how2girl is right, ducted is better. Ducted extracts better and with less maintenance. But it might be difficult or impossible to do, for example in a two storey house with the kitchen in the middle so that there is nowhere for the ducting to go. suzineedsahouse is right, different people have different requirements and what is important for one person might not be important for another person. I have seen a house where a window beside the cooktop was enough for the owner (I did wonder how that works on windy or rainy days). Some people are happy enough with a non-ducted rangehood. Some people insist on a ducted rangehood and are willing to rearrange their houseplan if necessary to ensure they have space to install one. I have heard of people who have chosen commercial rangehoods for their home. I know of people who have a second kitchen outside in their alfresco area which they prefer to use for some of their cooking and sometimes even those have a ducted rangehood. (Btw as far as I know a gas cooktop only affects your choice in regards to how high above the cooktop the rangehood must be.)

HI Check out Whispair. We have one installed and short of it being on full blast you cannot hear it, even though the motor is within the unit. If you want a remote unit you have to make sure the ducting is done right, but the Schwiegen is very quiet. Cheers

Hey Amba, There is no reason why you explicitly can't use a 90cm rangehood over a 110cm freestanding oven as long as the rangehood has a good extraction rate. Having a boost mode could also help when you do chose to cook something with excess steam or fragrance because it will work even harder to extract it. However, you aren't guaranteed to suck up absolutely everything because of the smaller size. This could have a negative effect on the paintwork around your oven (but it is hard to say as I do not know your cooking frequency or the types of meals you prefer). That being said, in terms of aesthetics I think investing in a larger rangehood is a good idea. If this is something that is important to you, I recommend shopping around. A few appliance stores are having warehouse sales and clearance sales at this time of year, so it'd be a good time to buy. I hope this helps!

We put similar gates on our first house, many years ago,ours were western red cedar, we bought then at a place on the Princes Highway at Arncliffe an area of Sydney, not sure if they still trade. try Trade Cedar Gates 0428268664 might be able to help.