Island Hood

When designing or redesigning your kitchen, many people decide to put islands in. A lot of people spend time on the design of the island itself, without giving much thought to the island hood. When you think about it, though, the hood part of the island is very noticeable, and making sure that it looks good can go a long way in helping the overall look of your kitchen. The hood doesn’t necessarily come with the island when you buy one, either. Even if it does, that doesn’t mean that you’re stuck with the one that comes with the set; many stores are happy to customize for you.

The first thing that you want to do when you have decided that it’s time to get an island hood is figure out what would look best with your kitchen decor. Kitchens can be decorated in many ways; from old country style to modern contemporary, with a lot of styles in between. After you’ve decided what style of kitchen that you have, then you want to look for the hood that fits in with that scheme. A tilted, tinted tempered glass hood can go beautifully above a modern contemporary island, complementing the chic look and pleasing the eye with blended lines. The round canopy goes with the comforting look of a country kitchen.

Signature Hardware sells island hoods from the Whittington collection, such as the simple but elegant pyramid-shaped stainless steel hood. This hood contains halogen lights within the frosted glass bottom, so the island top stove can be illuminated while you’re cooking. This hood goes well in a kitchen with a “cozy” decor, and sells for only about $550. At Lowes, you can find an Electrolux hood with a glass bottom that gently slopes down on either side; a perfect accent to the modern contemporary kitchen. This one retails for about $1300.

You might think that buying something like an island hood could only be done by shopping at nearby stores, but the truth is that you can easily order them online. In fact, shopping online for your hood can actually be easier, and you can see more of a variety all in one place. For example, Kitchensource.com sells a Windster contemporary stainless steel and tempered glass island range hood for between about $1300 and $1350, depending on the size needed, and there is no charge for shipping. Ventingdirect.com offers a country-style wood-trimmed hood made by Custom Wood Hoods for only about $750, and you can also get this with free shipping.