Category: kitchen

Kitchen Hoods: Make it a Venti

Posted on by Ourso Designs in kitchen
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Hoods. You gotta’ have it, so you must love it! The kitchen hood does an important job. They should supply the proper ventilation to remove steam, smoke, grease, and more from the air to make your kitchen comfortable and clean. And of course, it has to look good while doing it.

According to Vent-A-Hood, there are three major components to an effective kitchen ventilation system:

a. Hood Canopy

Your holding capacity, overlap, and projection must be considered when sizing your canopy.
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  • Hoods do not pull or draw, they only collect. Holding Capacity is needed to collect cooking vapors so the blower units can exhaust them to the outside.
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  • Whenever possible, the hood should overlap the cooking equipment by 3″ on each side.
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  • The hood should project out to the front edge of the front burners in order to properly capture cooking vapors.

b. Blower System

While the canopy captures the vapors, the blower system moves them out of the house. You must consider what kind of cooking area you have to figure out what kind of blower system you need and the appropriate amount of CFMs you will need. According to Today’s Homeowner, the basic rule of thumb when determining the fan size, is that it should move a minimum of 100 CFM of air for every 12″ of stove width. So if you have a 30″ wide stove, you need a fan that moves at least 250 CFM of air. But, you will need more if it is a gas stove.
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c. Ducting

Never restrict the duct size. A single blower unit requires at least 6″ round duct or equivalent, and a dual blower needs at least 8″ round duct or equivalent. And it is important to make the duct run as short and as straight as possible with as few turns as possible. 
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Now when it comes to the style and design of the hood, you can either have it blend in with the cabinetry or you make it stand out! Here is a great selection of hood styles that are trending today.

a. Blend It With the Cabinets

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b. Make It Stand Alone

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c. Box It In

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d. Put Some Wood On It

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e. Make It All Wood

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f. Just Keep It Simple – Match Your Stainless

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g. Get Custom With The Metal

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5 Essential Kitchen Organization Tips

Posted on by Ourso Designs in kitchen

Keeping your kitchen clean is the first step in organization. When you’re working with a blank slate, defining and implementing an organization plan is much easier and more achievable. Use these tips to get started:


  1. Keep the items you use most often at eye level and within arms reach.
  2. Over the course of the month, keep track of disorganized situations and pileups. Does mail commonly find it’s way to the countertops? Is the pantry always messy? Define the problem areas and create solutions for them on a case-by-case basis.
  3. Use containers or baskets with labels whenever and wherever possible.
  4. Consider utilizing unused space: Hang a pot rack from the ceiling, attach magazine files to the underside of cabinet ceilings — to store spices and grocery bags — or fill a deep drawer with dividers.
  5. Centralize similar items together in cabinets. Assign one for baking equipment, another for mixing bowls, etc.