Software
Houzz Logo Print
webuser_671476247

upper cabinets flanking oven hood

5 months ago
last modified: 5 months ago

In a new design, if you have room for a double cabinet on either side of a hood, would you install double cabinets where the doors adjacent to the hood would obviously open towards the hood, or two side by side single cabinets on either side of the hood, with all doors opening away from the hood, and obviously the downside of that division down the middle of the cabinets? Comments welcomed as well!

Double cabinets
Single cabinets

Comments (22)

  • PRO
    5 months ago
    last modified: 5 months ago

    I prefer no cabinets on the hood wall but honestly a double cabinet that opens in the middle will work just fine and be the most logical too for function

  • 5 months ago

    Yes, no, maybe!

    It really depends on the actual design and layout of that particular kitchen.

  • 5 months ago
    last modified: 5 months ago

    I would look at recommended clearance distances either side of the hood, between the surrounding cabinets and the hood. This might solve your issue to some degree. That said, symmetry is always best---meaning, a double cabinet that opens in the middle will look best.

  • 5 months ago
    last modified: 5 months ago

    Scenario 1: It would be a shame to lose the extra storage of a double cupboard and also wonder how the small remaining space will look if it’s at the end of the wall.

    Scenario 2: If possible, have a wide custom cabinet made.


    Scenario 3: If your concern are the doors banging, maybe consider a narrower hood.


  • PRO
    5 months ago
    last modified: 5 months ago

    No double doors. Single doors opening away from the hood, not towards. And NEGATIVE SPACE between the cabinets and hood. Not smushed up against it.

  • 5 months ago

    We have double on both sides and it works great. I also like how it looks.

  • 5 months ago

    Most upper cabinets today do not have a stile running down the middle of double cabinets (unless you are looking at really wide cabinets). I have double uppers, 33" wide, with no center stile.

  • 5 months ago

    We have double doors on each side of the hood, and it's fine. It comes down to proportions. You want cabinets that are wide enough to hold a reasonable amount but narrow enough that the door swing isn't a major block. Ours are 24" and it's perfect. Easy to open and see around the door without really leaving the cooktop area, wide enough that I can fit 2 lazy suzans on each shelf so I can find every ingredient quickly.

  • 5 months ago

    Here's a visual. Please ignore the floor of the right upper cabinet which isn't drawn in properly. So this would be one huge 30" door opening away from the hood (I don't honestly even know if that's possible. The counter on the left is where the sink is out further along that window, the counter on the right is a peninsula. It's a small kitchen.



    And then here are two options. On the left would be both doors opening away from the hood, with the total space divided into two side-by-side cabinets. On the right is the option with the doors opening away from the midline (the door closer to the hood opening towards the hood), and the interior space being one large undivided space.


  • 5 months ago

    And thank you all so far for all the helpful responses!

  • 5 months ago

    There are my 36” cabinets. Two doors.

  • 5 months ago

    Cool. How much space between your hood and the doors?

  • 5 months ago

    6” per side

  • 5 months ago

    We went with single cabinets.


  • 5 months ago

    Hmmm, this is a tricky one. Split doors in the corner plus opening to the hood will be bad. I have a 22" cabinet with split doors in the corner. When they were first installed, it was impossible to see around the "outside" door (the one closer to the counter edge) to get into the cabinet. I solved that by replacing the 110-degree hinges with 170-degree hinges. But you won't be able to do that, because your hood will block the door. You will find that cabinet very difficult to access.

    A 30" wide door in the corner would solve this, but I think you would hate a door that wide on the right side of your hood. I would solve this by giving up on perfect symmetry. Put a 15" wide open shelf cabinet in the corner, then a 15" cabinet between the corner and the range, door opening away from the hood, then a 30" cabinet with split doors on the right side of the hood.

  • 5 months ago
    last modified: 5 months ago

    I was limited in space (on sides and to the ceiling) so this is what I did. (I don't like the SS chimney look. I got a vent inset and had the cab guys make the hood to fit. I added the walnut trim to match my window trim and other shelving)

    are you deadset on the chimney vent?

    The doors do not hit. they have things to keep them from opening too far.




    here's some other examples





  • 5 months ago

    Beth H's kitchen is the perfect example showing that you don't have to have perfect symmetry on either side of a hood/range. Function of the cabinets should come before visual symmetry.

  • 5 months ago

    Echoing Chispa and Beth, symmetry is whatever. While our two cabinets beside the hood are symmetrical in our cabinet run we have more uppers on one side. I remember worrying about this but it functions way better as is.

  • 5 months ago

    Depends upon what will work best in your specific kitchen. If you will be able to stand /reach the cabinets, then opening them in the middle /allowing total access to the cabinet makes sense. On the other hand, if it's a small kitchen and one of those cabinets is crammed into a corner, it might make more sense to hinge both doors towards the range; otherwise, you might have a hard time reaching into that cabinet.

  • 5 months ago

    Same here, WestCoast. I have an equal sized 17.75" cabinet on either side of the hood and the rest of the cabinets on either side of those are quite different in size. I have a good sized kitchen and could have done anything I wanted. This works best for storage and what I want to store in the cabinets. You are never looking from this far back when you are actually standing in the kitchen and this is not the main view from the rest of the house. The main view is the sink wall with a 10 ft wide and 5 ft tall triple window.


    Like I said, it really depends on the actual design and layout of that particular kitchen.

    Symmetry should not be the main goal of kitchen design.

  • 5 months ago

    Not sure if I disagree with Mrs. Pete, or if I'm not understanding her correctly. The corner cabinet needs to open away from the range. The hood projects out further than the cabinets. That means this door, if it opens towards the range, will open somewhere between 90 and 110 degrees. It will stick nearly straight out over the countertop, screening off the cabinet from easy access. You can see it in OP's rendering. The first picture, where the door opens towards the window--just reverse it and imagine it projecting out on the hood side of the cabinet opening. It's really important that corner cabinet doors either open away from the corner, or can open nearly 180 degrees.

  • 5 months ago

    Our range is near a corner (small L-shaped kitchen with an island). As you see, we have double cabinets to the left, a single cab to the right, and an easy-reach in the corner. The single cabinet opens away from the hood.

    The cabinet to the right contains cooking oils and spices. The easy-reach has baking supplies and measuring cups. The cabinet to the left of the range has plates and storage containers - things that we don't typically use when we are using the range; the door direction makes sense in terms of taking dishes out, and unloading the DW.


    Bottom line: the best answer for the OP depends entirely on what will be stored in each cabinet.