Stone

I think a copper tin finish would work wonders!

maybe a large round silver or pewter tray/plate. something heat resistant.

I agree with stone. Get tile sheets of small stone. Easy to do and will look professional.

I agree - stone

I'm not exactly sure what you should do to the hood...adding tile might make the counter-top and existing tile look too busy, and mess with the flow... I do think however, different and more substantial hanging pendants and different hardware on the cupboards will give the look in the kitchen good punch.

Depends on how much you want to spend. As it is now it doesn't look bad and the simple fix would be to put a large decorative something ( Ie like a large platter or clock etc.) mounted on the drywall face or paint it a contrasting color. Another alternative like mentioned above would be very thin sheet metal, ( stainless, zinc, copper) as an overlay over the drywall. This would need to be done by a pro as thin sheet metal is very sharp and hard to work with, but it is do-able and could look cool. Although I love faux stone or tile, I doubt the hood framing is set up to handle the weight those would incur, not to mention they most likely are too thick to use with the current crown molding on the bottom of the hood. Hope this helps.

Stucco it and add something ornate out of iron.Or cover it in copper or stainless steel would look nice too. Like Deana Bradleys idea!

I would add a piece of decorative metal artwork. Something substantial, bringing in the black from your pendant lights. If you can find a piece with a bronze medallion in it it will tie it all together.

Cover it with sheets of stainless steel, so it will match the stove top. It will make it look updated.

Depends on your budget, but I just saw this for a lamp in Apartment Therapy. You could fake metal/rivet hood and just paint it with metallic paint....
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/off-the-shelf-vs-do-it-yourself-riveted-brass-table-lamps-189945

Wood panels that match the cabinetry would be nice, with a couple of corbels from Art for Everyday. Then end the top with crown moulding that goes through out the room.

use the stencil stickers that have cute wording or birds on a branch (see attached pic)

Agree with the comments by Riddle Construction and Design. Maybe do a punched design on the front in(stainless, zinc, tin, or copper). For a little more impact add soft lighting behind. Can't quite make out the colors in the back splash. If there's green, maybe a patina finish on the metal.

Inexpensive fix would be to faux paint. I originally used a contrasting color (green) but it stood out too much. This isn't ideal but it fades into background now.

Get some plaster (Joint Compound will work) color it the cream color of the tile and do a heavy plaster job that will give some great texture to the look, take off the crown molding around the bottom and use some rough 1x4 stained to go with cabinets, you could also carry the plaster look above the cabinets. Good luck

Carry the 1x4 around the top and over the windows at the ceiling.

A cast stone hood, such as the ones we offer, would definitely make it the focal point of the room and provide a nice contrast with the dark wood cabinets. We can accommodate almost any imaginable dimensions and site conditions. Feel free to contact us with questions or if you would like to receive some advice on what to do.
http://tartarugadesign.com/products5.php

Have in the same wood as your caninetry, add mantle.

Capitalize on the shape of the hood by applying trim on the outside corners, remove the lower trim and replace with a wide board, add molding at the ceiling. The photo below shows the approach but I would beef up the trim on your hood.

Metal work overlay, definitely. See a good example here;

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/clint-shaw-general-contractor-walnut-creek-3#VVWugFby_ANoxeYGYGlOug

While I agree that it needs something and tile would be easy to keep clean, it would make this thing much too busy and unless you also have a guarantee that it can support the weight that tile would add, it could be pretty darn risky. Create a frame with molding and attach it. Paint the inside a lighter color and add some type of ornamentation to the center of it.

Put some texture,glaze it

Decorative wood molding stained to match your cabinets, following the contours of the hood, about 8" in from the edges of the hood to form 2 /_\ trapezium shapes. The lower one about 1' tall and the upper 18"-2' tall and 8" above the lower . The bottom rail of the upper box could actually be a shallow shelf that could hold objects d'arts, herbed olive oil bottles etc. Paint the walls and hood a very light creamy/white (to compliment the backsplash) and trim out the windows to match the cabinets. Should be inexpensive and brighten up the space with minimal work...

You could paint it to look like the cabinetry and the eye wouldn't stop on it. Or do a mosaic design in tumbled marble.

I'm thinking tile would be too heavy (looking).... but really agree with a metal scroll that matches the oil rubbed bronze in your fixtures... or use natural iron. Place the metal work at the window level or just above/just below to balance them out with the art.

cover with 'Fasade', it would look great and expensive. you can get it at good price from Lowes or lowes.com

I am an interior designer and a decorative painter. I have painted many of these. I would do a deep bronze metallic finish on it similar to the finish on your pendants. this would make it pop from the wall and make the wood bottom not look so contrasting. if you have no experience with decorative painting I would highly recommend hiring a professional.

You might also consider a wood cornice moulding at the top just for continuity and a finished look.

I think hoods are over-rated. You need them in some cases but yours is too big and dwarfs the cabinets. If codes requires you to have a hood then go with a stainless to match your appliances. Paint it dark if you can't change it out.

Remove replace with tall stainless. Put glass tiles in a color behind it. Take tile to ceiling.

Stainless steel would be easier to clean, but I would put a little color behind the stove for a backsplash. Tile maybe.

Copper or Stainless

Hire an ornate plasterer and have them come up with a design that you can have them do and lay out on the hood. Be sure to seal it so it can be wiped down. Maybe consider a plaster border that is ornate and then put a decorative element in the center (wrought iron, majolica,) or maybe varying copper tiles might be purty.

You could put a mosaic on it.

Check out this that I saw just today on Joss and Main -
https://www.jossandmain.com/Import-Collection-Lucques-Wall-Plaque~IMCL1528~E4531.html

I love this look! The wood venere with metal edging and rivets
*Omega Lighting Design*

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/clint-shaw-general-contractor-walnut-creek-3#VVWugFby_ANoxeYGYGlOug

You could add upholstered valance boxes above your windows to make them look bigger

Good God. Leave it alone!

check us out - I just posted a kitchen hood we did out of limestone (LEED product) that was Trowelled on & hand carved to look like brick and tile

Here's a copper-look finish that my homeowner clients did themselves - faux finished over drywall texture. It looked great.

No matter what you do to that hood, it's still going to be too big and out of sync with the rest of the kitchen. Replace it.

@leelee. Hoods are "over-rated." I don't think I've ever heard this before. Perhaps if you're referring to the use of those microwave/vents over a range or cooktop as being over-rated I could agree. Otherwise a true working kitchen must have a vent hood, the more powerful the better in order to remove the lingering grease, odors, smoke and other by-products that will remain in the air well after the ginger-lime-soy salmon steaks are served for dinner. Of course like everything else in a kitchen there are decisions to be made based on variables to be weighed (BTU's of the gas burners, whether indeed one is cooking with gas or electricity) in order to arrive at the correct amount of CFM's etc. Still a vent hood is an appliance that belongs in a kitchen right along side a dishwasher and a microwave.

Hi Madeline, I have 2 kitchens (vacation + residence) with gas stove in one and gas cooktop in the other and neither has a vent. We have high ceilings and my husband cooks all the time. The btus were a factor--small Wolf cooktop and small aga dual- fuel range. The design dilemma range hood is a behemoth. I don't think that's necessary--overkill. I didn't tell tell mcutler not to have a vent but to get one that's in keeping with their kitchen.

A vent can be useful and necessary in some cases but it doesn't need to be the focal point of every kitchen. I can't say we've never missed having vents but for the very few times it would have been nice--not worth it. So to me, yes, hoods are over-rated.

I've lived both ways. WITH a hood keeps my house so much cleaner and ridiculously better smelling. It is a must have in my opinion.

Hi lee lee, your personal situations as described deserve a different category of word, "over-rated" as a description doesn't do the situation justice. You made a decision it appears based on the height of your ceilings (somewhat higher) and BTU's of your range and range top (each somewhat underpowered) a vent for your husband's cooking is not necessary. I don't know what he cooks on a daily basis but I still think a vent would be beneficial to your DH just based on how useful mine is to me for the stuff I've now been cooking. I have a Thermafor dual fuel range and a Kitchenaid pro-style vent. I need the vent because believe it or not on my range top I put a small Wolfgang Puck grill on which I cook most every day for my Mother (who has dementia) and my stepfather. Trying to work out what is best for our families my Mother presently lives with my husband and me, and each night my stepfather goes home to their condo. But we're all in the habit of my cooking things like lamb chops and steaks (for them) or fresh fish (my husband). So this little grill and I get a workout. But our house never smells like fish, lamb, or grilled onions or steak, and the hood's vents get washed in the D/W more than ever. However I am bothered that the shiny stainless steel hood always appears to have a new bit of grease since I don't have time to clean it anywhere near the amount of times it does need to be cleaned. I agree with you the vent in the dilemma is too big. But home built ones, where the working guts are supplied by a vender and then a carpenter in the employ of the homeowner is left to his own devices to devise the fancy "cover," built often from tile, stucco, drywall, whatever, are almost always huge while the amount of air, smoke, odors and grease drawn through the vent is often quite minimal.

Codes didn't require it and it was a personal decision not to install a vent....

Very sorry about your mother. I do know, first hand, exactly what you're dealing with.

More and more Building Codes require kitchen and bath ventilation because of tighter buildings. However, even without a code the benefits of a hood go beyond the kitchen.

Here's a quick over view. Cooking creates indoor “air pollution” or unpleasant and/or harmful substances such as steam, smoke, odors, carbon monoxide and grease that are released into the air during the process of cooking.

All gas fired cooking appliances should be vented and well maintained due to the carbon monoxide combustion by-product that can accumulate throughout the house.

Air inside the typical home has about twice the concentration of dust as the outside atmosphere, and when combined with airborne grease molecules from cooking, it creates a sticky substance not readily noticed and not easily removed with typical dusting.

When this sits on fabric and carpets, it damages, weakens and discolors the fibers not to mention provides a great nutritional source for dust mites. It contributes to “ghosting” on walls where you see dark staining above baseboard radiators, around air ducts or on carpeting. Soot from candles and gas burning fireplaces combine with this sticky substance and are big players in this mess.

At this point you are forced into using high alkaline cleaners that may further damage the surfaces, professional cleaning services or throwing away window, furniture and floor coverings.

I'll take a hood any day when faced with the alternatives.