Series: An 80's Kitchen DIY Reno-{Part 15-Building the Vent Hood}

Monday, August 3, 2020

We've reached the last project I completed for the Kitchen Reno Series.   This one I did a couple of months ago since we've been in quarantine.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I had lots of inspiration for the build.  But at some point you just have to get to work. 


Going back to the beginning, we had a microwave over the cooktop initially.  


I moved it to a new cabinet and added a vent hood last year, but plans to build a wood vent hood got put on hold. 



To begin, I removed the cabinet doors and built a frame. 




It was trial and error figuring out the angles for the cuts that would lean up against the frame, but they didn't have to be exact.  Just close enough to be flush. It was a 15-17 degree angle on the top and about 22.5 degrees on the bottom.


I knew I wanted a stained wood shiplap look for the hood, so originally I purchased 3/4" poplar as the facing.  But after getting it up, I realized it would be too thick to add any additional trim along the bottom.  



So I took it down and found this 3/8" thick by 4" wide hobby wood in pine at Lowes.  It comes in 2, 3, and 4 foot lengths, and the thickness was perfect.  It also comes in a few other thicknesses.  I found that not every store had the same variations of lengths and thickness of this wood.  It also comes in Poplar and Oak and  Home Depot carries a similar wood.


Cutting the face panels was easy, but the sides were angled.  So I held up a piece to the side of the frame and marked the angle that way before cutting.  I also decided in advance that the raw edge would be on the face of the hood, and I would cover that with trim later.


I added 1/4" maple plywood for the bottom section of the hood, and 3/8"x 2" pieces of  the same wood as above to trim it out.  I used corner molding for the two corners.  The mitered trim angles on the bottom were right at head level and were super sharp.  So I later rounded them out with my sander.



Along the top of the hood, I added a thin 3/8" x 3" to box out the top section so that I could later add crown molding.


I wanted the hood to stand proud of the cabinets and look as if it was completely separate from the cabinets. So I had to take down the crown over all the cabinets from the fridge to the oven tower. I later reattached after finishing the vent hood.


Once the trim was complete, I felt like it needed a little something extra since the trim was so simple.


It finally hit me...corbels! I found these wood corbels at Wayfair.  As you can see below, there's hardware on the back of it to slide onto a screw head.  Well it slides down, which would have left a 1/2" gap between the hood and corbel.  I petitioned Instagram, and a friend made a suggestion that helped me come up with a solution.  I turned them around to slide 'backwards' onto the vent hood instead of 'down' on the cabinet face frame once installed.  But it was perfect, because they're just decorative and aren't structurally holding anything up.


They are a little longer on the down section than they are on the top section, so I had to trim them a bit. But they sanded down nicely along with those pointy corners.


I stained the hood with a mix of Minwax Provincial + Weathered Oak and finished it with a Matte Polyurethane, taping off to protect the paint. 


 And here she is!




THIS is why I moved the microwave below the counter!  Adding a simple recirculating vent and creating this custom wood hood really elevated the look of the kitchen.   If you're thinking about doing something similar and have any questions, let me know!


(Psst...check out my latest DIY project: A home office as part of the Fall 2020 One Room Challenge!)

Wood Vent Hood Materials (linked below):
Wood Corbels/Brackets (Unfortunately they no longer seem to have the rubberwood corbels I purchased, just maple and cherry wood.  Both are probably higher quality; maple would be my first choice because it doesn't have undertones that will sway the color of the stain)

KITCHEN SOURCES (linked below):
Cooktop-Frigidaire Gallery
Vent Hood-Broan (love it because the controls are on the bottom!)

{An 80's Kitchen DIY Reno Series}


-Part 15-Building the Vent Hood

86 comments

  1. Beautiful! Building the wood vent over the existing one was very clever. Your kitchen looks amazing!

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    1. Thank-you, I appreciate your kind words!

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    2. Hello your hood is amazing! Can you tell me how to do the fan ductless? I would love this in my kitchen. Need to remove microwave and purchase a much better fan.

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    3. —Absolutely beautiful ❗️ Your workmanship and your guidance of steps is outstanding 🌷

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  2. Would you mind posting the link to the recirculating vent hood? I’m thinking of doing this as well and don’t have ducting to the outside.

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    1. Hi Kristina, sorry about that! I've got the link fixed and updated. I didn't realize they weren't working, so thank-you!

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  3. Are the cabinets above the vent still usable? It looks like the wood piece might lift up, but I couldn't really tell. I have cabinets above mine and I would want to keep that space for storage.

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    1. No, I didn't leave access to it. But, you're right, it could be done by securing the boards to a couple of strips of wood on the underside, and then using a piano hinge (near the top) to secure that to the framing or piece of wood up top.

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  4. I love it, the detailed instructions and the rest of your gorgeous kitchen!

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  5. Dumb question lol but what did you use to cut the wood?

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    1. Hey, no dumb questions here! I do have an electric miter saw that I used to make the mitered cuts. The good news is much of the wood is pretty thin, (outside of the 1x2 framing), so you could probably get away with using a manual miter box saw if you didn't have a miter saw. Plus most of the cut edges are covered with trim. But let me know if you have any other questions, and thanks for stopping by!

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  6. Beautiful project. Great photos too of trims, progress.

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  7. possibly dumb question, but where are the controls to your vent located? Most of the ones I see are on the front of the vent, but if you are covering the entire vent, how do you turn on your lights and vents?

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    1. Ahh yes, this vent has the controls on the bottom! I was worried about that exact same thing, and specifically chose this one because it does have controls on the bottom. Which is sorta hard to come by, for some reason!

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  8. So beautiful! I just bookmarked for later. Do you know anything about the wood's durability over top of the stove since it will probably get moist?

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  9. Thank you, Sarah! So far it's held up well. And I did coat it with polyurethane which is meant for exactly that! And we create a lot of steam with cooking, because my people love soup, haha! I would say the best thing to protect the wood is to apply a polyurethane. And it will help with ease of cleaning any grease that may splatter as well!

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    1. Thanks so much for the reply! I'll keep that in mind. Also I want you to know - I clicked to this page through pinterest and when I looked through more of the site I realized I made your Ikea nightstand hack 3.5 years ago! They've served us well and are still in use :) Thanks for sharing such awesome how-tos

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    2. How awesome! Aww this just made my morning! I still have and love mine too. Thank you for coming back to share that with me!

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  10. Beautiful idea to build right over the existing hood

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  11. I am really impressed with your work! Great job.

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  12. Can you tell me how wide your vent hood is?

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    1. Sure, it's the 30" model, although technically it's probably about 29.5". Hope that helps!

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  13. Hi. I LOVE the stain. I struggle to find a stain I like. Do you know about how much of each you mixed? Thank you so much and beautiful work!

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    1. So sorry, I am just now getting back to you! I would guess about 50/50...it wasn't exact. Honestly in hindsight, I don't think stirred the Weathered Oak stain enough, because it didn't alter it much from the original Provincial stain color. I did recently reuse this combo though, properly mixed, and it was really nice. So long story short, I would recommend the 50/50 ratio. I hope that helps! And thank you for your kind words!

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  14. How many inches out from your original cabinets is the bottom of the hood cover where is sticks out the most? We’re building and my cabinet maker wants to know how far i want it to stick out

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    1. Checking now...8.125" or 8 and 1/8 inch. How exciting...I hope this comes in time! Send me an email at oakhousedesignco@gmail.com if you need a quicker response. I don't seem to get notifications when someone posts here.

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  15. Wow! Fabulous idea! I saw this post on my “home page” and clicked to see what you did. I’m really impressed with your fine workmanship. It was fun to read through your thoughts and how you worked things out. I need to go look at your other projects, too. You give me inspiration to do things around my condo. Now, to get my hands on some power tools . . .

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    1. Hi Ferrelli...thank you for stopping by! Fine workmanship...now that got a little giggle out of me this evening! Trim covers a lot of sins, lol! No, just kidding, this project did come out pretty well all things considered. I do hope you let me know when you take on a project...I'll be cheering you on!

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  16. Fantastic job! We’re planning a kitchen renovation for this Fall, and this is very inspiring!. I plan to read all your related posts as your completed project looks similar to my vision for our kitchen. Thank you for taking the time to post the beautiful pics and very helpful information!

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    1. It sounds like exciting plans for the fall and plenty of time to plan and dream! Thank you for stopping by and feel free to let me know if you have any questions!

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  17. Looks really nice - how will you access the outlet that the fan is plugged into?

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    1. I would need to take apart at least 3 boards..the two vertical trim pieces on the face and one of the cross boards. At which point I would probably reconfigure it to accomodate a piano hinge.

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  18. Wow! what an amazing job you did! So creative and a great vision.Love your design style :)

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  19. Great looking but how do your access the plug in case the vent needed a repair or the GFI plug is tripped?

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    1. There would probably be some dismantling...and then I would finally re-assemble it with the piano hinge I bought a few months ago, lol.

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  20. You are officially my new hero. You did an awesome job. It looks amazing. I love a gal that knows how to build stuff. I am in the process of doing this exact thing and have been searching for ideas. I really like yours. Thank you so much for sharing how you did it. I am much less nervous now!

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  21. Stumbled across your blog, and LOVE your hood project. FYI, I've printed and put the project in my husband's hand. THANK YOU for sharing!

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    1. Hehe!😁 That's the spirit...put it in writing to get 'er done! Best Wishes on your project

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  22. Sorry if this has already been asked, but what are the counters made of?

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    1. Hi, they are polished (but worn) Carrara Marble.

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  23. LOVE THIS! We are trying to construct something similar and have the same vent, but was curious how yours is able to vent properly? Are the vents covered, or do you have any gapping so that it can vent properly?

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    1. Thank-you! The shiplap boards have a tiny bit of space between them. My thought was that it's about the same amount of circulation that I would have gotten from my microwave vent.

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  24. I can find Minwax Provential but I am having trouble finding the Weathered wood stain you mentioned for your stain mixture. Do you have picture of the can or the brand?

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    1. Oops, that should have been Minwax Weathered Oak. Sorry about that! I've updated the post with the correction.

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  25. Hi Melanie! I'm not sure if you will see this soon but I bought an unfinished maple hood and would love to stain it this same color...it's perfect with the white cabinets. Can you please give me some pointers on how long to leave on the stain, and did you mix it 50/50? Much appreciated. Love the inspiration post!

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    1. Hi there, sorry I am just getting back to you. It was sorta eyeballed, but close to 50/50 mix just wiped on with a rag and wiped back off. Thank you for your kind words and hope your project came out the way you liked!

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  26. So you gave up those upper cabinets for the design? Or are they still accessible somehow? I love the look, but I also NEED all my cabinet space! Thanks!

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    1. I did! But I could definitely see adding a hinge to keep access to the space!

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  27. Hey I'm speechless. You are a pro. I Don't think I could do It, but you inspired me a lot

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  28. I love this so much! You did an excellent job and I love that you sort of just “winged” it :)

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    1. Thank-you! Yes, at some point you have to just start with these sort of things!

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  29. Replies
    1. Aww, thank-you. I always have a bit of doubt before starting things like this, but we all need to remember that we can figure it out!

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  30. This is the post I've been waiting for!! Thank you for the detailed information and pictures.

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    1. You're welcome! It's interesting, when I was doing this reno series, this was the hardest post to write, but has been the most popular!

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  31. How do you access the exhaust fans ?

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    1. Hmm, well you can turn it on with the buttons on the bottom. The screens come off on the bottom, and the vent itself is a recirculating vent...like the microwave/vents that a lot of homes have. I hope that helps!

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  32. Wow, just - wow! That is stunning!

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  33. You are an amazing woman!! That hood is stunning! Thank you so much for sharing the details and giving me so much inspiration!

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  34. Your Kitchen is BEAUTIFUL I especially like the wood hood cover. I am starting to plan a complete renovation of my almost 40 Yr old kitchen. I picked out the same Broan range vent, which will be ductless (recirculating). I have read an article about how a ductless vent needs to release incoming range fumes (250 cubic feet per minute) into the kitchen area. Adding a complete wood cover, which is beautiful, over the range does not let the incoming air (dirty) go through the charcoal filter of the range vent and out into the kitchen with clean air. I'm almost finished a design to eliminate this problem.

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words! There are some small gaps with the wood planks, so there is still air circulation with the vent hood. And I figure it's comparable to the ventilation that was previously provided by the microwave...which I never did use anyway!

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  35. Hi there! Love the style! But...do your cabinet doors open all the way on each side of the hood?

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    1. Thank-you! They do, I actually put the Blum 'restrictors' in the hinges so that they wouldn't hit the vent hood though. You can insert them so that the doors only open 90°, 120°, etc.

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  36. Gorgeous! You’re my new hero this week. I have a similar setup with the flattop electric range. Silly question but did you have to get a gas line run before the Reno to use a gas range? I so want so want a gas range.

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    1. Thank-you! Not a silly question, and yes, I believe they came and ran the gas line first and capped it. Then after my countertops were installed came back and installed cooktop, hooked it up, and showed me how to shutoff the gas line down below if needed.

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  37. Hi Melanie,
    I am in awe of what you accomplished, especially because you did so much by yourself. We bought a home that is seriously stuck in the 1990’s with tons of wall-to-wall carpet, (even where the bathtub is located, but not in the “throne room,” thank goodness) coils on the cooktop, an old microwave range hood, and wallpaper everywhere! We have a painted over what was a salmon-pink (so lovely!) in the living room, but still need to finish the mint green dining room/kitchen combo and much else.
    We only live there part-time until we retire in a few years so the remodeling projects have been slow. Since reading your blog, I have renewed energy and am excited about making changes. This summer we focused on putting new canned lights in the living room and hallway. Trimming shrubs and trees was also on the agenda.
    Thanks again for your wonderful blog!
    XO,
    Christina

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    1. Thank you so much Christina! Oh wow, it sounds like you have a home stuck in time too! But that means you get to update it exactly like you want it...it just takes patience, which is hard to come by sometimes. Wishing you all the best as you take on making changes!

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  38. Hello! I know I'm a couple of years late but I'm so happy to have found your site. This hood vent is beautiful! We are renovating our kitchen and you've designed almost exactly what I was dreaming about for the hood vent. Get out of my head! ☺️ Anyway, since the corbels are no longer available, would you know the dimensions of the ones you used? And Apolo if you've covered this already. Thank you!!- Laura

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  39. Thank-you for sharing your gorgeous kitchen and clever range hood which I just LOVE! We are having someone remodel our kitchen and would like to replicate your hood. Our contractor said he thought it would need a vent at the top. I am reading that with the shiplap boards you feel there is enough circulation. How has this been working with stream? Lastly, if/when it needs to be serviced, how do you access? Does the entire piece need to be removed? Thank-you again, so much for sharing your beautiful work!

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    1. Hi there and thank you for stopping by! I guess I did/do feel it circulates enough with the gaps in teh shiplap. But to be honest, I don't use it a whole lot...we had the microwave vent hood before, and just never really turned it on. But yes, until I add some sort of hinge access, I would need to open it back up to access. If I were to do this project again, I would do that.

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  40. Really a stunning transformation! It looks great.

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  41. Hi, Laura, thank you for your kind words and for stopping by!

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  42. My concern is - how do you get and keep it clean. I envision grease building up between the range hood and wood

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    1. Cleaning is just like with any other surface in the kitchen--soap and water, or whatever you like to use! I haven't had any grease building up in the four years it's been in use thankfully. And the vent hood itself has removable filters that should be cleaned on a regular basis, but they are designed to be accessed below. I suppose it does help that I don't really fry a lot of foods for cooking, but if I did, I imagine that I would probably need to deep clean a little more often. Hope that helps, and thanks for stopping by!

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