Please help me or show pictures of your "hearth" in the kitchen where your stove is. I want to create a small hearth on the wall where the 36" Bluestar will live with brick face as the backsplash and the hood covering the insert. How can I achieve this without putting large footers on the countertop next to the stove to support the arched hood that is flirting with my already-quite-occupied mind.

Corbels? Wood framework covered with wallboard then tiled with the brick face? If I have to have the footers on the cabinet, how large would they have to be? There is not much room on that wall, so I hate to lose more cabinet and counter space.

I want to have at least some good idea of what I am talking about before I settle on cabinet sizes on upper wall and before I have to talk to my condescending handyman who is doing a lot of the work.

If I had a picture of something that I could work from it would definitely help. Thanks so much!!!!