@Design Fan (NE z7a) When we first moved in, the hood was at 18" above the range and was under a microwave. We removed it because the microwave stopped working. The range is induction. It used to be electric, but we made the switch in case we got forgetful in our aging. The cabinet maker is Holiday Kitchens. I don't know about minimum heights for the cabinet. Do you know? I appreciate your questions and advice. You are correct that there's no point in doing anything if it doesn't function.

I found this hood: https://www.fergusonhome.com/zephyr-ak1200c/s1799252 It's 30" wide, 400 CFM, matte black. The manufacturer says it can be 20" to 32" from stove top but lower is better to do its job.

The ceiling to the top of the range/counter is 53.5". The cabinets come in 3" height and width increments. If I have 30" tall cabinets, 53.5" - 30" is 20.5" from counter to cabinet bottom. The hood is 5.5" high. So over the hood I would have a 24" high cabinet.

Alternatively, I could have 27" high cabinets to the sides and the cabinet bottom would be 53.5" - 27" or a 26.5" backsplash and 26.5" between the range and the bottom of the hood. That backsplash seems a bit excessive, or am I wrong?

Now all that assumes I want a level line across the cabinet and hood bottoms.

A second alternative is to forget the look I want and have cabinets going up and down and calling attention to the range area. Some people like to do that, but I prefer to keep things quiet and not call attention to appliances. To me they are just tools.

So, given all that, what do you think? 20.5" is 0.5" inside the recommended distance of 20" to 32" above the range. I'm thinking it's a good compromise. We put our tallest pot on the range and it seems fine. But my mind is open. What else should I test?

I learned recently that the farther forward a vent hood reaches, the lower you can place it. The in-cabinet hood is typically placed in a cabinet that is 15" deep for that reason. But that is still insufficient for drawing steam into it and keeping it from escaping forward and up to the ceiling if it isn't as powerful as 600 CFM. But a hood that comes forward to 20" like the Zephyr can be placed as low as 20" high and still be at 400 CFM, which in my county means I don't need an air-replacement set-up that I would need with a 600 CFM unit.

I found this photo for dark blue walls in the living room. I am using my leather loveseats and antique tables and wood bookcases that will glow with the SW Charcoal Blue walls.

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Another thing I am wrestling with is the cabinet edge. I chose pillow edge upstairs for the bathroom vanities based on this picture of a kitchen I loved. The island cabinets reminded me of a giant Hershey bar. But recently I've been liking either a square edge or an eased edge. I know a square edge is most likely to chip, so that's why I considered the eased edge. What do you all think?

Country contemporary Kitchen · More Info

stone floor and counter, dark wood cabinets, look at the hardware though. I am r · More Info

Barrel & Beam · More Info

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Part of the renovation will include installing whole house batteries that run off the grid until we get solar panels after a new roof. The timing is off but we can still fill the batteries during low cost times and drain them during high cost times. We want them for power outages to run refrigerator plus freezer, microwave, radiant and heat pump heat/ac, and a toilet pump required for the downstairs toilet only. Does that sound like a job for a very reliable contractor or for an energy system specialist?

I really really like your finish choices including the ”moody” blues and greens.

Cabinet edge - I like and use an eased edge these days for a clean look.

Non-commercial hood height over your induction cooktop - as long as the height meets code and the cooktop/hood mfr specs, you are good to go. My commercial hood is 30“ over a LP Wolfe cooktop (8’ kitchen walls) which is a minimum height recommendation. Personally I find a hood <30” to be too low for tall pots, cooking sight-lines but YMMV.

Whole house batteries for power backup - no experience as I went with a whole-house standby generator as solar is not an option for me (heavily treed lot). My suggestion would be to have the solar company you plan to use in the future weigh in on the battery backup system you plan to install now to make sure the type and install will tie-in to the solar panels when installed. It would be expensive to have to re-buy batteries. Another option is a portable generator until you install solar + batteries at the same time. Then sell the used generator.

@Design Fan (NE z7a) what a great idea! The portable generator. Thank you! And thanks for your encouragement regarding my colors and finishes. Thank you for your support of the eased edge choice; I'm less nervous about it now... seriously. Hubby and I checked the pot height and we're good seeing in our tallest pot. Were shortish though. I wonder... May I ask your height?

5’6”. I cook a lot and use large pots regularly for chili, sauce, pasta, etc.

I would be tempted too with an induction cooktop to do a 20” height hood (that vents to the outside) to achieve the ”look” in your inspiration photo.

Oh, thank you, @Design Fan (NE z7a) for understanding. The hood does vent straight out the back to the outside. It's on an exterior wall.

My designer reminded me of an error in calculations... the crown molding at 3.5 inches high. So, new math... 53.5" from counter to ceiling, - 3.5" crown molding, is 50" for backsplash and wall cabinets. Choices now are: 20" backsplash (and space between counter and hood bottom) and 30" high wall cabinets; or 23" backsplash and 27" high wall cabinets. Mind you, the backsplash is gorgeous. I wouldn't mind looking at it. With a 20" deep hood, I'm partial to 15" deep cabinets. I wish I could see a drawing of both options to see which looks better proportionally. I may have to draw it myself though.

I would let my arm be twisted to choose the 23" backsplash and 27" cabinets (21" over the hood). I don't think there's much need for a lot of storage space in these wall cabinets: from left to right there's spices, then over the stove there's potholders and towels, and right of the stove to the corner there's containers for leftovers (the sink is just beyond on the wall perpendicular).

Today I took more photos of the kitchen and updated this post. In addition, I took the photo of the east wall and put it in PowerPoint. I then modified it to help me see the difference between my two choices: 20" backsplash with 30" tall cabinets vs 23" backsplash with 27" tall cabinets. Hubby and I both think the proportions are better with 23" backsplash and 27" tall cabinets. That will make my interior designer happy too.

The north wall... sigh... What a jumble. Refrigerators are a nuisance in the design, aren't they. So, get rid of the little wall that is not a support wall. Get rid of the black 30" refrigerator.

Do I move the 36" wide full-depth refrigerator to the middle with a pantry on the left/west and a base and wall cabinet with microwave on the right/east? That's the plan.

Should the pantry be as deep as the refrigerator? Should the base cabinet be as deep as the refrigerator? If not, how deep should they be?

Went to the contractor 's yesterday to review the plans. This is the north run with the refrigerator, microwave, and new pantry.

This is the south run with the sink and prep area. On the left end is a 36" corner base cabinet with pie cut lazy Susan.

Progress!

Do you have an electrical plan that shows (1) light switches and outlet positions (cabinet sides are close to the door/window openings so switches may need to be on backsplash), (2) under cabinet lighting/rails, (3) lighting over sink, (4) recessed ceiling lighting, etc.

Are you tiling or painting around the sink window? The wall area on either side of the sink window is uneven (7-1/2” on left and 8-1/2” on right). If you have a lot of contrast between the color of the window trim, cabinets and tile/paint, the 1” difference may be noticeable to you (if that matters to you).

Did you discuss cabinet interiors - for example, does the pantry have rollout shelves?

I don't have an electric plan yet. I am losing one good spot for light switches because we are removing the little partition wall on the north wall. I'll have to think about that. They want to install outlet strips under the wall cabinets in addition to lighting. I agree with you that we want to match the space between window and cabinets on both sides of the window. The entire south (sink) and east (range) walls will be tiled with the Irish Green large format porcelain tile (https://architessa.com/products/vert). The window trim will be SW Rock Bottom, which blends beautifully with the tile. The upper cabinets on the south and east runs also are SW Rock Bottom.There are some roll-outs in each pantry, yes.

Does anyone have feedback on this ventilation hood? https://bestrangehoods.com/product/built-in/hbn1246ss

So the new titanium travertine is considerably lighter than the titanium travertine I first saw a couple years ago. This picture includes the new titanium travertine, the Architessa porcelain tile in Irish Green, Santa Rita soapstone, and Holiday Kitchens cherry cabinets stained Granite. Thoughts? I like the hue of the cabinets but I am a little nervous about it. The contractor is supposed to provide a color rendering, and I hope that will help me feel more confident. The ceiling, crown molding, and any exposed walls will be painted SW Rock Bottom.

I think an eased edge is always best. Less likely to chip.
What color are the cabinets? The photo looks close to a walnut brown. Is that accurate? I love green soapstone…..:)

@RedRyder Does it look harmonious to you? The cabinet color is "granite" on cherry. I like a little red in my chocolate. And I did decide to get an eased edge for the kitchen cabinets. I wanted a monolith look.

My monitor doesn’t show the red. It looks like a regular brown ”walnut” finish.
It all looks very consistent with your taste. :)

What color are the appliances?

Appliances are stainless steel. I chose the colors to compliment the stainless steel grey. This scene inspired the color choices.

Inspiring scenery · More Info

These inspiration pictures also were influential.

kitchen · More Info

stone floor and counter, dark wood cabinets, look at the hardware though. I am r · More Info

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Have you researched appliances in the darker stainless? They would look great with this design plan.

@RedRyder, you are so right. The black stainless range we have looks great with the sample cabinet doors we got. But so does the regular stainless.

A couple of CAD renderings came in today's email. Right away my designer felt the wall cabinet right of the sink should be SW Rock Bottom like the ceiling and trim. A reference from upstairs is included because CAD is limited in color rendering ability

I bought the "invisible" range hood today and I hope Hubby LOVES it. Thoughts?

https://bestrangehoods.com/product/built-in/hbn1306ss

https://bestrangehoods.com/product/built-in/hbn1246ss · More Info

I could use some help shopping for options for cabinet pulls. For upper cabinets I selected nearly invisible black ledge pulls. For the lower cabinets I selected generic bar pulls in black but am feeling wistful for something in squares like in my inspiration photos.

stone floor and counter, dark wood cabinets, look at the hardware though. I am r · More Info

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For the wall cabinets to the right of the sink, I'm trying to figure out how to get the smoked glass inserts dark enough to hide the simple prep items inside them: flour, sugars, salts, brownie mix 😁...stuff like that.

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Knobs4less has recessed pulls like the ones on your black cabinet photo. I find that website to be the best for hardware.

Apparently, the smoked glass can be tinted darker. Samples coming.

What do you think of these flooring and cabinet colors folks?

Here's the flooring and cabinet and wall materials in north light that the kitchen has. I'm just worried about the cabinet stain. It's Holiday Kitchens cherry full-overlay slab stained Granite. So there's a little grey wash in the stain. I could say it helps it blend with the grey in the flooring or the stainless steel appliances. Or I could be convinced it makes the cabinets look dirty. I need to commit or start over.

I gotta say I'm seeing more grain in the southern light. I made a bad typo. The kitchen gets southern light. The most recent picture is in southern light not northern.

I like the combination. But color is so hard to judge when not on site in person. What does your designer think?

Thank you so much for the near instant feedback. My designer and the contractor's kitchen designer both agreed it looked best in the contractor 's showroom. So did I. It's just such a huge expense that I'm nervous. The grain is so subtle that it's barely noticable with the grey wash. But I am averse to heavy grain contrast like in walnut or oak. I love cherry. And the greyed brown is what I want...like pine trees from a distance on an overcast day. I take it you feel like I should go ahead, right? My daughter likes it too... for a deep woods feel. Her kitchen is light and bright in gentle creams and blues.

And here is the sample door on the Santa Rita soapstone for the kitchen. I used Santa Rita soapstone upstairs too.

So here's the proposed cabinet, countertop and backsplash materials.

Hubby likes the cabinet sample too, so I should just get a grip I guess.

Here is the titanium travertine floor tile with the wall color intended for the living room and dining room, SW Charcoal Blue. They compliment each other well. The plan is to have the travertine all over the lower level.

Struggling all weekend with the graywash on Holiday Kitchens cherry cabinets stained Granite. The hue was right but I just can't do graywash. Went back to the contractor's show room this morning intent on looking at every single option and decided that Truffle was best. I realized the door sample I received was much darker than the square sample I first saw and learned the square sample was a year old. So Truffle it is, whether it's dark or lighter. Truffle on left in a large door sample and the smaller piece far left. See how different it is? Granite on right, large and small sample. Caraway also to the left in a small sample.

I wish we could see it in person. I know how much photos on my iPad and phone alter colors. If people who are seeing it with you say it’s good, you should go with it. (Then again, sometimes a spouse says “I like it” to get you to stop asking….).

The stone colors all look gorgeous.

@RedRyder the contractor's kitchen designer said she was glad I chose the darker Truffle stain. She said it was more in line with the total feel of the house that was developing and said she thought it brought out the beauty of the stone flooring, countertop, and backsplash while also being a good boundary between them. She reminded me of one of my inspiration pictures. Except for my floor being a cocoa-powder and titanium grey blend, this really might be similar to my kitchen with Truffle-stained cabinets. I always thought it looked like a giant Hershey bar.

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I'm not ordering any more wired light fixtures from Amazon after getting stuck with one that wasn't wired for the U.S. so the light fixture I chose for the dining room is OUT. I've been looking for one to replace it and found this one that comes in three colors:
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https://www.wayfair.com/lighting/pdp/everly-quinn-paree-luxury-real-crystal-chandeliers-dimmable-kitchen-island-square-rectangle-chandelier-w111483457.html?piid=1358489145,1355057046
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I'm leaning towards the gold vs the silver. The walls will be SW Charcoal Blue, and the ceiling SW Dusty Heather. I thought my light fixtures should all be the silver tones, but the dandelion fixtures upstairs have a gold center and look perfect to me.

https://www.wayfair.com/lighting/pdp/everly-quinn-paree-luxury-real-crystal-chan · More Info

https://www.wayfair.com/lighting/pdp/everly-quinn-paree-luxury-real-crystal-chan · More Info

Entries and hallways · More Info

for the walls and ceiling of the hallway to the garage and bathroom. Leave doors · More Info

Upstairs renovation - hallway and shallow storage · More Info

Upstairs renovation - hallway and shallow storage · More Info

I think I've decided against refacing the brick fireplace with Santa Rita soapstone. It could have been stunning, but I'm not sure the two stones would look right with nothing between them. In the kitchen the floor will be the cocoa and titanium grey travertine, and the counter will be Santa Rita soapstone, but the Truffle-stained cherry cabinets will be between them. In the family room, the two stones would meet. I just am not sure these two stones wouldn't detract from each other that close.

Instead of the soapstone, I will simply paint the existing painted brick fireplace to match the walls in SW Rock Bottom. Here is an inspiration picture of a living room or family room with dark green walls and a dark green fireplace.

There's nothing wrong with the fireplace except the mantle. The mantle is tilting forward a little and I don't trust it. The concept of replacing the mantle is new to me, and I don't know what style to use for an organic glam look. A simple shelf? A simple horizontal block? A live-edge shelf? Here is a vendor my designer directed me to: https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-samsung-gn-rev1&hs=BPt&sca_esv=1fae055577f6ba0b&hl=en-US&cs=0&sxsrf=APpeQntsiHU1RVJ9ynJF3HzyDx_nGG9VNg:1783594085796&kgmid=/g/11bc713kkk&q=Fallen+Lumber+Co&shem=epsd1,ltae,rimspwouoe&shndl=30&source=sh/x/loc/act/m1/4&kgs=5ce8a5082d6225ef&utm_source=epsd1,ltae,rimspwouoe,sh/x/loc/act/m1/4#ebo=0

I would appreciate photos of mantles you think are "organic glam" for a brick fireplace floor to ceiling with a threshold. It's well proportioned at 60" wide.

look what they did to the ceiling in this 1980s builder home · More Info

I saw this photo in Houzz and wondered if I could pull off putting a loveseat in front of a trio of 36" wide floor to ceiling oak bookshelves like this.

Santa Monica Traditional · More Info

Yes, you can do that.

@RedRyder thanks for the persistent encouragement. 😊 In my living room I want more than a place to sit and talk. I want the living room and dining room together to be a place for activities like puzzling. I have a beautiful 40" square coffee table to serve that function. My two local granddaughters and I could enjoy that together like we do at their house.

I love my two leather loveseats. They are 60" x 40" and comfortable to live with and they fit the 40" square puzzling table perfectly. The best arrangement for the three of them is an L only because of the size of the living room and the passage openings. But the living room has these two windows that one loveseat fits in perfectly. But I've been doing some measuring and am thinking that I should consider NOT entering the loveseat in the room. I like the feel of stepping down from the foyer into the living room unimpeded. We've tried having a loveseat back to the foyer and it isn't welcoming. Having a loveseat on the east wall has felt inviting. I'd like to try that as well as having book cases on the east wall. CoPilot tells me I should have 18" to 24" in front of the bookcases. I prefer 24" to allow me to get between the bookcases and loveseat to access books and raise/lower blinds. It's hard to measure now, because of the upstairs renovation, but I think that places the loveseat sort of in line with and slightly to the west of the east window. I have a square antique table that would fit between the window and the loveseat.
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The other loveseat lines up in an "L" on the north wall facing the dining room. Instead of being between the two windows, it would be partly in front of the west window. There's room for another table or floor lamp at the end, and I'm wondering if a table would call too much attention to the dissymmetry. If a floor lamp, perhaps a downlight that could be pulled over at times for puzzling. I like this one: https://vakkerlight.com/products/helmet-floor-lamp?currency=USD&country=US&variant=43877040324849&stkn=eeec5618bad1&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17266395537&gbraid=0AAAAACcQR_erSDnQQQKGtvEPFWFDxMeyQ&gclid=CjwKCAjw08fSBhA7EiwAfbQTsLt20NlIMa-cXewsHQjb2BAlyYm5LAHLrCAIUV7Nd1pcGBJBCYpUwhoC5IQQAvD_BwE
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The puzzling/coffee table would fit into the harbor created by the L-shaped seating. It leaves a very broad path from the foyer to the living room and into the dining room. Chairs from the dining room could easily be moved to the other two sides of the puzzling/coffee table for serious puzzling. From the foyer, I think it would look welcoming and not congested. But how would that look from the dining room? Would the end of a loveseat there be jarring? Would the other loveseat straddling the window and wall be jarring? I was going to pull it off the wall about 6" and wondered if that would help.
And I wondered if creating more symmetry on the east wall with bookshelves also would assist with a sense of order. If I center the 9' of matching bookcases on the 12' wall, there's 18" on each end that could house matching floor lamps, perhaps torchiers to light up the ceiling.

What do you think?

https://vakkerlight.com/products/helmet-floor-lamp?currency=USD&country=US&varia · More Info

You have to place the furniture (on athletic socks) IN THE ROOM to assess the plus and minuses of an “L” shape. Seeing the back of a sofa is inevitable from somewhere, but it’s not awful. We have a Great Room and the back of the sofa faces the kitchen. It’s the only way the room can work with one.

Symmetry under windows falls into the same boat. If something has to be under a window, as long as you can get to it to open and close, it’s fine. The width of walkways is important, as is the overall feel of the seating arrangement. Have you done graph paper layouts? I usually do that before I move into a new space so I know where the furniture goes before the movers arrive. I’m not great with guessing the size of a space, so a fully measured picture on graph paper - with cutouts for my furniture - has been my lifesaver for every move. I imagine it would be helpful for a space that isn’t even there.

Thank you. That's a great idea. I use PowerPoint but the scale can suddenly change. Your idea is better.