Beam me up scotty. I would get rid of that for many reasons. Mostly because it blocks the window and distracts from the whole space. It is literally the white elephant in the room.

Wow. Just ... Wow. That range hood was a choice.

The only way you can know what you are dealing with is to hire someone to take that apart. I agree with Kendrah, the actual fan looks like a 1960s bathroom ventilation fan, but looks can be deceiving. That vent on the side of the hood might be the make-up air register. But there’s other stuff going on that also seems off, like those two tube lights - very odd. Have your contractor save the pieces in case he wants to use them to trim out whatever you get to replace this. Be prepared for the cost. The room is large, the ventilation calculations, even if the range is not gas, may get pricy. Good luck!

The entire subdivision has the same thing. I’m thinking of knocking on doors to see what everyone else has done. It was the builders trademark. I’m talking hundreds of houses. Surely they didn’t all have it torn out?

I think you will be surprised how many people are just living with it. Trademark indeed.

Dear Lord, a whole subdivision of these monsters? Are we sure that they are not transport devices awaiting the alien invasion? Are you near Area 51?

The good news is that since there are so many, there’s sure to be at least one contractor who has gotten good at dealing with them. File this under crazy, ugly, crap builders do, which is def a book waiting to be written.

Find out if your neighborhood has a Facebook page. Post a picture of your spaceship/hood and ask if anyone has something similiar.

Holy moly what a mess > Have it removed for sure it will make a mess of the ceiling so be prepared . This is when a person designing a kitchen should have never been allowed .To me the kitchen is very dated but that hood is beyond awful so no matter what it needs to go.

Replace it with a slim lilne stainless island hood. But you will have drywall repair to do, plus moving HVAC ducting. And new recessed lights. It might be best to live with it until you can do a more functional kitchen design and move the cooking off of the island to the perimeter. Then your island can be a safe gathering spot for family and prep work.

This is not a feature. this is a bug. it even has garage lighting….. have it removed and move the range to a more functional location or replace it with a sanely-sized stainless hood if budget does not allow for improved kitchen function.

Search on zillow for other houses in the division that have sold or are for sale. They may still have pictures posted with the listings and you can see what others have done. If for some reason you do not remove it, I would not paint or tile it. That will only call more attention to it.

I still cannot get over how bizarre this is. If removal were not in my budget, I could image this begin a deal breaker, but glad that the rest of the home seems like a winner for you.

36" island hoodsare not inexpensive. Neither is all the ductwork and other add on work that goes along with it. Before spending the money to "fix" the UFO overhead, create a list to fix everything about that kitchen. You will get a better result, and your money will go further, by tackling the basic dysfunctional layout issue that the kitchen has.

I’m interested in what Minardi said because to me the island with cooktop looks weird and I can’t really tell what is work flow and storage amount elsewhere, and is it a “ welcome to my kitchen” entering the house. I might actually dislike the kitchen enough that the house isn’t good, because kitchen needs a lot of re-do for how I live. But that all in what GOOD features house has otherwise , location, budget for temp, how you cook.

It is so weird it looks like an AI scam.

The whole cook-on-the-island-facing-your-rapt-audience thing feels like someone whose idea of entertaining is a Benihana or a TV cooking program. Do guests really like hot oil or greasy steam in their faces?

Especially with this giant fake hood, but even without it.

I would probably not remove the fake hood, until you're ready for a larger kitchen reno.

Ask the neighbors if it’s a community build. Get ideas on how to replace this monster.

There are lots of hoods that would take up alot less space visually.

Beverly, those remind me of pneumatic tubes that suck up money at a bank drive through. I can't say as they are an improvement over what is there now.

The ceiling is high, any chimney hood will be intrusive, like the Chrome Vacuum From Above. A pop-up downdraft vent is possible, but a) they don’t work well at all and b) if the floor is a slab it isn’t practical.

I think you’d be much better off moving the range to a better location on the perimeter of the kitchen, if possible. Until then, live with the enormous Mail Chute From Outer Space?

If a complete kitchen reno is not in the budget now or in some tolerable number of years, then pay less for the house or find another one? That huge blocky thing can’t be a positive selling point on the real estate market.

Yikes! There is a lot of not so good in that kitchen besides the hood. The angled dishwasher and it appears you will be cooking at the range with a fridge behind you. Hopefully the aisle is very wide. I would just leave the hood until I had the money to do a complete redo of the kitchen.

Given the ceiling’s height, no matter the hood’s design it’s never going to look great. Maybe look into the feasibility of downdraft venting and if possible/but have to give up some efficiency, I’d still go that route.

https://zephyronline.com/product/lift-downdraft-range-ventilation/?utm_medium=social&amp%3Butm_source=pinterest&amp%3Butm_campaign=tailwind_smartloop&amp%3Butm_content=smartloop&amp%3Butm_term=69715306&utm_source=pinterest&utm_campaign=tailwind_smartloop&utm_content=smartloop&utm_term=70819955

The only lowish cost way I see to possibly fix this is to erect a full wall where the stove is butted up to the pony wall. Then hang a hood on the new wall. And that is a maybe without knowing how that HVAC vent puzzle piece in the chimney fits into the picture.

Not seeing how to fit a decent kitchen into this space even with a full on remodel. The windows & angles are so limiting. Can't fit a stove, sink, dishwasher & refrigerator and have much of any upper cabinets. I would be very tempted to pass on this house because that feature is so bad and possible remedies are limited.

I'd get rid of the island and stove. Then look at building a new island and looking for a spot to add a cooktop elsewhere on the perimeter where it's easier to add a hood. You might be able to expand the island and add a built in oven.

Is that a recessed cove with a cabinet sitting in it on the wall above the perimeter cabinets?

Consider the cost of removing this and getting a replacement as part of your expense of buying this house.

While I don't like that hood either, I don't like the idea of eliminating a hood altogether or replacing with a downdraft (which would probably mean major changes to the island to cram it in as well as running the exhaust duct under the island).

Given what I see (and I agree with others that this Kitchen needs major help), I think your best options right now are to either live with it until you can do a complete remodel or replace with an island hood. It should not be flat, though, b/c flat surfaces will NOT capture the fumes, odors, grease, smoke, and steam (a.k.a., FOGSS). Instead get an island hood with a concave under surface that is 6" wider than the cooktop and 27"D. Be sure to install it per the specs, no higher. Yes, it will still be in the middle of the Kitchen, but it will not be as bad as what you show in the pictures.

Note that downdrafts are not very effective, even telescoping. They will only work for the burners right next to the fan and for pots/pans shorter than the top of the fan (not trim) by at least a couple of inches.

Unfortunately, having a hood in the middle of the room is one of the drawbacks to a range (or cooktop) in an island or peninsula.

The other drawbacks are the distaste of having billowing steam/smoke/etc., in your face when sitting behind the cooktop (should be at least 24" from seating - it looks like it is) as well as the dysfunctional workflow overall in this case. If the island was wide enough to accommodate a 12" to 18" of landing zone/workspace + prep sink (at least 18"W) + 36" to 42" of workspace + range/cooktop + 24" counterspace, then it might work for you. You'd still have a hood hanging from the ceiling, but it would off to the side and not in the middle of the Kitchen.

Do you have small children? If so, I would not put any stools at the island until they are old enough to understand that not only is the range dangerous to touch, but also understand that smoke/steam/grease/etc., are issues as well. Once they're older, then seating would be safe enough.

Others have already pointed out additional issues in the Kitchen overall. For me, this Kitchen would be a deal-breaker, but given how the housing market is and the difficulty finding houses today, it may not be for you. (We just bought our retirement home after looking for several years at both land to build custom or a new-ish house, so I know how difficult it is to find something that will work.)

Good luck!

Thank you all. We have decided not to buy the house. I cannot create with that thing!

Probably your best idea. Let us know if you find another house we can help you with. Good luck hunting! 🤞🏻

Congrats on passing that house up. Smart choice. There will be something nicer out there for you.

Oh yes to passing on that house!