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Range hoods, a.k.a. kitchen ventilation, have historically been a kitchen design appendage. They are either thrust into behemoth cabinetry, like a uni-brow on the kitchen, or perhaps they are stuck under wall cabinets where, depending on one’s vertical stature, they are either an eyesore or a literal headache.

Not no more. Range hoods can look good.  Imagine kitchen ventilation as a conversation piece.  Okay, a perfectly functional working conversation piece.  range hood collageUm yeah, these are range hoods.  No, I am totally not making this up.  Yes, they come in color.  Yes, they can look like a chic light fixture.  Yes, you can buy one!   These are all from Elica, an Italian company with distribution here in the USA.

However, not all the cool ones are here, yet.   You know how all that government red-tape tends to put a wrench in things…  these are available overseas.  Here is a snippet of kitchen ventilation options for the future.

Zaha Hadid
Foga

Range Hoods as Art

This range hood is sculpture.  Sculpture the equivalent of a building by starchitects Zaha Hadid or Frank Gehry. Beautiful.

Siris

This stunning newbie for over the kitchen island by Siris serves as a vent hood and cool light fixture. They do sell in this country, but not the cool stuff.  Should I say thank you Washington?

Neff Cooktop and BackSplash

How cool is this?  (We can talk another time about how the induction cooktop is the way of the future.) Easy to reach controls right on the side of this easy-to-clean instant light-up pseudo backsplash which holds the ventilation hood.  This one is by Neff, nope can’t have it.

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BlogTour Cologne

Hey, I hadn’t heard about these cool ventilation options either.  Unless I saw them with my own eyes on BlogTour while at the International Furnishings Fair in Cologne, Germany, I would have never known kitchen ventilation could be so stunning.

Shock and surprise, everything cool starts in Europe and trickles over here.  Okay, not everything but in terms of great interior appliances and other interior goodies the trends start across the pond.   But this is why we were sent there, to get the scoop and bring it back to you.  The sooner one knows what is available or in some cases what one can’t have, the more they ask for and want it.  Demand creates product … simple economics.

Don’t let your kitchen designer or retailer serve you up an ugly range hood, and you look at it every day so demand kitchen ventilation that looks good.  When it is your money, never settle. :)

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Thanks out to contributor Lisa Smith for sharing a bit of her experiences from BlogTour Cologne. Building Moxie editor, JB, participated in BlogTour Vegas a year later. ~jb