to explain it properly, but basically, the inductors excite the electrons in the steel (which is iron), but not in the other materials. So where there are heating, excited layers of steel embracing the copper, it whines. It's very high pitched. Some people, especially if they're older, had too much rock and roll or earphones, or worked in a load environment, can't hear it at all. Some people with particularly acute hearing or sensitivity are driven nuts by it. A lot of people hear it, but can ignore it. Gnarls, for you and your husband, I think the only thing is to use cast iron or enamelled steel, or get gas.

Thanks for that input, very helpful....Would any of you be concerned about how old my thermador oven is (even though I"m happy with it) and whether it might break right after remodel? What do repairs cost on a 30" oven? If it was 500, that would be fine. I would be very bummed if it was over 1K and I passed up an oppty to get a brand new oven.

Maybe you could win it! Thermador is running a culinary sweepstakes right now and giving away this model as their grand prize: http://www.thermador.com/blog/?p=2594&cpage=1#comment-22353 Bonne Chance!

Vanessa, I'm of no help on your question, but I wanted to bump this up. Your space is so beautiful! If you don't find help here, I would suggest posting this also to the appliances forum. They are often very good on ventilation questions: Link: Appliances forum