Extractor Fan Options

Extractor fans – who wants one? Extractor fans are one of those things that no one really wants, but you have to one for practicality reasons. Health and safety standards have got much tighter in recent years, and if you are undertaking a home renovation project which requires Building Control to oversee, they will mandate you have to have an extractor fan in your kitchen. They will not sign off on your project without one. 

At Home Tales, as a team full of architectural designs and interior designers, we sympathise with this dilemma. As a home renovation specialist, we work hard on seamless, beautiful, balanced designs – the last thing we want is a great big extractor fan ruining our carefully designed ambience. They are generally unsightly, expensive, and no one really knows where to put them in their design. Don’t worry! It’s actually got much better. In recent years, lots of companies have identified this kitchen design dilemma and there are actually a variety of solutions available to homeowners now. New ideas are still popping up every day, so we thought we would talk you through just some of the options we’ve seen in our most recent projects.   

Extractor fans are one of those things that no one really wants, but you have to them for building control sign off. They are generally unsightly, expensive, and no one really knows where to put them in their design. But it’s not all bad! In recent years, lots of companies have identified this kitchen design dilemma and there are actually a variety of solutions now. We thought we would talk you through just some of the options out there. 

A fake cabinet

This kitchen was supplied by John Lewis. The homeowner has a detached property, so it was relatively easy to find space to take the ducting outside. This means all of the fumes get pushed right out into the side alley, which is in the garden. The extractor fan is above the induction hob, and the cabinets directly above is simply a facade to the ducting inside. The high cabinets either side are storage cabinets, so the extractor fan blends seamlessly into the kitchen design. You wouldn’t even know it’s there! 

The traditional extractor

This is the most common extractor fan and probably the one you are used to seeing. It’s effective and ticks all of the boxes from a building control perspective. You can either get these to take the air outside through ducting, or it can simply filter the air and re-put it back into the kitchen. While it’s not the most stunning centrepiece, it does do the job and it’s the most cost-effective solution out there. If you are on a budget, then this might be your solution. 

You can buy facades for your extractor fans that actually draw the eye and makes a feature of the extractor fan. 

Downward extractor 

This is a relatively new method and is certainly the least intrusive in the design. The extractor fan sits below the induction hob within the kitchen island. This generally means you have to have a fake façade on your top drawer, as the extraction system will need to sit here. The air is drawn down into the island, and again, it can either be drawn outside via ducting which will go underneath the floor, or it can simply be filtered and put back into the kitchen. In this case, building control might require you to have an additional fan on your rear wall but this can be hidden out of site. 

We have also seen downward extractor fans that eject out of the kitchen island at the press of the button. This is very ‘007’ and is a massive hit at our House Tours.  

Recess the fan into the ceiling

Another option is to recess your extractor fan into your ceiling. This option can’t always be done, it really depends on the thickness of your ceiling and joists. If you have a particularly high ceiling, you can always bring the ceiling height down, to hide the extractor fan. It really depends on what your priority is. 

If you have any questions at all, give our friendly team a call today on 0207 043 2378 or email us at hello@hometales.co.uk. We would be delighted to assist you. At a next step we would recommend booking a home visit so we can discuss your project in more detail. Following this visit we will issue you with a no obligation quote for both the design phase as well as an indicative cost for the build. Site visits also a fantastic opportunity to understand more about how we work, and our process. If you have any additional questions about the process, we can also help with that, such as party wall. 

You can book a free, no obligation visit either by calling the office on the number offered above, emailing our team or you can even book a site visit online here. We look forward to hearing from you. 


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