For years in kitchen design, the cooker hood was the appliance that everyone tried to hide. They were deemed as the unsightly element of a kitchen. Today, the best luxurious kitchens are doing the exact opposite. The hood has been promoted from the background fixture to an architectural feature, around which the design centres.
There has been a rise in bespoke canopies, and well-designed ones bring structure to the wall above the hob and around it, creating a deliberate focal point in a room that often pulls the eye in so many different directions. It is now part of the design, reading as joinery, architecture and artwork in a single gesture.
The five projects below each prove the point differently. They range in scale, style and material, but they share one thing: remove the canopy, and the kitchen loses its centre.
Looking across all five projects, the same principles keep reappearing. The canopy is always specified at the right scale for the room, never shrunk to fit a standard appliance or oversized to fill an awkward wall. The finish is always chosen with the extraction in mind, specified to do its job.
Above all, treat the canopy as an opportunity rather than an obligation, and the rest of the kitchen has something worth gathering around.
If you’re planning a new kitchen and want the cooker hood to be a defining feature rather than an afterthought, we’d love to chat. A bespoke canopy is one of the most rewarding details, and every project above started with a single conversation about what the room could be. Every kitchen is handmade in our Hertfordshire workshop and installed across Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Bedfordshire, London and the wider Home Counties. Contact us today or book an appointment at our Hitchin showroom for more information.
The Short Answer
A bespoke cooker hood canopy turns the extractor from something to hide into the architectural centrepiece of the kitchen, a framed focal point above the hob that reads as joinery, architecture and artwork at once. The five Planet Furniture projects below show the range: a curved hand-painted canopy in Letchworth, a suspended liquid-metal sculpture in St Albans, a Dolce and Gabbana chimney hood in Bedfordshire, and handcrafted timber mantles in a Tempsford barn and the Old Mill at Blunham. In each, the canopy is scaled to the room and the finish chosen with the extraction in mind, so it performs as well as it presents.1. The Letchworth Kitchen: A Curved Canopy in Slaked Lime Dark
Our first project sets the tone with a quiet kind of confidence. This Letchworth kitchen strikes a careful balance between minimalist design, handcrafted detail and timeless British elegance, and the canopy is no exception. It’s a defining feature that brings structure and presence to the space. The curved frontage is the real focal point, softening the hob wall and drawing the eye in a single sweeping line. Behind that gentle curve sits a Westin Prime extractor, ensuring the piece works as hard as it looks. Hand-painted in Little Greene’s Slaked Lime Dark, the canopy takes on a muted, chalky depth that shifts subtly with the light through the day. What makes this canopy work on so many levels is the restraint of its proportions. Rather than shouting for attention, it earns through the precision of the curve and the richness of the hand-applied finish. That quiet assurance sets up the perfect contrast for our next project, where the approach is bolder and the presence more architectural.
2. The St Albans Kitchen: A Liquid Metal Canopy Suspended as Sculpture
Where the Letchworth canopy wins you over slowly through its curves and chalky finish, this St Albans kitchen makes its impression the moment you walk through the door. Artistic and influential in equal measure, it’s a space where the canopy isn’t just part of the design. It’s the main event in the home. At the heart of the room, a custom liquid-metal casing wraps around a Westin Prime extractor and hangs, suspended along the kitchen run. The fluid, almost molten quality of the finish gives the piece a sculptural weight that shifts with every angle you view it from, catching the light one moment and brooding in shadow the next. It’s a hood in function, but a piece of kitchen art in feel, and that dual identity is exactly what the room was designed to celebrate. With this kind of presence at the centre of the space, every other surface has to understand its role, which is a principle our next project takes even further.
3. The Bedfordshire Kitchen: A Dolce & Gabbana Chimney Hood That Sings of Italy
If the St Albans project proved that a single canopy can become the main event, this Bedfordshire kitchen shows what happens when the rest of the room is composed in complete harmony with it. For clients who hold a deep affection for Italian culture and cuisine, this was never going to be a quiet design, and every choice they made across that space reflects that heritage they love. At the top of the composition, a chimney hood submerged in the same exuberant Dolce & Gabbana print crowns the design with drama and flair. Directly beneath it sits a Smeg x Dolce & Gabbana range cooker from the limited-edition Divina Cucina collection. This duo of functional masterpieces radiates the kitchen with the joy and romance of Italy, and every glance draws from the client’s travels and memories of this rich heritage country. Leading the chorus is the chimney, and the rest follows singing in harmony with the Italian spirit it’s designed to replicate. It’s the perfect reminder that the most memorable canopies aren’t always about restraint. Sometimes they’re about embracing a vision fully and letting the whole kitchen join in.
4. The Tempsford Barn Conversion: A Handcrafted Mantle with Traditional Character
If the Bedfordshire kitchen committed wholeheartedly to Italian exuberance, this Tempsford project commits just as completely to traditional British character, and the canopy is once again where that conviction is most visible. Filled with tall ceilings and exposed wooden beams, the stage is set for a very much favoured country home, and the clients, both driven by an ambitious vision, sought to reimagine their love for tradition. At the heart, a Westin extractor is built into a beautifully handcrafted bespoke mantle. Handcrafted corbels support the graceful flow of the extraction unit above, and the mantle itself provides a generous shelf to house decorative items, turning the hob wall into a place of personality. What makes this canopy so successful is how naturally it belongs to the building. Rather than fighting the beams and proportions of the barn, it answers them, picking up the same vocabulary of timber, craft and tradition and translating it into a piece that feels original to the room. It’s proof that a wow-factor canopy doesn’t have to be modern or unexpected. Sometimes the most striking statement is one that looks as if it has always been there. This then leads up to our final project, where every lesson from the previous four comes together in a single, defining gesture.
5. The Old Mill, Blunham: A Handcrafted Mantle with Centuries of Story Behind It
Our final project carries the most history of any kitchen on this list. Step back through the centuries to a time when this remarkable Old Mill in Blunham, Bedfordshire, played a vital role in daily life, its origins dating as far back as the 1500s. Fast forward to today, and the beautiful building has been thoughtfully transformed into a luxury private home where the original mill machinery remains proudly on display. Taking pride of place is the Rangemaster Elise range cooker framed by a bespoke handcrafted mantle. It is anchored on either side by integrated cupboards for spices that keep everything beautifully out of hand. Tucked into the mantle itself is the Westin Prime built-in extractor, offering powerful yet discreet ventilation while preserving the clean lines of the design. What makes this canopy the perfect close to the collection is how completely it earns its place. The mantle gives the cooker an architectural frame worthy of the building around it, the integrated cupboards turn craftsmanship into everyday function, and the hidden Westin Prime ensure the whole composition performs as well as it presents. In a home where centuries of history live on in the walls and the original machinery, the kitchen has been designed to feel like it belongs to that same lineage, while quietly delivering everything a modern home needs.
Looking across all five projects, the same principles keep reappearing. The canopy is always specified at the right scale for the room, never shrunk to fit a standard appliance or oversized to fill an awkward wall. The finish is always chosen with the extraction in mind, specified to do its job.
Above all, treat the canopy as an opportunity rather than an obligation, and the rest of the kitchen has something worth gathering around.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a bespoke cooker hood canopy?
A bespoke canopy is a made-to-measure housing built around an extractor and designed as an architectural feature above the hob. Rather than hiding the hood, it frames it, bringing structure and a deliberate focal point to the hob wall, finished to match or contrast with the rest of the kitchen.
Should a cooker hood be a feature or hidden?
Both approaches work, but the best luxury kitchens increasingly make the canopy a deliberate feature. Treated as an opportunity rather than an obligation, a well-proportioned canopy gives the room a centre and something worth gathering around, while still housing a powerful, discreet extractor.
What extractor goes inside a bespoke canopy?
A canopy houses a built-in extraction unit, such as a Westin Prime, behind the bespoke casing. The canopy is the visible architecture; the extractor is the engine, chosen so the piece performs as well as it looks.
How big should a cooker hood canopy be?
Scale the canopy to the room and the hob, never shrunk to fit a standard appliance or oversized to fill an awkward wall. Correct proportions are what make a canopy feel intentional rather than added, and the finish should be specified with the extraction in mind.
Can a canopy suit a traditional or period home?
Yes. A wow-factor canopy does not have to be modern. A handcrafted timber mantle with corbels can answer the beams and proportions of a barn or period property so it looks as if it has always been there, as in our Tempsford and Old Mill projects.
Does Planet Furniture design bespoke canopies?
Yes. We design bespoke cooker hood canopies, from curved hand-painted designs to sculptural metal and handcrafted mantles, as part of handmade kitchens from our Hertfordshire workshop, installed across Hertfordshire and the surrounding Home Counties.
