On Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:21:07 -0700, Joe Masters >
wrote:

>My wife and I are remodeling, and have a good kitchen design that puts
>a cooktop on a peninsula. The design of the room would really be
>hampered by a hood coming down from the ceiling. We can go with an
>electric or gas cooktop (we would prefer gas). We are looking at the
>two kenmore pop-up downdraft units, because we can get significant
>discounts at sears. For $350, we can get model #59940 , which goes up
>7". For $700, we can get model #59960 , which rises 9.5", and appears
>to have to some better features. We can easily vent down and outside,
>and we would be willing to make other modifications as well (would a
>vent or exhaust fan in the ceiling above the cooktop (9' high ceiling)
>help?)

In her previous kitchen, my sister had a similar design with her
cooktop on a peninsula, and she had a downdraft fan (made by GE) that
rose up about 7 inches. I remember this thing was nearly useless; she
hated it, but it was better than nothing. When she redid her kitchen,
she put her cooktop on a wall and now has an overhead hood vent, which
works FAR better. Could you swap your sink with your stove in this
kitchen design and use an overhead hood instead, for better results?
Sinks in peninsulas work well for lots of people.