I would have started my design with the hood and worked it out from there. You are right that this will be your focal point which is why this needs to be your starting point. If you need to change the measurements of the other cabinetry then that is what you will have to do to get a polished look upon completion.
I have a 48" range and a 54" wide wood hood that curves up and looks like it is supported by corbels. I started my design at the center point and worked out.
Good Luck!

Thanks for the reply. I saw some hoods on Houzz that seemed to be much wider than the rangetops under them, so I am thinking that narrowing those uppers is the way to go. I'd love further input! Here is a straight on view of the cooking wall.
Is narrowing the uppers to 36 from 39 enough (which makes hood 48" over 36" cooktop)?...or must I go all the way to 33 to match the lowers and have either a very wide range hood or hood with space between it and the cabinets?
Any opinion on mixing colors? I like this one, but think I'd rather see the mantle dark and upper part white?

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[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/client-photos-traditional-bathroom-los-angeles-phvw-vp~204566)

[Traditional Bathroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~s_2107) by Pasadena General Contractors Reaume Construction & Design

We've tweaked the measurements of the cooking wall slightly, the uppers will be 36 wide so the opening between them is 48, the 36" rangetop is flanked by 9" pullouts and 34" base drawers. I could shrink the uppers to 34" so they are perfectly symmetrical if that would be best. How much wider can the hood be and still look appropriate over the rangetop?
I think I've seen most of the hoods on Houzz, here is the one I think would work best in my space

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[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/jacksonbuilt-custom-homes-traditional-kitchen-charleston-phvw-vp~1853846)

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Charleston General Contractors JacksonBuilt Custom Homes
It would have the same gray/ebony maple as my island, with the trim the same as the white perimeter cabinets. The black with white streaks granite is on the island and perimeter. And here is my drawing, mostly to scale, with measurements (sorry it is sideways!).

I'm really not sure what to do if this isn't the right design, I remain concerned that this will be a focal point but can't imagine what else to do (though I guess I could go all white and it would be less prominent? but I love that stained maple!). The color is somewhat between the color used in these two kitchens

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[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-clean-warm-kitchen-contemporary-kitchen-san-diego-phvw-vp~845494)

[Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by San Diego Interior Designers & Decorators Kristin Lam Interiors

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[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/transitional-kitchen-transitional-kitchen-portland-phvw-vp~1520981)

[Eclectic Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2104) by Portland Interior Designers & Decorators Garrison Hullinger Interior Design Inc.
I would really like for my hood not to look as tall and skinny as this one, however.

If you don't want the hood to look tall and skinny, then give up the vertical elements that accentuate that. Using a VERY contrasting element to the white surrounding cabinetry also really accentuates it as a focal point for the whole room. Are you sure that the rest of the design elements support such a strong contrasting focal point? You've already got a contrasting island, and a stone that also sounds like it wants to play a major role. Plus, every kitchen that you show has much shorter ceilings than you will have.

I think you need to rethink the whole design and taking the hood to the ceiling. I'd prefer to see you drop the ceiling around the cabinets by using a soffi to create a tray ceiling, or by doing some type of coffer to bring it down. That would help the room to seem more proportionate to the occupants and the furniture.

Thank you, live_wire. I did numerous drawings with straight lines, fewer lines, and even horizontal lines. I need to cover 6 feet of vertical space and not take much more than 4 feet of horizontal space, so I understand it will be tall and thin but I'd like to make it appear less so. I thought using tall molding on top and bottom helped, as did the arch in front, and flare of the lines. I'd appreciate any other ideas.
I don't think my granite is going to be demanding, the pattern isn't busy and the reason to do the hood in the gray maple is to match the island. I like the way it works in the first picture I posted in the thread, though that island doesn't really match.
I really can't rethink the whole design anymore, demo starts Tuesday. I love ceiling treatments in pictures, but couldn't picture one working in my house because of the adjoining rooms, here is the current cooking wall which continues into the living room without a break, the bumped out piece to the right of the range is going away, the range will be in about the same place it is now. The island will be much larger, starting in front of the rangetop and extending as far as the peninsula does now. The current cabinets are 42", the picture on top of blue sunflowers approximates the height of the 18" which will be added.

That long wall is a decorating challenge in that I have to keep both rooms the same color because there is no place to stop on that wall. I've been thinking that I'll extend my marble tile backsplash all the way up on that wall, stopping above the doorway which will define the end of the kitchen. But I definitely need some pro help on that decision, I don't trust myself at all!

Have you thought of creating a cased opening between the two rooms to help define the space? It would let you do the tray ceiling treatment in the kitchen to help proportionalize it, and it would also let you keep the height in the living space. Using different ceiling height and large openings helps to differentiate use and actually can make the space more livable. One drawback to open space living is the lack of walls needed to place furniture, art, and even light switches.

BTW, the ideal proportion for stacked cabinets is 2/3 to 1/3. You can get by with 3/4 to 1/4 in a shorter ceiling area, but it can look kinda stumpy if the molding is also shorted. So, I'd also suggest going with 21" wall cabinets above the 42". That will help to keep the hood height from being so tall in comparison.

The other thing I would suggest is giving the hood some negative space around it and not crowding it so closely with cabinets. When you are dealing with two contrasting elements, it's best if each has it's own defined space. That means leaving a gap of around 6" minimum around the hood. 12" would be more proportionate, give the extremely tall ceilings that you have. That will actually give the eye room to "breathe" when viewing the space and will result in the hood looking a bit smaller than it actually is.

I hadn't thought of a cased opening, though I've always loved them (and the one we have, shown below will be fixed and symmetrical as part of this remodel). I think the space is too awkward because of the dining area? And although I find this house difficult to decorate, and blame the ceilings and the big open rooms and angles, the truth is that I'd find any house difficult, because I have no natural talent for it and little experience. And I actually kinda like the openness, anyway.

I appreciate the tip on stacked cabinets, I think it is too late to change that order but perhaps making the crown higher would help? I agree about the negative space around the hood, I picked up on that as I browsed other spaces. I asked him to hold off on ordering those uppers, I could make them 30s which would give me the extra width though it is painful to lose a foot of cabinet space.

What do you think of the marble tile all the way up, stopping in line with the entry to the little hall which is where the new cabinets will stop? Thank you very much for the time you've given my dilemma!

I don't know if this will help but our KD is putting a 48 inch hood over a 36 inch range top when asked why so big she stated I needed 6 inches on each side or my cabinets would be ruined.

Kksmama, sorry but we just returned from a party and I haven't read the answers. I DID, however, design a hood cover over our stove.

Specs:
1. L-shape counter on outside walls mostly topped with windows. Island in front of it.

2. On the long leg of the L, a 42" wide bottom of the hood cover that sits between banks of 32" double-hung windows, centered over 36" drop-in electric stove top, itself centered over a 30" drawer stack that is part of a white sweep of cabinets below a wood counter.

The lower hood is white painted wood rising to a display shelf near the bottom. Above that rises a shallower (to create the shelf) "stack" vertically to the ceiling--clad with the same painted drywall as the rest of the walls, and, in fact, the main floor. This is flanked by windows on each side.

It looks good, simple, as I wished for this "barefoot" house, but custom and good. The lower wood shelf is painted creamy white to match the window trim, the upper drywall area continues the sweep of yellowy-cream painted drywall around the room. BUT, note that 42" does not look large in this context. Given the stretches of windows on each side, it's in scale but barely. 36" would have been a bad mistake.

Directly below the 36" drop-in stovetop is a 30" white drawer stack flanked by a 36" white drawer stack on the right (entry) side and by our oven on the left, with more white cabinets wrapping around the corner on that side.

It looks good. Seriously. We did the 30" below a 36" stove to as a sort of fitting the puzzle pieces to get other stuff in, and we moved the oven to the left both to get it out of the view from the dining room doorway and so I wouldn't have to work in front of a hot oven..

It looks good. The 36" black stove glass is a minor element because it's set horizontally in counter, but wide enough and provides contrast for that area without compelling the eye down to pick it out from the whole focal area--the hood/stove.

The rest of the lower stuff? The widths are virtually irrelevant, lost in the sweep of white cabinets and white oven door around the room. As long as your counter sweeps serenely around and the finishes on your cabinets do the same, I would not worry about making the lower widths match--attention will go to the stove/backplash/hood area above the counter. OTOH, the more visual interruption you have in and below the counter, the more you might have to consider dealing gracefully with it. Choosing a white oven was no accident.

By now I've forgotten what you've asked except for would you design your own vent cover. Absolutely. It worked wonderfully, saved a bucket of money for a simple but distinctive hood just as I wanted it (a local trim carpenter knocked it out without any fuss), and I would absolutely plan do it again in another kitchen.

BTW, "without any fuss"? I sat there while he built it and had him add raise it with, ultimately, 3 more thicknesses of plywood until it was at exactly the height that looked right to me. Turns out that being even with the horizontal pieces in the double-hungs as I'd drawn it on paper wasn't quite right. No problem at all done this way.

Enjoy the process. :)

I have a 48" wood hood over a 36" range and the wall cabinets on either side of the hood are 30" with the base cabinets below them being 36". Depending on your ceiling height, you want your hood to be wide. I have 42" upper cabinets and 10' ceilings. I wish my hood was wider to look more proportional but then it would be too wide for a 36" range. I think it looks better in person and hope it looks even better once the crown is finished around the cabinets but as you can see, it's quite tall. I don't have the best picture but here is one.

Since you have the height, would you consider doing a cabinet over the hood? That's what I have. 36" range with 42" hood flanked by 21" upper cabinets with 24" lower drawers.

My hood venting runs up thru the cabinet above the hood and vents outside (does not run up the open ceiling).

Thank you Rosie, I'd love to see a picture, and appreciate the encouragement. Deb, thanks for sharing what your KD said, I'm sure being further from the heat would be better for those uppers.
Lex, thanks for the picture! Your hood is about the same distance above your uppers as mine, that is really helpful to see. I love how clean and bright your white cabs look!
Dilly, thanks for the picture and measurements, I'm going back to the drawing board to consider other shapes now that I realize I have to allow more space on the sides. I was worried about maximizing the inches of cabinets, and live-wire's advice about negative space was exactly what I needed. I might stick with my shape but will definitely allow more space on either side.

I really liked those curved lines, but they just didn't look right when I drew them this afternoon! Can anyone explain why, and suggest another shape that would work better? I think it will be right to have the bottom of the hood 48" in a space that will be a little better than 64" wide. This drawing has the top at about 30" which is the same width as the adjacent uppers. Rangetop is 36 with 9" pullouts and then 34" drawer stacks.

This post was edited by kksmama on Sun, Jul 7, 13 at 21:16

Bumping, hoping that others interested in hoods might help out, or learn something from my dilemma.

I've shrunk those uppers to 30", the lowers are 35". So over the 36" rangetop flanked by 9" pullouts I have 64" of horizontal space - enough for a 48" hood with 8" blank on each side. If it is set at 38" above cooktop, it will be a total of 70" high, and higher than the molding on the adjacent cabinets by 27" (but we could use taller molding where the hood meets the ceiling). I could also go 42" wide on the hood, leaving even more empty space, but given the height I suspect I'm better off with 48" width?

This really is SO hard. Venting has been the most expensive, frustrating part of this whole design phase, I'm beginning to understand why so many people simply don't vent at all! Can I do a new kitchen, but not have a rangetop? Use the space for another fridge, freezer, or dishwasher and do all my cooking outside on the grill? Maybe my family can adopt a raw diet and forget this whole cooking thing altogether!

I feel your anxiety kksmama! I have done nothing but second guess myself through the whole process. In the end, after all the stressing, I am pleased with how it turned out. Sure there are things that bug me, but that will always be, no matter what decision I made. We have a few similarities, namely, weird ceilings, choice of two-toned cabinets, and hood. Here are 3 pics of my kitchen lined up, left, center right. You'll see that spreading the dark cabinets around the kitchen helped balance it. Google Sketchup helped tremendously here as you can see your kitchen in 3D and change the color instantly. Note that my wood hood isn't finished yet, It needs angled molding on top and the face will be finished like the cabinet doors. My stove is 30" and the hood is 50". Leaving space on the side is a good idea as stated above...your cabinets will not get spatter on them. It also helps to have that extra prep space for spices, oil, ladles, plating, etc. I don't have gas here so had to go electric and I wanted the gas knob look of the Viking range. It only comes in 30" but I purposely left 3-ish inches on either side if I want a bigger range down the road. So far so good though. Also that extra space on the sides makes it easy to slide out and clean down there. Lastly, the weird ceilings. The next pic shows the 2 different ceiling heights, the left side being almost 20 feet! Chunky molding seemed to help here as it doesn't seem like it's a cabinet just stuck on a wall, if you know what I mean. Having the chunky molding run all around the cabinets made it feel more like built in furniture. We are on a lake so I might toss a teak model sailboat up there that we have. Or maybe a large decorative plate or something. Hope this helps!

20 ft ceiling on left, 8 ft on right. My kitchen looks orange in these pics!! I swear it's not LOL. Also, The triple pic above looks small but if you click on it and open in a new window you can Control+ to enlarge it.

Oh my gosh the triple pic is awful sorry! Going to post them individually here.

center

right (integrated fridge and pantry)

Thank you, Halfway! It must feel great to be so close! Those look like wonderful pullouts in your hood "legs" - are they called legs, or corbels when they go down all the way. I don't even know the terminology! I love your pulls, share details, please?

Here is the latest drawing I have, it isn't quite in scale because I could have 8" blank on both sides. Any help welcome! New vodka cocktail recipes count as help, and fit in well with my new raw diet, no cook, no vent lifestyle.