I love the big, beautiful range hoods. In the right setting. In the wrong setting, in my opinion they look silly, over the top if you will. I live in a 2,000 sq ft ranch home, built in the late 1970's. It is a development by US Homes, nice quality built etc. But....it is only what it is. We went with a nice combo vent micro / convection and love it. We also have a 30 inch stove. A hood would look silly in our home. My cousin lives in a 6,000 sq ft home, 12 foot ceilings, etc. He has a huge stove, maybe 8 burners?, the pasta pot filler etc. A vent / micro there would look equally silly as his beautiful hood would be in my home.

IMHO of course...your mileage will certainly differ.

Let the comments begin.....

I don't exactly understand your question/concern. I will say that any house I buy with a microwave over the stove would have to be torn out. I certainly mark that as a negative and deduct the cost of changing it to a real vent from any offer. Putting a hood over the range doesn't have to be expensive. It doesn't have to be huge.

You answered it, Debrak -- I wanted to know if adding that inexpensive hood over the stove increased the perceived value for you. Is it worth the extra $$$ to add the vent/move the microwave.

Microwaves over the stove are pretty standard 'round these parts'.... but we're attempting to build a better quality home than has typically been offered locally.

Ok, I was confused for some reason. They are common around here too but heard that new codes are going to prohibit them. Our hood was $300 and cost DH about $100 in parts to run the vent. (DIY).

I would say that if you do put in real venting I would highlight that fact when listing the property.

I would much prefer a hood over the stove, but it wouldn't have to be a fancy one. I had a OTR micro, and hated it.

Will you be able to vent it to the outside?

As for the cabinet above - I wish I had thought of putting a 15" cab there - but then my undercabinet range hood wouldn't look right. One could probably find a hood for a deeper cabinet, or modify the back of the hood so there isn't a gap between it and the wall, but I would certainly research the options before making that decision. I think it would look great.

Hmmm, good point about researching the hood before doing the deeper cabinet.

Yes, it is an exterior wall and can be vented outside - will have to go out rather than up though, because a bedroom is above it.

Time to start searching vents online....!

When building a spec house I think it's crucial to play to your audience. You said OTR micros are common in your area. I am eager to get rid of mine and get a proper venting hood, but many still regard the OTR as a convenient space saver. Unless you are working a specific spot for a microwave into your plan, buyers may view it as a "minus" to have to devote valuable counter space to a MW.

I agree with amck, there needs to be a place for the microwave other than the countertop. We put in a microwave drawer, expensive but worth it to me. In the drawing, is that a microwave on the wall next to the fridge? If so, then I think the hood will be a nice upgrade.

We have a layout very similar to yours except the MW is a bit lower, with about a 5 inch drawer between it and the counter. There is about 7 inches of countertop "landing" space in front of the drawer. The lower MW works well and OTR hoods are more effective than the ones that are attached to a MW. We do lose a little counter space with this arrangement, but we have enough already, and with the more convenient space for the MW - it's a great trade off!

Looks like there is a devoted space for the mw in the upper cabs next to refrigerator.

Allow me to be the dissenting voice on the MW on the counter issue. I have a small G-shaped kitchen, 10'x10'. I have a MW *on the counter* on a short run next to my fridge that is otherwise not very useful (I use my peninsula for fridge landing space). In fact, you can barely see it until you're standing right in front of it. I have a nicely functioning $200 range hood that sits under a cabinet and vents to the outside. Takes care of business. I love having the headroom over the stove and my MW is at the perfect working level.

I live in Nashville as well. Unless you're building a very expensive house in Brentwood or Belle Meade, I think you should do an OTR microwave. It's not what I prefer, but it's what most people around here are looking for. I have several friends in older homes that have put in an OTR microwave. There are some who wouldn't want it, but that's not the norm

The OTR mw was my biggest compromise. In prior homes, I had a shelf built and it fit a small MW. Until this kitchen redone, the MW sat on a counter , opposite to the L.

My KD quoted me $2000 just to build an outside vent, pus cost of a drawer (900), and a hood. He felt my small kitchen did not merit such an extravagance. He didn't think it made sense to give up an upper cabinet for MW storage. Venting is not much of an issue, as there is an adjacent window. Since I live in a warm climate, I always have the window and sliders open when cooking smelly foods (not cookies or roasts, that are lovely scents.)

Had I spent more time on KW before starting this project, or more time interviewing KDs, I'm sure I could have kept cost down.

That said, I ordred a new Sanyo MW, where all the buttons are on the bottom. I'm 5'2', and can easily reach everything. If I had little kids, this would still be high for them.

The way I would look at it is.....some with see an OTR and say "I hate that and must rip it out", but I can't imagine anyone seeing a vented hood and saying "I hate that and must rip it out". Of course there must be a good spot for the MW and you have lots of options for that. In upper cabinet, on a shelf, drawer mw, on the counter, or in the island.

Dealing with this issue right now. Last house, I moved the micro to under the counter in the island and put in a hood. This remodel, we got a GE Cafe range and microhood, but there's still time to move it (have to buy a new cabinet if I do, but... still time, as we are just about to do tear out). My choices on where, though, are limited. I can either forgo my organizer cab next to the fridge where the phone (and papers) were to go... no desk area in this kitchen. Or I can have it built in to an upper cabinet on the other side that is the only cab you can see from the front door. Or keep the microhood set up.

I think there is no perfect answer. Most people in my neighborhood have a microhood. But they also put granite on their builder's grade thermofoil cabinets. A house in my neighborhood DID upgrade a LOT ... custom cabs, lighted inside seeded glass cabinets, wood hood, fancy... and they still couldn't sell their house for more than the standard price. Everything in their home was nice, on a nice lot. And we are in a nice neighborhood, 3,000 sf, side loading brick 3-car garages, tree-lined street. I think buyers are picky no matter what. I don't know that I care to spend extra to move stuff around for buyers who will still pick apart my choices.

Sorry, I vented a little there. No pun intended. IMO, compared to the neighbors, there is no wrong answer. Do what YOU love if you will be living there.

Just reread and saw that you are building to sell, not to live in your dream kitchen. I would probably agree that if done right, moving it could add value in some people's eyes, but many will not notice the difference. I just know from how many come in our shop where we sell granite and laminate and "ooh and ahh" over the FX180 laminate and say, "I love this granite". You just can't tell with people, and it's impossible to guess what will wow them.

my house started with a non vented hood. i ripped it out, changed the cabinet and put in an otr micro and love it. 90 percent of the houses in my region have otr and when they don't, its not considered a positive. you have to remember that for resale the general populace doesn't think like GWers or know the things that they know. all a potential buyer will see is a micro taking up counter space or cabinet space.
that said do what is best for you.

I knew this would be a good topic to debate! Just to circle back, we put the larger 2012 model year GE Cafe convection / microwave vented to the outside over a GE Cafe dual fuel with convection. It works fine, better than our old OTR outside vented under the cabinet type hood. We love it. I argued (maybe too strong a word) better "lobbied" the wife for not spending on the convection microwave. I've been eating crow sandwiches for two months now, because we use the convection feature in the micro at least twice a week.