Never underestimate the power of a good kitchen hood, or, as more technically-oriented parlance has it, a good air extractor. This workhorse of a kitchen appliance is oft-undervalued in the great scheme of a beautiful kitchen, but take it from one who knows, efficient air extraction is integral to a fully functioning kitchen. This—among several other reasons to be enumerated shortly—is why you should spare no expense and jump headlong into the auspicious investment that is Elica’s Alba Cubo Island.

Alba Cubo Island Kitchen Hood. Manufactured by Elica.

Alba Cubo is an Efficient Air Extractor with a Sharp Contemporary Aesthetic

Elica’s Alba Cubo is a pendant-style designer hood that comes with or without the optional chimney connector. Though I like the look of Alba as a suspension model, I’d strongly advocate going the chimney route. The addition of the 6” inch diameter connector allows efficient and comprehensive ducting of all those questionable odors and minute particles of food-related flotsam and jetsam that otherwise might pollute the pristine atmosphere of your spotless kitchen.

Elica does a pretty fair job of selling Alba Cubo on looks alone, saying it “enhances the character of your kitchen, giving it a new identity… Thanks to the aesthetics, the refined details, and premium materials, the Elica range hood is capable of defining and decorating your kitchen.” Alba Cubo’s four panel construction of stainless steel and inset white glass goes a long way towards making that case based on looks alone, but with kitchen hoods, performance is paramount. Just so, Alba boasts an impressive roster of high-function features: maximum airflow of 700 m³; suction of 450 to 600 CFM (cubic feet per minute); charcoal filter; and an optional remote control.

About the Manufacturer: Manufacturer Elica has built its reputation on, essentially, not being heard. That’s because one defining feature of their collection of kitchen hoods/air extractors is that they make about as much noise as a devout, tip-toeing church mouse. The patented Deep Silencing System (DS3) reduces household noise pollution by over 35%: “like the difference between an office full of people all talking at once, and a library where the only sound is a whisper.” In spite of this relative silence, Elica’s library-friendly extractors perform well above industry standards: “the hoods equipped with EDS3 are among the most powerful and efficient on the market.”