Hello Sarahnorthey, I too would make a feature from the chimney breast.. If not a free standing range then perhaps shelving could be added as a feature.. Although the range oven is the first option in most cases.. It lends itself beautifully to the space and also you could have concealed extraction with this arrangement using the chimney. It's my preferred usage. If though you wish to have an island with a cooking element, perhaps consider a gas hob with the down draft extractor as Lauren has illustrated with her photo. I do prefer gas but I make a point of using my oven more as it's dual fuel range. Islands could also house the sink and so....... It's a good idea to really think about how you use the space and the orientation you want the focus to be.. The chimney breast is the obvious focal point hence why the idea generally is to keep this... When once was a fire and a cooking pot- a large range or Aga can very beautifully present the theme of the kitchen. I love modern too but this (Howdens image) to me doesn't suggest modern but rather commercial. Ideally you need someone who thinks outside the box and also someone who really understands: A. how you'll use the space and B, what you want out of it... Even off the peg can be somewhat bespoke depending on how you arrange it... but also consider materials and the big items as this too will give you an idea of how to plan the kitchen... There is one more idea for the chimney breast and that is a log burner.... If you had the room this could be something to consider.. It would then mean you have to situate the cooking element somewhere else but it is another idea for the chimney breast use : )) Beautiful traditional yet modern... A 2 minute mood board I made for another dilemma a while back.. It has elements of the traditional with modern sleeker cabinetry fronts... It suggests the layers that go into a kitchen which I feel makes it interesting.. it includes smaller elements like accessories and finishes which are all important for the scheme as a whole..

Latest advice appreciated on the best big induction downdraught hobs please (Berbel, Bora, Gaggenau, Siemens, Bosch or others). We want best steam and fat clearance rates, quietest motors, easy-clean (unsure re self-clean, ducted or recirulated air). Berbel's FaceBook page features lots of customer complaints regarding after-sales service and spare parts, but some seem due to Covid delays which we think is unavoidable; another mentions guests sitting "in a haze" from the recirculated air and obviously nobody wants that! We need to order very soon but definitely don't want ceiling extraction. Many thanks for prompt replies!

We ummed & ahhhed over this a few months ago - especially after reading all the opposing views in various Houzz discussions. I was desperate to get rid of our horrid noisy fan hanging down above a peninsula, so didn’t want to end up replacing it with something similar! I went in to the kitchen designer adamant the hob would be around the edge of the kitchen... then I saw the Neff induction hob with the integrated down-draft extractor in action at the showroom! (I’m such a sucker!) So after some cheeky negotiations (husband and kitchen company!) we are going with that. I figured a fan much closer to source can’t be a bad thing, the noise is far less ‘in your face’ as it’s not at height, the induction hob blends into the flat worktop plus you can chuck all the filter parts in the dishwasher - winner. I was mindful of some of the safety advice given on here re splashes whilst cooking if people are sat at the island; so it’s wide enough that you are very much away from the hob if you’re directly opposite the cook. But the main thing we did was offset the hob at one end of the island and are having the seating around the opposite corner at the other end. Hope that helps! :-)

What's with all the toast burning? We have a timer on the toaster so it pops up when toasted, not burnt. New toasters needed all round? :) We only have a recirculating extractor in our current kitchen. I open the windows a lot, but it isn't sufficient - you can still smell last night's dinner sometimes, and I'm forever cleaning dusty grease off the open shelves and light fittings. I do a lot of wok cooking which may be to blame. In our new kitchen we're having a Bora downdraft extractor - it's an extremely expensive solution but important to me as the kitchen will be open plan to the rest of the house, no door. I'm currently in discussions with the kitchen company and Bora about the ducting being fed through the cupboard behind, rather than the pan drawers under the hob. Seems like it is possible and I'm hoping that will work as the pan drawers are more useful to me. However we did also debate just going for a wall-mounted small extractor. I think if you do that it's important to invest in a good one, and the success of it will depend on how close it is to the hob itself.