We have a niche recessed into the wall behind our cooktop (or where it will be going today!)

Size: 20"H x 30"W x 6"D
It's 6-1/4" above the countertop, 3-3/4" below the hood.
A 36" Cooktop will be centered under it.

It's not done yet...our granite installation is due to be completed this morning and the cooktop installed. Our backsplash area is still just primed, no paint or tile. I don't know yet what our BS is going to be plus we need to save some $$ b/f we put one in!

Here's what it looks like right now...

And here's one b/f the temporarily placed granite was in place:

If you look on the right, you can see we had empty brownie boxes lined up inside the niche...it's just about the depth of a Betty Crocker Supreme brownie mix box!

At our lake house I have soapstone countertops and a slide-in pro style range. My soapstone fabricator fashioned a small shelf behind the range as a way to integrate the 3" soapstone backsplash tiles that surround the countertop and to close up those areas where crumbs, etc., might fall behind and between any crevices between the countertop and the back of the range.

I keep a set of decorative salt & pepper shakers friends gave me as a housewarming gift on it. I've heard it's not good to keep spices and oil close to heat sources, so my shelf serves more as a decorative/practical way of finishing the look rather than for storage.

I don't have a full backsplash yet - just painted walls. But this little shelf was built keeping in mind that I might want to install one later, so it is very unobtrusive and tiles could easily be set around it. Here at home I have a pro Dacor range that has a stainless backsplash built in about the same height - 5-6" above the back of the range.

There might be a photo of mine in the Finished Kitchens Blog. I'll check now, and if there isn't one, I'll try to take one this weekend to post for you.

I'm planning to put a shelf somewhere near my range to hold small glass jars for sea salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, a few other necessities. I started off wanting a basic stainless steel shelf on the drywall to the side but now with all my leftover granite I'm leaning toward a shelf above the range, so I'm looking forward to seeing lots of pix on this thread.

I have a strip of granite counter behind my range, because the cabinets on that side of my island are 30" deep. I use that area to store salt, pepper, garlic, and shallots.

{{!gwi}}

If you can handle a little visual clutter, a recessed spot above the range like buehl has is great for a bar that you can use to hang frequently used utensils (high heat spatulas, whisks, ladles...). It's nice to have them so close at hand.