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Island Range Hood: A Hood Can Makes A Statement in Your Kitchen
The island range hood is often overlooked when in fact, it's one of the most important appliances installed if you have a cooktop in an island. When you think of kitchen appliances you think of ranges, ovens, refrigerators, dishwashers and the like.
Appliances go a long way to dress up your kitchen. Rarely do you think of a kitchen hood as an appliance that gets much attention.
Nowadays the island range hood comes front and center as a showpiece. There's a large selection of them for you to choose from and they come in many style and designs. For those that have an eye for modern kitchen design, check out some of the gorgeous contemporary models at AJ Madison.
The Island Range Hood Comes in Many Designs
An island range hood can be round, curved; come with glass and some of the stainless steel versions are very sleek with a modern flair.
They adorn your island and include high tech features like LED readouts, down lights, interesting nighttime lighting, and those that are very quiet.
If the
kitchen layout design
that you like has a cooktop in the island, then you'll need a hood above it for venting. That is, however, unless you choose to go with a downdraft vent of some type.
Outside of its everyday uses, the island range hood together with the island itself becomes a beautiful focal point. Its shape is exposed from all four sides and because of its presence in the room is almost looked upon as a work of art.
Island Range Hood Surrounds
If a curved stainless steel units is not your style, consider a more traditional shape. Another option is to have a custom built surround that has an exhaust insert placed inside of it. The blower insert is the functioning part of the vent that can be built into a number of different surrounds.
Examples include:
A custom made copper or bronze surround.
A surround that can be finished in tile or stucco or whatever you can imagine. This version is custom built on site.
A stone surround or "man made" material to resemble stone.
A wood surround that is built by the cabinetmaker to match your cabinets.
When you look beyond the outer shell of these attractive appliances you'll find that the hood serves a useful purpose. That is, having to remove moisture, odor, grease, heat and steam from the room. For that reason you want to get a unit that is sized right for your kitchen.
More about the proper and attractive ventilation for your home
The Right Size For Your Home
The two main types of hoods are venting and re-circulating. Venting hoods truly do vent to the exterior. They require more installation in order to run a vent from the top of the unit through the roof or out through a sidewall.
The re-circulating type runs the air through filters and sends it back into the room. They also require more maintenance and are not as efficient as the venting type.
It is best if you get an efficient model with the correct CFM (cubic feet per minute) to meet the needs of the cooking equipment that is below it. The usual size range is between 250–650 CFM.
A Technical Note That Could Save You Money: Check with local codes for your area. Some cities require that an extra heating and cooling system is installed for your home when you have a hood that is 600 CFM or greater!
The thinking is that when these larger units are running, they pull a large amount of oxygen from your home. The added heating and cooling system draws air back into the home from an outside air intake for safety of the people living there.
The added heating and cooling system that is tied to the outside will bring in "make up" air and will come on whenever the hood is turned on. This code requirement depends on the city that you live in, but it's worth checking out to avoid a huge surprise with additional cost you hadn't expected!
Island range hoods are of course, more expensive then a hood that is placed against the wall or under a cabinet. But they add a stunning design element and may be just the right addition to finish off your new kitchen design in a unique way.
You might want to select a gorgeous range hood and let it be part of the design that you build around. An island range hood may be just what you need to get your design creativity going!
An island range hood can be round, curved; come with glass and some of the stainless steel versions are very sleek with a modern flair. 