The Best Ideas for Kitchen Extractor Styles from Our Tours
The choice of cooker hoods and extractor fans keeps growing. Which type is best for your space?
Planning a big kitchen redesign or extension and not sure which extractor to choose? So much depends on where your hob is, what type of cooker you’ll have, the overall style of your kitchen and more. Browse these beautiful schemes, all of which have appeared in one of our Houzz Tours, so that when you sit down with your kitchen designer, you’ll have an idea of the choices available for extraction – which are plentiful.
Take it down and out
Again, there’s no obvious cooker hood in this kitchen. Look closely, though, and you’ll spot something a little unusual next to the kettle.
The discreet round gadget is a hob extractor. The architect of the space had originally planned a range cooker in the island, but because there’s a steel in the ceiling above it, it would have been tricky to fit an extractor fan.
“It meant there was an awkward positioning of where the range cooker could be,” says Hannah Morris of Ian Dunn Woodwork & Design, who designed the kitchen.
Find kitchen designers and fitters in your area.
Again, there’s no obvious cooker hood in this kitchen. Look closely, though, and you’ll spot something a little unusual next to the kettle.
The discreet round gadget is a hob extractor. The architect of the space had originally planned a range cooker in the island, but because there’s a steel in the ceiling above it, it would have been tricky to fit an extractor fan.
“It meant there was an awkward positioning of where the range cooker could be,” says Hannah Morris of Ian Dunn Woodwork & Design, who designed the kitchen.
Find kitchen designers and fitters in your area.
Ingeniously, fumes are ducted under the floor to the outside, which keeps the view across the room clear for a spacious feel.
Check out the rest of this stunning, airy kitchen.
Check out the rest of this stunning, airy kitchen.
Pop out – and in again
Another discreet solution for extraction close to the hob is a downdraft extractor.
The design seen here sits flush with the worktop, but can slide up when the ceramic glass hob is in use. It’s a smart solution for hobs on islands, where there’s no exterior wall on which to mount a cooker hood, and works especially well in a contemporary space.
“The great thing about using a downdraft extractor is that there isn’t anything hanging down from the ceiling, so there’s an unobstructed view out to the garden,” says designer Charlie Flemons of Sustainable Kitchens.
The rest of this kitchen in a 1930s house features gorgeous Crittall windows – take a look.
Another discreet solution for extraction close to the hob is a downdraft extractor.
The design seen here sits flush with the worktop, but can slide up when the ceramic glass hob is in use. It’s a smart solution for hobs on islands, where there’s no exterior wall on which to mount a cooker hood, and works especially well in a contemporary space.
“The great thing about using a downdraft extractor is that there isn’t anything hanging down from the ceiling, so there’s an unobstructed view out to the garden,” says designer Charlie Flemons of Sustainable Kitchens.
The rest of this kitchen in a 1930s house features gorgeous Crittall windows – take a look.
Fit it flush
This elegant kitchen is all about clean-lined minimalism. It makes sense, then, that nothing as prominent as a bulky extractor should get in the way. As such, the designer chose this plastered-in design – but as is often the case with a beautiful finish, there was a lot of work to get it looking so good.
“The extractor was a bit of a nightmare, with instructions only in Italian and the installation conundrum it provided for the builder’s team [the ducting needed to go between the joists to allow access to the motor],” says designer Hianta Cassam Chenai of HCC Interiors. “They dealt with it excellently, however, and it was very much worth the effort in the end, as it’s truly seamless and works very well, too.”
See more of this kitchen, designed to be sensitive to the Georgian home it’s in.
This elegant kitchen is all about clean-lined minimalism. It makes sense, then, that nothing as prominent as a bulky extractor should get in the way. As such, the designer chose this plastered-in design – but as is often the case with a beautiful finish, there was a lot of work to get it looking so good.
“The extractor was a bit of a nightmare, with instructions only in Italian and the installation conundrum it provided for the builder’s team [the ducting needed to go between the joists to allow access to the motor],” says designer Hianta Cassam Chenai of HCC Interiors. “They dealt with it excellently, however, and it was very much worth the effort in the end, as it’s truly seamless and works very well, too.”
See more of this kitchen, designed to be sensitive to the Georgian home it’s in.
Hide in a chimney
With a feature range cooker positioned against a wall, there are numerous options for a cooker hood.
In this grand, period kitchen, the whole area was turned into a focal point by designer Peter Humphrey of Humphrey Munson, who designed and made a decorative chimney in which to house the fan discreetly.
For a similar idea – perhaps in a kitchen with smaller proportions – you could house an extractor within the chimney breast to let the bare bones of the building shine, perhaps fitting just a simple shelf above the opening.
Explore the rest of this kitchen extension in a new-build home.
With a feature range cooker positioned against a wall, there are numerous options for a cooker hood.
In this grand, period kitchen, the whole area was turned into a focal point by designer Peter Humphrey of Humphrey Munson, who designed and made a decorative chimney in which to house the fan discreetly.
For a similar idea – perhaps in a kitchen with smaller proportions – you could house an extractor within the chimney breast to let the bare bones of the building shine, perhaps fitting just a simple shelf above the opening.
Explore the rest of this kitchen extension in a new-build home.
Expose ducting
For ducted-out extractors (which suck fumes out of the building entirely), the pipework itself is usually hidden in a wall or ceiling. In this instance, the designer, John Norman of Mustard Architects, has made a feature of it. “We used the owners’ existing Rangemaster cooker and extractor fan in the scheme,” he says.
The kitchen is in a Victorian house and the room’s original beams have been exposed and painted white. This sets the scene for a little more industrial style, which is partly why the ducting works so well.
See more of this unusual, stylish space.
For ducted-out extractors (which suck fumes out of the building entirely), the pipework itself is usually hidden in a wall or ceiling. In this instance, the designer, John Norman of Mustard Architects, has made a feature of it. “We used the owners’ existing Rangemaster cooker and extractor fan in the scheme,” he says.
The kitchen is in a Victorian house and the room’s original beams have been exposed and painted white. This sets the scene for a little more industrial style, which is partly why the ducting works so well.
See more of this unusual, stylish space.
Box in
Extractors can be positioned within cupboards, chimney breasts – or just a simple wooden box, as seen here. In fact, there are options to create a housing that fits with almost any style of kitchen or period of home.
The designer here, Sam Shaw of Sustainable Kitchens, used Douglas fir (as well as complementary plywood) for various elements in this light, contemporary kitchen – including the housing for the fan.
At the top of the box is a vent. Because this house was designed to be virtually environmentally passive, the air isn’t vented directly out of the side of the building. Instead, it’s sucked upwards and into a heat exchanger above the ceiling, which recycles warm air and expels the cold, damp air.
Tour more of this cleverly designed, open-plan space in a Cotswolds new-build.
Extractors can be positioned within cupboards, chimney breasts – or just a simple wooden box, as seen here. In fact, there are options to create a housing that fits with almost any style of kitchen or period of home.
The designer here, Sam Shaw of Sustainable Kitchens, used Douglas fir (as well as complementary plywood) for various elements in this light, contemporary kitchen – including the housing for the fan.
At the top of the box is a vent. Because this house was designed to be virtually environmentally passive, the air isn’t vented directly out of the side of the building. Instead, it’s sucked upwards and into a heat exchanger above the ceiling, which recycles warm air and expels the cold, damp air.
Tour more of this cleverly designed, open-plan space in a Cotswolds new-build.
Let it shine
That being said, there is, of course, no need to disguise your extractor if you choose the right design for the look of your kitchen – which is what Martins Camisuli Architects did here. The slimline, boxy, stainless-steel design complements the brick slip-covered wall for a small industrial edge.
See the dramatically different photos of this kitchen before the architects reinvented it.
That being said, there is, of course, no need to disguise your extractor if you choose the right design for the look of your kitchen – which is what Martins Camisuli Architects did here. The slimline, boxy, stainless-steel design complements the brick slip-covered wall for a small industrial edge.
See the dramatically different photos of this kitchen before the architects reinvented it.
Hang it up
The high ceiling in this double-height kitchen, part of an extension to a Victorian house, is a real feature. It did, however, pose the odd interior design conundrum.
The high ceiling in this double-height kitchen, part of an extension to a Victorian house, is a real feature. It did, however, pose the odd interior design conundrum.
“Fitting an extractor over the induction hob was a challenge due to the height of the ceiling,” says designer Nikki Davis of Kitchen Architecture. “So we had it made specially. It blends in with the pendant lights alongside it.”
See more of this striking space.
Tell us…
What kind of extractor do you have and why? Post your thoughts and photos in the Comments section.
See more of this striking space.
Tell us…
What kind of extractor do you have and why? Post your thoughts and photos in the Comments section.
You might be forgiven for blinking and missing the cooker hood in this kitchen, which has a traditional Aga (on the right), as well as a secondary, integrated hob (just seen on the left-hand unit).
What looks like a glittering chandelier hanging above the integrated hob is, in fact, a recirculating extractor. This sort of cooker hood is one option for spaces where ducting out (physically feeding a large extraction pipe to the exterior of the home) could be tricky.
These hoods usually have grease and charcoal filters through which air containing cooking smells is pushed, before being recirculated back into the room.
“It’s a lovely piece, and proves that practical appliances can be beautiful as well,” says the designer of this space, Fiona Andrews.
See the rest of this kitchen.