Lights above cooker instead of an extractor hood

[Brian9600]

We are doing up a Tudor cottage. For the kitchen we have chosen simple Shaker units in a dark moss green with an Everhot cooker.

I rarely use my extractor- usually just open the window- so we are planning not to have one. However I do like to have a light above where I am cooking. I wondered whether anyone had any tips or recommendations for suitable lights. My only thoughts so far is that they will need glass covers, not open bulbs, so that they can be cleaned and that they will probably need to be wall lights not pendants as the ceiling is very low.

I'm trying to keep the overall look in keeping with the age of the house so nothing too shiny and modern.

Thank you!

Personally I'd get an extractor with lights and just use the lights. I'd be a bit worried in an old place not to have an extractor. In a great big kitchen with lots of windows to open it's fine.

I second getting a fan and just using the lights. I would be anxious to have the extractor. Despite having two windows in our kitchen it can get quite smoky with out the extractor when cooking certain things.

To be fair, unless the extractor has ducting to the outside so that it can actually extract then it's really just cosmetic, and not worth turning the fan on. The recirculating filters make very little difference to smell, and no difference at all to steam.

But in an older house I'd be reluctant not to have an extractor with proper ducting to the outside. If the house is at all prone to damp then extracting most air and steam from cooking is important.

Honestly OP read about the difference in air quality with a (proper, ducted) extractor vs without. You can get powerful quiet ones now, and ones that are very unobtrusive. Houses without extractors tend to have a thin film of oil and cabinets and strong lingering cooking smells. If you can really manage in your current kitchen without an extractor, I wouldn't assume ventilation on the new house will allow the same.

It won't meet building regs without an extractor

Extractor and lights would be my choice too.

If you are simply refurbishing a kitchen that doesn't have an extractor hood at the moment then you don't have to have one but if it does you have to replace it with either the same type of extraction or better.

I would use a 90cm or 100cm led tube with 3 settings, use the slightly more expensive one with the touch to switch on / off .
Set behind a wooden plinth .
Everhots don't really need extractors.

We have no extractor because I never use them.

Instead we have two lights like this, just to either side of the cooker.

Looks good. They don’t get gunky as they’re maybe shoulder height.

Everhot /Aga / Rayburn type appliances don’t need extractors.

With a very low ceiling you’re unlikely to find an extractor that gives you adequate clearance from the hob not to be a total PITA - our old one was at nose-level which was awful!
You could use the type you’d have in a bathroom, on an external wall (that’s what we have - the slimline ceiling ones were way too £££ and not to my taste). I don’t know re: gas regulations, but they’re fine for electric / heating oil/solid fuel (the latter have flue anyway).

We have spotlights on our very low ceiling, which work very well and don’t look ridiculously modern in old house.

Sheworeyellow, I really like that- thank you.

We would only be able to have a recirculating extractor if we had one as we can’t pierce the wall (listed).

Saz12, that’s interesting about the spotlights- I’d ruled them out because I can’t imagine how they would look in an old house. Can I ask what sort they are?

Thank you everyone for these replies.