Help with kitchen planning … ventilation and much more - excerpts from Ideas for Great Kitchens

One of the most important but frequently overlooked aspects of kitchen design is ventilation. In the last few years, downdraft systems have become more efficient, and custom hoods or surrounds for updraft systems have become design elements in their own right. Venting cooking odors, grease, and smoke quietly, efficiently, and attractively is just one of many practical tasks you'll get help with from a new Sunset book.

Ideas for Great Kitchens (Sunset Publishing Corporation, Menlo Park, Calif. 94025, 1991; $8.95) helps you organize the space, define a style, and select components that will make the space handsome, efficient, and easy to care for. Details on ventilation systems are part of the book's guide to components. This section also examines choices among cabinets, sinks and fittings, ranges, cooktops, ovens, refrigerators, dishwashers, and trash compactors as well as countertops, flooring, wall treatments, ceilings, and light fixtures.

A planning primer with questionnaire and exercises guides you through the design process. To help visualize your layout options, you can photocopy scaled outlines of standard cabinets and appliances, then cut them out and arrange them on a scaled drawing of your floor plan. The book also devotes 37 pages to 18 kitchens that present a wide range of styles and a variety of floor plans. El