Hi!

We want to replace our "over the range' microwave with a regular hood. The range sits on an interior wall and currently exhausts through a duct that runs above the top cabinets. Click link below to see some photos. See the fake plant above the cabinets in my first pic? That's concealing the duct painted dark blue to match the wall. I Love the look of a stainless steel chimney hood (without cabinets above the range), but I guess that won't work with the vent configuration we currently have? Unless any of you have some suggestions, creative alternatives? We could build a soffit to cover duct, but I suspect this would look awkward with a chimney hood? What do you think?

This will be a DIY job & DH is pretty handy. Removing cabinets, fixing drywall, adding backsplash etc is doable; running exhaust up through the roof is not. We also plan to replace the tiled countertop this winter.

Our back story: We moved into this house last year. I love this kitchen - IF only one person is in it. Often times, DH and I are cooking/cleaning together and it is too congested. Moving microwave to a new location is one step in trying to resolve this problem. I know many of you will have fantastic ideas to help us tweak the layout to give us more elbow room, but I need to make a full drawing with accurate measurements, etc. Until then, here are some pics!

TIA!!

Here is a link that might be useful: kitchen photos