here's the after, won't let me put more than one pic...

That looks amazing! It was a good idea to do a mock up. Sometimes you just need a visual. Well done!

That DOES look amazing! Congratulations!!

What are the countertops? Soapstone? And on the bar??

Great job!

Here it was before the hood...

Mariana soapstone on the counters, bar tops are 2-1/4" thick Mesquite

Wowza, that is a glamorous transformation! I love your stove, and the hood adds so much, both visually and functionally. Good vision!

When I look at these photos I realize some of the best changes are the simplest... getting rid of the wall phone, and covering the outlet with an old Griswold...

My eye went straight to that perfect cast iron, too, one of my kitchen soft spots...

Thanks for the update. DYI are always the most fun to follow:)

Wow - that is quite the hood!
Love the counter tops! Nice facelift for your kitchen!
To put more than one picture in a post - you need to use something like Photobucket and copy/paste the html link.

Looks terrific!!

Really nice!