The shelves would only be useful for holding grease and dirt.

Unless you plan to illuminate the narrow recesses, I think it won’t matter what you put there - matched Taj Mahal, unmatched Taj Mahal, painted wall.

^^ What John Liu said.

No shelves, and something needs to be adjusted. The hood looks too narrow- it should touch the flanking cabinets. Currently it looks like you ordered the wrong size.

The range is 30", the hood is 42" and the space on each side is 6"

It’s a shame that the two flanking cabinets weren’t made 6” wider. A shelf 6” wide and 12” deep will be useless and just add visual clutter. I guess put the stone in there but it won’t matter that it’s bookmatched, it won’t show

poor prior planning.

I agree the csbinets should have been wider then no issue Is the island counter bookmatched and the perimeter one too ? Bet a cabinet sales person deisgned that kitchen with no base cabinets as drawers which BTW they all should be I think overthinking threbookmatching is kind of IMO not that important since the island is not centered either .

Ya you need to have the cabinetry closest to the hood remade-wider. They will then be close the rest of the run. Now it looks very odd. Adding shelves would only make it look odder.

You could have fillers made for the 6" crevices. Think of something useful to fit in there - mood lighting, down lighting, spice jar storage behind narrow doors, fire extinguisher, or my personal favorite, speakers for the music that you like to cook to.

Patricia, the island is centered, image is distorted.

Unlike everyone else on here :-), I would have skipped those narrow cabinets altogether and given myself more space on either side of the hood.

Regardless, just put slab there. You won't notice that it doesn't match. It's going to be a beautiful kitchen!

Thanks hard to tell in pics sometimes .

Consider changing hood (even if needing custom). Adding items won’t distract, only make it more awkward and a nuisance to keep clean.

When the kitchen is finished, no one - including you - is going to give any mind to the small space on either side between the hood and cabinets. Lots of people have it that way, it doesn't make or break your design. Leave it alone, put your slab up, and enjoy it!