New kitchen - help with decorative range cooker hood?

[SteveM46]

We are about to have our kitchen refitted, into a vaulted extension. We are going to have a range cooker at the end wall of the vault, and I have been trying to work out how to put up some sort of surround for an extractor over the range to mimic a sort of chimney breast. I’m not even sure what it’s called, but an example is pictured in the Benchmarx catalogue at the following link. We were thinking it could be either straight or tapered up into the vaulting.

http://www.benchmarxshowroom.co.uk/?pageId=8&h...

My question is: has anyone done this, or can give me some leads on how to go about it? Benchmarx can't help, and our builder says they can probably put something together, but I was rather hoping it might be possible to purchase something preformed in an appropriate size, like a fireplace surround that stands on the worktop over the top of the cooker, and ideally in oak to match the new worktops.

Any ideas anyone?

[FlossyThePig]

What is the budget for your kitchen?
Is it bespoke or made up from standard units?
How big is the kitchen?

When we had our kitchen redone I had a vague idea for a chimney breast over the Aga but the designer pointed out that the room wasn't really big enough and would dominate the room.

[SteveM46]

The room will be about 22ft long by 14ft wide, and the kitchen will fit into one long end, so be 14ft wide (range cooker in the middle - about 3ft wide) and then running about 8-9ft back into the room on either side in a 'U' shape. The vault over the range will be about 3.5m high I guess, (4m being the maximum external height I think), although I don't want a mock chimney breast to the full height particularly, just up to the height of wall cupboards probably.

I've got a nice rendered image from Benchmarx, but I can't upload it unfortunately, due to our nice internet monitoring software at work!

Budget is about £10k excluding fitting and the range cooker itself; we've gone for the Benchmarx Coleton kitchen with oak worktops, so not totally bespoke, and we're up to about £12k so far although we're working on a bigger discount from Benchmarx at the moment! I could probably stretch a bit further if we were really pleased with the outcome, but I was hoping to do it for max £10k really.

Anyway, I do think the kitchen is big enough, but I didn't want a standard stainless steel extractor, I wanted something a bit more stylish. It's not an old house (only 14 years) but is a modern country house in a classic style on the edge of a village etc. so I wanted something in keeping.

Any ideas?

Edited by SteveM46 on Monday 6th June 13:55

[russ_a]

we had this built, not put a shelf on it as yet.

[SteveM46]

russ_a said:

we had this built, not put a shelf on it as yet.

Aarrggghh!! We have ultra sensitive browser police on our network, and they won't let me open thumbsnap because it's 'streaming media' apparently!

Any chance you can upload the pic into this thread, or PM me with it?

Thanks!

[singlecoil]

If you do decide to have the fake chinmney breast type of thing over your range, make sure the sides don't come all the way forward, it's well irritating to the main user to have to lift a heavy pan away from the cooker and go backwards before they can head sideways towards the worktop/sink.

It's obviously a matter of personal taste whether to do the side supports at all, it is seen in many, many magazine advertisements.

[SteveM46]

singlecoil said:

If you do decide to have the fake chinmney breast type of thing over your range, make sure the sides don't come all the way forward, it's well irritating to the main user to have to lift a heavy pan away from the cooker and go backwards before they can head sideways towards the worktop/sink.

It's obviously a matter of personal taste whether to do the side supports at all, it is seen in many, many magazine advertisements.

Yes, absolutely agree with that. Our range will be flush to the wall, and in my minds eye I would like just two oak pillars, one each side of the range and maybe 3" or 4" square, flush with the wall and adjoining the worktop, and supporting the canopy over the range. So a bit like a fireplace standing on the worktop, with the 'mantlepiece' extended outwards so that the extractor is inside.

I do look at pictures in brochures and magazines and think that, while they look good in the picture, they are really impractical from a useability perspective. Another example is when you see lots of pans and utensils hanging over the cooker - this looks nice, but anything that didn't get used for a few days would need to be washed because it would be continuously gathering a film of gunk from the cooker. Bonkers! (IMHO - I'm sure someone else will tell me that this works perfectly and that grease isn't a problem...).

[russ_a]

Hi Steve, PM Sent.

One of the pillars is a concrete post holding up the extension of the roof. So rather than just have one pillar we had a fake chimeny breast made up. Saved a little bit on money too as the hidden extraction fan was much cheaper than a chimney one.

Have to agree it is a little awkward with big pans as the back of the range, but nothing you don't get used to.

Cheers

Russ

[SteveM46]

russ_a said:

Hi Steve, PM Sent.

One of the pillars is a concrete post holding up the extension of the roof. So rather than just have one pillar we had a fake chimeny breast made up. Saved a little bit on money too as the hidden extraction fan was much cheaper than a chimney one.

Have to agree it is a little awkward with big pans as the back of the range, but nothing you don't get used to.

Cheers

Russ

Hi Russ

Just picked this picture up, and it's definitely the sort of thing we're looking for, maybe slighter deeper than I had in mind. So the extractor is inside, with lights? Did the builders do this for you, and can you give me an indication of what it costed? I mean, are we in the £500 area, or £2000?

Your oven is really pretty by the way! The tiling behind is very unobtrusive, and I like how you've finished the work surfaces with the low wooden board [skirting? baton? splashback? I'm not sure what it's called!] at the back, and then no tiling.

Will you put something decorative on the 'chimney breast'?

Really nice job, thanks for showing me.

Steve

[singlecoil]

SteveM46 said:

I like how you've finished the work surfaces with the low wooden board [skirting? baton? splashback? I'm not sure what it's called!] at the back, and then no tiling.

Upstand.


It's by far the classiest way. Ideally use a wall paint that can tolerate the odd splash or two (Dulux Luxurious Silk is ideal).

[russ_a]

Hi Steve,

It probably cost about £200 all in. The extractor fan is embedded in the top with built in lights. The breast is about 30cm wide, any less and we couldn't find an extraction fan to fit.

Cheers

Russ

[SteveM46]

Thanks Russ, that gives us a good idea.

And now I know that what I want around the back of the worktops is an upstand!