[Originally published as Design Tip #4 in our weekly newsletter]

Range hoods with chimneys are very popular in kitchens right now. More and more people consider themselves amateur chefs or “foodies” and they like professional cooking equipment. Ventilation for your stove is sometimes required by code — but how it looks is up to you!

If you plan to install a range hood with a chimney in your kitchen renovation, here’s something to look out for. Range hood chimneys often only extend to an 8′-0″ ceiling height. If your ceiling is taller than that, the chimney will stop short. Even if your range isn’t venting straight out the ceiling, it looks odd and careless to stop the chimney halfway up:

The proper thing to do is to extend the chimney to the ceiling. Some hood manufacturers sell chimney extensions. These help, but often leave a visible seam where the chimney “telescopes” up to ceiling height. Another option is to have a local metal manufacturer create a custom chimney for your hood. There is a company here in Knoxville that offers this service. Their main business is metal counter tops, and they do chimney extensions in addition. Your end result should look like this:

Of course, since range hoods are so popular now, you’ve got hundreds of other options including built-in hoods that mount below cabinets, cabinets that contain fully concealed hoods, microwaves that double as hoods, and apron hoods for very large applications. Or you can buy a downdraft stove and skip the hood altogether.

But if you’re going with a chimney hood, take it all the way up!