Designer Tips for Range Hoods, Appliances and Lighting

Before we get started on the details, I have one overall bit of advice: select finishes that you love, regardless of what is trending. Recently, I bumped into an old client and asked if she still loved her chartreuse kitchen seven years later. She does, and chartreuse is still her favorite color. Remember that trends come and go, and select the finishes that make you happy. Now on to design tips for your kitchen remodel.

Range Hood Strategies

1. Use door restrictors. Due to the projection of the hood, the doors on any directly adjacent wall cabinets will hit the hood when opened. To avoid dinging your beautiful cabinet doors, you have two options. You can add a restrictor to the door closest to the hood, keeping the door from opening past 90 degrees. Or you can use a door that opens away from the hood.

2. Consider a ceiling hood. In the past, if you had a cooktop in your island, your only choice for venting, other than a downdraft, was a hood placed over the island. It then became a focal point, often obscuring sightlines. These days, I specify ceiling hoods to alleviate this issue.

Appliance Placement

Anyone can design a beautiful kitchen, but it should also function well. Pay attention to placement of your appliances.

4. Get your microwave height right. Microwaves are often placed too high, and warming drawers too low. A maximum of 48 inches above the floor is an ideal height for a microwave for most people — unless you’re LeBron James!

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Lighting Solutions

6. Uplighting. Not all cabinetry goes to the ceiling. In the past, it was common to add a soffit to close the gap. But not everyone likes the look of a soffit. Uplighting creates a source of ambient lighting when the space above the cabinetry is left open. One caveat: The light reflects best off the ceiling when there’s a minimum space of 12 inches; otherwise it will create a halo effect above the cabinets.

7. Pendant height. I wish I could tell you the ideal height for island pendants, but it doesn’t exist. Consider many factors, from the pendant itself to the sightline height of the kitchen’s users. In general, pendants should be 30 to 40 inches above the island countertop. Why measure from the top of the island’s counter instead of from the ceiling? Because ceiling heights differ.

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Extra Details That Count

8. Bar stools. There are many bar stool styles to choose from, but if you plan on eating meals at the island, consider a stool with a back. The back support will let you enjoy sitting there longer. A bonus would be if the stool swivels.

Pot filler with a spout taller than the water source

8. Pot fillers. My old pot filler rule was this: If I put it in, you must promise to use it. But at what height should it be placed? I recommend measuring your tallest pot and then adding an inch or two. And before your contractor plumbs the waterline, be sure to have the pot filler on-site.