As kitchens evolve, both functionally and aesthetically, designers look to bring drama, interest and a new level of customization to their projects. Capacious, furniture-style islands, move over: Statement hoods, which embrace unusual materials and finishes, are introducing a whole new level of creativity and pizzazz.

“We’re mixing metals and finishes, from copper and iron to natural and bronzed steel or polished and matte metal. Right now, we’re doing three in plaster,” notes designer Barry Dixon, who says that these days, he’s designing a statement hood a month.

“They’re driven by the overall aesthetics of a project,” adds kitchen designer Emily Neifeld of Lobkovich Kitchen Designs. “We love doing statement hoods because they are unique and bring a sculptural element to the kitchen.”

EXPERT INSIGHTS: Advice from Emily Neifeld and Barry Dixon

• Emily Neifeld: Hoods are becoming more simplified. We are seeing minimization, away from adornments like rivets and strapping
• Barry Dixon: Since it holds a ventilation system, and often lighting, a hood can be an engineering feat. You have to think of stability and weight as well as aesthetics
• Emily Neifeld: Wood has many constraints, so we create metal or plaster hoods, often sloped or arched, that are sprayed to look like the surrounding wood cabinetry

SCULPTURAL PROFILE  For a Great Falls custom home, Deb Eastham, a designer at Lobkovich Kitchen Designs, collaborated with interior designer Martha Vicas on an eye-catching statement hood inspired by origami. AK Metal Fabricators crafted this sculptural creation, welding folded-steel pieces to a layer of wood to produce darkened seams that conjure an origami effect.

Kitchen Design: Deb Eastham, Lobkovich Kitchen Designs, Tysons, Virginia. Interior Design: Martha Vicas, Allied ASID, M.S. Vicas Interiors, Washington, DC. Architect: James McDonald Associate Architects, Great Falls, Virginia. Builder: Artisan Builders, McLean, Virginia.

WIDE EMBRACE  While designing a spacious McLean kitchen separated into front and rear zones, Emily Neifeld of Lobkovich Kitchen Designs carved a niche into the dividing wall and tucked the 48-inch range into it. She conceived an awning-style, blackened-steel hood with brass accents that stretches the wall’s width. “To expand the wall visually, I wanted clean lines with no upper cabinets,” she relates. Hickory trim frames the niche, clad in Macaubas Fantasy quartzite.

Kitchen Design: Emily Neifeld, Lobkovich Kitchen Designs, Tysons, Virginia. Architecture: WCRA, Chantilly, Virginia. Builder: Thorsen Construction, Alexandria, Virginia.

BACK IN TIME  Tasked with designing a kitchen for Medieval history buffs, Barry Dixon recalled the fairy tale Old King Cole as illustrated by Maxfield Parrish—and conceived a massive hood with scalloped crenellations that conjure the ramparts of a castle. Measuring 10 feet wide by eight feet tall, it’s made of bronze-coated steel and heavy-gauge copper and conveys “a handcrafted look that harkens back to earlier times,” Dixon observes. Plaster support brackets by Ornamental Plaster Works were faux-finished by Warnock Studios to look like stone.

Interior & Kitchen Design: Barry Dixon, Barry Dixon Interiors, Warrenton, Virginia. Hood Fabrication: Kelly Metalwork, Cooksville, Maryland.