I opted for the painted cover look. I thought a big hood was a lot of stainless and too commercial looking. I liked a more homey look with the wood enclosure.

Cleaning has not been too bad. My hood is 42" - so a bit wider than my 36" range top. So the wood surround hasn't gotten too dirty. I clean the exposed parts including the baffle filters with a citrus based stainless cleaner. It really cuts through grease better than the dishwasher.

Here is a link that might be useful: My reveal

My kitchen is fairly contemporary. I wanted an efficient hood so bought an undercabinet Broan that was new with features I thought would keep it from being noisy. Didn't buy the cheapest because wanted quality. Turns out there is a slant to the underside which I hate. I posted on this forum and some indicated that the slant would make the hood more efficient. Had I chosen to have a hood with a cover, I could have made the underedges of the cover totally horizontal and could have more easily covered up the slant. Details are a bit too complicated to post here but bottom line, I think the cover gives you some advantages later to get the exact look you want, that's my experience anyway. You can always get a stainless cover if you like stainless. I'm a newbie and not a pro at this so don't take my input as the last word. Good luck to you. Wish I would have put in the hood vent first before anything else. It was my biggest installation challenge. (I'm my own G.C.)

duplicate post

This post was edited by elphaba on Thu, May 22, 14 at 14:31