Kitchen Range Hoods: Meeting the Needs of the Modern Kitchen

The Hood Renaissance The customized and design-driven range hoods available to homeowners today are transforming the hood from kitchen workhorse to work of art. “There are so many more options when you use [the hood] as a focal point,” says Chris Plummer, founder of Metallo Arts, designers and manufacturers of customized range hoods. In addition to their affordable “Production Series” line of Cezanne and Botticelli-inspired range hoods, Metallo Arts offers a “Rangehood Builder” Metallo Arts’ ’57 Chevy Bel Air hood on display at the 2008 Kitchen/Bath Industry Show and Conference. service through their Web site which allows potential clients to design their own range hood. Through the Rangehood Builder, clients can choose frame styles, dimension options, metal patterns, lip treatment, upgrades and base color and finish options. When hired to design and build a customized hood for a client, Plummer—who has fabricated everything from a hood resembling an Andy Warhol Campbell’s Soup Can to a head-turning ’57 Chevy Bel Air hood—is driven by the desire to give consumers real choices. “We want to create something more customer-oriented,” says Plummer. To fulfill that goal, Plummer and his team encourage clients to send photos of their home or cut-outs from magazines that pique their interest. Existing artwork in the home is also taken into consideration, all to help drive the design and concept of the hood. For some clients, Plummer will visit the home itself and, in some cases, even do the installation. Like Metallo Arts, Zephyr’s line of range hoods also follows an aesthetics-driven approach. Hiring world-class designers like Robert Brunner (formerly of Apple) and Fu-Tung Cheng, Zephyr’s Arc and Cheng lines of hoods boast style-first design concepts that elevate the relationship between homeowner and appliance beyond the utilitarian. “We asked ‘what more can a range hood do?’ and ‘what more can a range hood be?’ ” says Lainez. Zephyr’s “Tilt” range hood, in their Arc line of products, answers both questions, bringing a revolutionary ventilation method and a contemporary, panelized look to the range hood. Employing a “perimeter aspiration” system, the Tilt’s ventilating design is based around basic principals of thermodynamics. “We are able to speed up the flow of air and pull a lot more air through,” says Lainez. The six sleek, black panels recall the simple yet elegant design of the iPod or the iPhone, an appearance that Lainez suggests was inspired partly by the “constellation of consumer electronics in the home.” Whether it’s a larger-than-life, hand-hammered hood resembling a classic Italian piece of art or an eye-catching, futuristic design made to mirror the LCDs and touchscreens that populate the home, the aesthetics of the modern and customized hood give homeowners the chance to update a kitchen look without going whole-hog on a renovation. Metallo Arts’ Production Series hoods, for example, fall into the $3,200 to $3,600 price point range. To some, this may seem pricey for a hood if budgeting for an entire kitchen renovation, however, when purchased alone as a one-piece upgrade for the room it is an attractive, affordable option for homeowners—especially those who might not have the equity to do a full renovation, replace every appliance or update all the cabinets. “With a great range hood, no one will even notice the cabinetry,” says Plummer.

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