Good morning all, our 20 year old thermador range has kicked the bucket, and I need some help with strategies for replacement. Our set up is an island mounted dual fuel range with a pop-up downdraft vent behind. The range is 30" wide, but only 25" deep (not including the vent). The downdraft set-up has worked well for us and I would like to continue using a similar system to keep the room open. The problem I am finding is that all of the ranges that we are interested in are 27 to 28 inches deep. I have some ideas, but am hoping someone with experience can comment on them---

- How far can ranges stick out from the counter and still look ok and function well? Currently it sticks out about an inch.

- Would a gas cooktop on top of a wall oven instead of a range help with the dimension problem at all? How does that work without the strip of countertop in front of the cooktop?

- Any ideas for narrow downdraft vent set ups that could save depth at the back of the counter? What about cutting a strip out of the granite counter to push the whole apparatus further into the island?

- Any suggestions for a dual fuel range or oven/cooktop combo with a shallow profile that might work for our space? Less than $4K?

-Finally, if we have to abandon the downdraft and install an overhead hood, does anyone have experience installing a range into a space formerly filled by a pop-up downdraft? Any compatibility issues?

Thanks for your suggestions and feedback.

Sarah