Today I’m sharing how we transformed our traditional builder grade kitchen hood into a fresh clean more modern version of itself. It’s a kitchen hood glow up! And the awesome thing about this glow up is that we DIDN’T NEED TO RIP OUT or REPLACE the existing hood! Read on to find out how we transformed our hood from this to this:
We participated in the Fall ’21 One Room Challenge by Better Homes & Garden with the goal of transforming our kitchen in 8 weeks. We did it in 10. I managed the process from design, sourcing, purchasing materials and all the logistics with the contractors, while working full time and caring for 2 young children. There were a lot of breakdowns but also many learnings and proud moments too.
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Before
We had a traditional style builder grade hood, with wood trim/moldings and curved lines.
I loved our chevron marble tile but wish it went all the way up to the ceiling instead of stopping at the hood. I also didn’t like the small space between the hood and the cabinets. I just imagine a lot of gunk getting trapped and being difficult to clean.
My goal was to create a simple elegant hood with clean lines and the subtle earthiness of Venetian plaster. Sort of like this:
Except in the photo above the hood is floating in no man’s land, which really bothers me. It makes me uneasy because I feel like it could crash down although I know it can’t. This may be an unpopular opinion but it’s also why I can’t stand exposed beams on ceilings – it’s the heavy feeling that something is bearing down on you.
Below you’ll see the initial sketch for my hood – Notice it does include a ‘faux’ supporting beam to give the area around the hood more substance and hold everything together while allowing for enough negative space. Since no one will stand directly under the beam, there is no heavy feeling. To add dimension, I planned to install LED lighting behind the beams and around the shelves to illuminate the stone.
Now that I finalized the design, it was time to make it a reality..so away we went!
The Process
We had our hood lightly ‘demoed’ to see the underlying structure.
We drew lines on the wall for where the new drywall would be placed. Our drywall contractor worked with our tile contractor to ensure the right steps were in place – since preciseness is critical.
First step: Our stone backsplash had to be installed before our hood work could begin. Read all about our new countertops and stone selection in Week 6 of the One Room Challenge.
Second step: After the backsplash was installed, the supporting wood boards could be placed and we could start the drywall prep process.
For softness we added bullnose corners to the edges of the hood.
The drywall was now complete and now we had to install our walnut beam/shelves.
Third Step: We installed the walnut shelves and the beam around the hood.
Fourth and final step: Venetian plaster time.
What is Venetian plaster?
It’s basically earth on your walls. It mimics the look of stone because it is stone! Venetian plaster has gotten a bad rap due to the overuse of it during the 90’s with the Tuscan trend. Remember this?
However, venetian plaster is coming back in style with the use of light neutral colors instead of the burnt orange/yellow and browns. Personally, I think a little goes a long way in your home. A small space such as an accent wall, alcove, fireplace, powder room or even hallway ceiling could look exceptional with venetian plaster. You can also manipulate the plaster to get varying levels of dimension and sheen.
What brand did we use? We used Veneziano from Vasari which is made of natural limestone and powdered marble which has a smooth feel with beautiful deep variation. I decided to go with light warm grey to match the veining in the quartz and matte to contrast against the polish of the quartz.
To create more of a wow factor at night, we added LED lighting behind the wood beams. Here’s the evening view of our lighted up hood. When everyone is in bed and all is quiet I like sit at the island and wind down with a hot cup of tea here.
So what’s next? I’d like to add one more detail to our hood – Yes, really! What could it be?! Subscribe so you can be the first to know!
What do you think of our hood transformation? Comment below! If you love this post, subscribe and never miss a new post! If you want to start from the beginning of our kitchen remodel – Read about our whole One Room Challenge experience!
I love how the hood came out and hope you found this post helpful and inspiring! The takeaway is that you don’t have to completely demo and replace your hood to freshen it up!
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