Traditional Decor , Fantastic Vent Hoods

Vent hoods are vital with today's high-powered ranges and cooktops, pulling hot air and odors out of your kitchen. They also can play a major style role, serving as a room's stunning focal point or defining a cooking zone.

Basically a ventilation system uses a powerful fan to deliver hot air, moisture, odors, and carbon monoxide to the outdoors via a duct, making your kitchen a safer and more pleasant place to be. Most systems have removable filters that catch grease and particles that could build up in a duct system and lead to fires. A hood should be at least the same width as your cooking surface, according to the Home Ventilating Institute, and mounted 18 to 30 inches above the burners.

Now that you know practical fan basics, take a look at some custom and semicustom hood designs that are simply fantastic.

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Traditional Decor , Green design can be beautiful

Traditional Decor Green design can be beautiful, and designers Vasi Ypsilanti and Margreet Cevasco proved the point when they chose earth-friendly products for a showhouse in Long Island, New York. "You don't have to compromise on quality and good design because a product is green," Vasi says. Even if only a handful of products in a building project are from sustainable sources that's a start, she adds. "If 70 percent of the products are green, what a difference that makes in how you live and in what manufacturers produce." Vasi and Margreet designed the kitchen, a wine room, and a breakfast room in a designer showhouse at Caumsett State Historic Park in Long Island.

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