Hi, folks-- I'm seeking some inspiration here.

To me, any plans for what I'm looking for are pretty difficult to come by. Some of you also participated in my "restoration of a tin ceiling" thread, and I'd appreciate anyone's thoughts here.

I have built an island in the middle of my kitchen. There are two 6X6" doug fir posts holding up a 8X8" doug fir beam. The distance from outside post to outside post is 66". I used 2x6" studs in there, and the electrical outlets are up to code. The height of this wall, to the bottom of a walnut butcher block bartop that I assembled from planks is 4'. (It's a convenient drywall dimension and also suitable to get over the top of a standard range.) Consider this wall, capped with butcher block, to be the island's divider..

On one side of this island will be a table top-- eat-in kitchen style, except it will be fixed to the divider wall at counter height.

On the other side of the island is my stove. Gas range with one 15" cabinet on each side. 36" range + 30" cabinets= the same 66" from outside post to post.

On the eat-in/table side of this beam is my tin ceiling that I mentioned before; On the other side, over the range is my 1/2"x4" T&G doug fir v-groove (beadboard) ceiling that I built, in part, to salvage all possible tin for the rest of the kitchen.

Keeping in mind that what separates these sides and the surfaces at ceiling level is a simple beam, and not a full wall by any stretch... my challenge is to design & build a decent looking Island Range Hood to fit my 500 CFM Broan insert. I'm looking for some design that, preferably, won't break up too much of the line of sight. I know that I need to attach this somehow to either my joists or AT LEAST the 2x2" members that I strung for my T&G ceiling-- but for obvious reasons, I would prefer to attach it to the joists.

A 6" Duct to the outside is already lying in wait above the range -- not just over the dropped soffit/T&G ceiling, but all the way up in my joist bay, 67" above the range's grates. If I should be appx. 30-34" above my range, then my hood needs to be appx. 33-37" from joist bottom to the bottom of the hood. On the other hand, the distance between my the top of my range's grates & my dropped Fir ceiling is 58". I can either "keep building" the hood all the way up to the joists, or I can stop at the ceiling and merely "duct" the rest of the way; use stringers to attach both to each other.

The hood's electrical circuit is also an easy matter.

Absolutely any thoughts on assembly, design, and/or general ideas for this thing would be appreciated. Honestly, this particular facet of my kitchen remodel has been like having writer's block for me, and I'm really not sure why. I'm just drawing a blank on where to start and how to house this thing.

Many, many thanks.

Steve