Consolation, with an island and 25’ ceilings, the only way to do a hood would be a complete remodel with side venting! I use the BBQ burner for greasy nasty stuff 
Menloparkmom, when I looked at Viking 20 years ago, I remember Dacor being a popular alternate
Hey, to each his own. I agree with getting what you want for your own kitchen.
I’ve never seen quartz IRL that didn’t look horribly fake, but what coralbrook has put in her latest flip looks nice. I can’t stand waterfall countertops. They just look very cheap to me. But I also don’t like the highly decorated French Provicially-looking kind of kitchens you find in Southern Living either. 
Even as I type, I am broiling a piece of salmon, and the damned smoke alarm is going off for no reason because the damned wall oven is not under the inadequate hood. O, how I long to redo this kitchen!
My kitchen feels warm and cozy to me even with a big professional range. But I absolutely believe everyone should have the kitchen they like whether it’s French Provinicial, super modern, professional style or something in between. I’ve got a white quartz top in one of my bathrooms and I like it a lot there, but I’ve never seen one I wanted in my kitchen.
My only kitchen advice…don’t get laminate for anything. We had a friend who redid their kitchen and got a laminate counter top. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why!
I have a Wolf gas cooktop and wouldn’t change it for the world. We, however, live in a house that is already heated with natural gas and extending the line was ~$100.
The large propane tank in our weekend place is for the generator only & putting in a line would be too much. Induction is phenomenal, and while I prefer gas, I would never hesitate to put one in if the home didn’t support natural gas.
Induction is safe, heats quickly, and won’t burn you. Temp can go way down for a proper low simmer. That you can now find them with a downdraft is a big plus.
The weekend place came with Jennair and I haven’t had any issues with them.
Somemom, 25’ ceilings! Wow! That is a challenge. Sounds magnificent, though.
I would probably put my cooking area on an exterior wall in your situation, because I do tend to do a lot of heavy duty stinky cooking and I have suffered with inadequate ventilation for 20 years, so I am kind of obsessed with it. I often say I want a fan that will suck the fillings out of my teeth.
Induction does sound wonderful from what I hear, but I would probably have to replace some of my pots and pans, which are a motley collection ranging from Le Creuset and Williams Sonoma copper through cast iron to Brand X. I have been tempted to get a separate induction burner, just for stockpots and the like. At this point I would love just to be able to return to gas. Unfortunately, my kitchen is one of those over-designed, everything custom-sized arrangements that make it a huge challenge to replace anything but the dishwasher, which is standard in size and placement.
My kitchen advice is not to have every appliance built in to the point where you can’t replace anything without dismantling and adjusting cabinetry. (Wall ovens, fridge, cooktop…it’s a nightmare.)
“I would probably have to replace some of my pots and pans, which are a motley collection ranging from Le Creuset and Williams Sonoma copper through cast iron to Brand”
I guess I don’t get the benefits of induction cooking. Who would want to give up the different cooking properties and uses of different cookware? (plus being able to char peppers and such on your stovetop.)
For anyone contemplating new cabinets:
@Bromfield2 that induction cooktop is on my wish list should we decide to go ahead with a kitchen remodel. We have a Wolf dual fuel 48 in. range with six burners plus griddle. I’ll never own another one. It’s been replaced multiple times because the blue oven interior has cracked and flaked. There are lawsuits pending now over that problem.
@Consolation, I agree with you 100% about not building in everything so that appliance changes can’t be easily made. However, I don’t know how to achieve an unfitted kitchen that fits in an upper bracket house. In our case, unfortunately, there’s a fraction of an inch difference in the width of the Wolf range and other brands that means we’re stuck with Wolf until we remodel. I haven’t investigated yet, but the built-in SubZero refrigerator may present the same problem.
My ideal kitchen would have a 36" induction cooktop plus two side opening wall ovens each installed at about waist level. Counters would be a light color quartz so that dh could see and wipe up all of his spills.
@Silpat my Wolf is an older model. I don’t have the blue porcelain interior. Also, no dual fuel; I have natural gas. Don’t know if these account for performance differences. I read about the class action lawsuit–models from 2011 on are included.
I have had a few issues with my Subzero fridge, wine cooler, and ice maker, but nothimg major. I am redoing a kitchen in a vacation home guest house and I am going to buy the Miele induction top.
Silpat, have you seen the American Range “french door” ovens? They are also on my wish list. 
@Consolation, I like the look of that American Range oven but would prefer an electric convection oven instead. I had a bad experience with a gas oven years ago (lost some eyebrows and bangs) and while it’s not likely to happen again, I’d just as soon stick with electric ovens now.
@Bromfield2, I should look more closely at the Wolf lawsuits. Wolf replaced our range twice, then we ended up buying the third one after they decided not to warrant ours any longer and we found that nothing else would fit.
Indoor air quality is a concern, too. That’s another reason why I favor the induction cooktop and electric ovens over gas appliances. I’ve talked to countless contractors in our area and none knows anything about supplying make-up air for a high cfm vent hood. We currently rely on an ERV (which I had to explain to the HVAC contractor) but that’s not the best solution. I’ve read that it’s okay to use a vent hood the same width as the induction cooktop instead of one that’s 6" wider as usually recommended for other cooktops or ranges.
@Silpat, I would prefer an electric oven also. I have to confess that although I love a gas surface, gas ovens make me a tad nervous, although I have never actually experienced the kind of accident you did. But I love the french door style. A soup kitchen I used to cook at had a professional french door style oven, probably by American Range, since they only comparatively recently went into domestic products, and it was just SO much better than opening the huge door land leaning over it. Much easier to take big things in an out, much easier to look in on things to see how they are browning, etc. American Range is located in California, BTW, for those on the west coast.
Things keep changing, so maybe someone makes an electric version by now.
I have never worried about replacing the air from a high CPM vent, because I always like in old, comparatively leaky houses.
I really like the setup I have. It’s just a 30" Thermador so nothing really high end but it dual fuel with gas burners and an electric oven with a convection option.
The original appliances in my kitchen were Thermador and SubZero. The Thermador wall ovens had “full size” interiors, and the top one, which was self cleaning, was vented into the cooktop exhaust system. When they died, we could not afford to replace them with equivalent units, which would have cost over $3K, so I had to go with something smaller and really inadequate that will not accommodate my largest roasting pan. The electric cook top had 4 burners and a central grill/griddle. It was really great, but when it eventually needed parts to function they were really, really expensive. Like about $700 just for the protective things that go under the burners. (Partially due to the age, no doubt.) After a period of struggling along with two small burners and the grill, I was forced to replace it.
The appliance repair guy said that Thermador is known for very expensive parts, in general, although the quality of the units is good.
The subzero side by side fridge we had was awful–it was apparently NOT the kind with separate compressors for the freezer and regular areas–and when replaced it was a nightmare to find something that we could squeeze into the space by rearranging the cabinets to gain half an inch. I would never, ever install a counter depth fridge that fit tightly.
I am out of step with current kitchen trends.
“there’s a fraction of an inch difference in the width of the Wolf range and other brands that means we’re stuck with Wolf until we remodel.”
We solved the problem with our new DW being a sliver narrower by installing 2 solid wood “shims” on both sides. I stained them to match the cabinets. They blend into the cabinets as if they are part of them.
We had to opt this past February for the 5-burner 36-inch Jenn-Air gas cooktop, too, as we chose to keep the downdraft system installed in 1990 by previous owners when they put in a 4-burner gas Jenn-Air. We are happy with it, although Consumer Reports dings it for performance at a low-flame setting. Nice, durable and well-designed appliance compared to the 1990 Jenn-Air we had inherited. Happy choice for us … and we went with a gray quartz countertop and glad we did – looks like shinny slate and looks modern but fits our Arts & Crafts 1910 house as well.
I’ve just finished my kitchen. Just. Cooked the first meals this weekend. I have a solid surface electric cooktop – and it’s … interesting. Upgrade from the electric coil Jenn-Air from 1993. I am not interested in a propane stove – so electric is my only choice. I have really gorgeous granite countertops, “white chocolate” painted cabinets and an island in a cherry wood. The electricians were a dream to work with as they moved around all kinds of wiring and lighting to make it all work for me. And – I put a charging station in one of the drawers of the island. What an awesome thing! It’s not that showy, but it is incredibly useful.
Downdraft vents are useless. They pass code but don’t work. We have had Dacor and Jenn-Air - both useless. Another problem with the Dacor is that the motor to raise and lower it can go out- ours did - and it is not cheap to fix. If you are stuck with a downdraft vent, don’t be tempted to use that with a grill or griddle
We have a 48" Wolf range top with natural gas. It works very well but needs a major hood. So if you do anything, make sure you get decent ventilation.
For countertops and selling your house in the future - granite or quartz are easier sells than other materials. Marble stains, wood gets marred and need maintenance, soapstone is soft (and supernaturally heavy). We have stainless steel which I love. You can put hot pans on it. It is very easy to clean and does not stain.
If I were to build a smaller retirement home, I would limit the cooktop to 2 burners - I rarely use more. If I did need to use more I would add a plug-in induction burner ($60 at Amazon and they work great. I use them cooking outdoors). That would free up a lot of counter space which I usually need more than a 3rd or 4th burner. Of course, most people want something conventional so that might not be a good choice for re-selling.
“Downdraft vents are useless. They pass code but don’t work.”
that may be your opinion but we have had 2 in the last 30+ years- both from
Dacor- and they both work great.