I did a stainless shelf above my cooktop and love it! It was $14 from IKEA. It's 10 5/8" deep and 31" long. The mounting brackets were ugly though, so I put some wood blocking in the wall behind the drywall for the shelf to mount to, then I made grooved in the drywall so the face of the brackets would be flush with the face of the drywall. Then I simply tiled over the brackets. I love the way it looks and functions. My hood and cooktop are bumped out 3" though, so it does not over hang the stove by much at all.

Here's a couple of pics of it, including during the back splash tile install.

Here is a link that might be useful: IKEA shelf

Pottery Barn also has some stainless shelves now. I bought the 36" one with S hooks, but haven't put it up yet.

I think ss shelves look great and I can't wait to have my oils and such off the counter.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pottery Barn Stainless Steel

I've always loved Ccoomb's application of the shelf. Glad you brought this back up. I am almost reinspired to do my backslash again.

(I would worry about having things fall on my cooktop though. I might have to stick with a narrow one with a lip for decorative items only...Hmmmmm)

I'd love to do this in my kitchen but I feel intimidated! We have the wallboard up but no cabinets or tiles on yet. I should just commit to a plan, buy a shelf and get on with it, LOL.

Karen, if you don't get deciding, you might end up like me. Sorta finished in September but stuck on behind-the-stove treatment (which is linked by materials to window sills and a large chunk of counter).

But I think you should get your cabinets up first! :)

I, too, used Ccombs IKEA shelf concept. I use it everyday to warm plates and food. This shelf has bars, as opposed to a solid shelf with the advantage of allowing range exhaust to rise to the vent and not trapping any grease, etc. on the bottom. Midst all my expensive appliances and cabs, I am proud of the low cost of something I love. Thanks, Ccombs.

Darn. No 36" model from Ikea! It's almost like it wasn't meant to go over a cooktop! :)

But you might be able to buy the brackets and then buy the shelf in the length you want....

Fori, I talked to a lady a long time ago that bought the 47" shelf and shortened it. The rods have a plug in the end that is threaded in the center. To assemble the shelf, you put a screw into the end from the outside of the bracked into that hole in the end of the rod. She cut the rods to the correct length and then knocked the threaded center plug out of the cut-off end from the inside. Then she put some epoxy into the end of the shortened rod and inserted the threaded center plug. She said it worked like a charm! My hood is 36" and I used the 32" shelf. So there is only 2" between the ends of the shelf and the cabinets.

Ohhh. Thanks! I could do brackets and shelf separate.

Funny, I've loved that set up for a while but never bothered to notice it didn't go all the way. Sure I can see the sides, but it never occurred to me there was a reason for that. It certainly fits well!

Sometimes I miss small but important details, which is why I'm in my current backsplash predicament. =/

This looks great! What do you use the shelf for? Function or decorative?

Thanks Julie! My hood has warming lights at the back, so I can set things up there to keep them warm. Plus my tea kettle usually sits there when I am not using it. So it's functional and decorative.

Oh maaaan, my backsplash is going in on Saturday (YIPEE), but I really want a shelf now. We just put the warming light in the hood, and I didn't know that it was going to aim at the backsplash, and not the rear burners of the stove. (What was I thinking?) But, in reality, I'm not sure if the shelf AND a potfiller would look right back there. I will just keep telling myself this. Nobody post pictures of backsplash with potfiller & shelf that look good--do not do it. eh eh---I said don't.

I think a pot filler AND a shelf would be too busy. Forget about the shelf...it would look just terrible.

(there....is that what you needed to hear?? lol!)

See, you put the potfiller NEXT to the range. Doesn't have to be OVER the range as long as there's a good enough reach.

What did you wind up with. I am looking into this also. thanks!