lynninnewmexico has the coolest hood I've ever seen and it's plaster. Her kitchen hasn't been finished for very long, but she may be able to tell you what it's like. Do a search on hacienda syle kitchen and you'll see her pics.

igloochic; I should have been more clear, but the grease or spatter issue was referring to plaster corbels that would be under the hood, lower and beside the range and more in the direction of "wild" cooking-I hope it wouldn't reach higher than those corbels, but you never know! :-)Thank you for the advice! I was really thinking I would be better off with something else but I love the stone look.

Cheri127; I looked up lynninnewmexico's hood and it is wonderful~thanks for the reply. It is nice to know that plaster is a possibility for a range hood.

How did you find a picture of lynninnewmexico's hood?

Thank you!

Thanks for the compliment, Cheri! That's right, we had a plaster hood built for our kitchen back in November. Our GC built it to house a Vent-A-Hood insert. It's finish is a hand-troweled plaster(no paint) and it cured over the next few days into a wonderful cream color. We love it and it wasn't that expensive to do. I have no specific price on it, because it was rolled into the total price of the entire kitchen reno (which BTW was only $230 over our GC's original estimate, and that was because we needed the dumpster for an additional month). Our GC built the frame out of wood and added drywall onto it. He carved the drywall to give us the shape we wanted. He could have done the plaster himself if we'd insisted, but opted for this genius of a plaster artist ~ a friend of our GC~ to finish it instead. Here's a couple pics of it being built and the a link to my finished kitchen pics. This first pic was after the hood had been built and initially carved out. The bottom "legs" are just for support as they built it. They were then taken out.
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This next pic was taken after the plaster was troweled on and we were waiting for it to cure:
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Anyhoo, we had a shallow mantle built into the hood so that I could prop a painting up on it. Like Igloochic mentioned, once it cured, it's been a dream to clean . . . although nothing splashes that high. I just wipe it down with a damp cloth occasionally to get the dust off. The pics aren't up yet on the Finished Kitchens Blog, but here's the link to them over on RMS.
"Pics of Finished Kitchen & Hood"

My hood was built much the same way that Lynns was, only it's supported inside (permanently) with huge metal chains and hooks. The difference might be because mine weighs a TON and it's 58" wide (27 deep). The top slope will be plaster, and the front will have granite (antiqued black) on it, then it will be trimed out around the granite with matching trim to our cherry cabinets, and crown molding on top. I went with plaster because I wanted it to receed a bit into the walls (which will also be the same plaster).

Of course it's like trying to make a 300lb gorilla receed LOL But that's the design theory.

I'm glad you clarified the corbels etc. LOL I had such pictures of you cooking spagetti and throwing it up on the ceiling I just couldn't quit smiling.

I am using the plaster finish all over the kitchen because it's such a forgiving surface. It's really just a quick wipe down to clean and the walls are so lovely and rich. Plus they feel like silk :) Mine will be a little less rustic than lynne's, but either way, the finish is really a breeze to clean up :)

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Lynninnewmexico; thanks for sharing those pictures-I was wondering how they built that and it is perfect for your kitchen!

igloochic; your hood is going to be beautiful as well~I can see it as you described and it will be a focal point in your kitchen I would bet! Please share pictures when you are all finished.

Now; hopefully I will never be so wild in my kitchen, however I am glad to know my corbels will be easy to clean off if that happens. Really though, I am so relieved to hear that plaster is not hard to clean if prepared properly. I am going ahead with the plaster hood~thanks for all the help!

Momofmne, I'm so glad you're going for a plaster hood, too! Keep us posted with pics as it's finished, OK?
Lynn

I really didn't see any advice on how it was finished to be so easy to clean? am I missing something?

Lynninnewmexico is there any way you can send me pixtures of your hood??

You don't need grease flying for it to get in the air. I have a stainless steel hood, and when I clean it on top, there is a film coupled with dust. I had the same thought, if the top of a plaster hood would hold up well to this film/dust.