For our house, Spring = projects….  If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll know that we just moved in to our Lake home about 10 months ago. It’s hard to believe we are almost to our one year anniversary. There have been so many changes and improvements in our short time here, but I think this is one of my favorites so far. I love projects that are simple and low-cost but make a big impact. This one is definitely that project. And here’s what we did….

 

The hood that currently exists is a plain old metal piece with no personality. I’ve always loved a more ornate hood and I think they add so much charisma to a kitchen. They give the area more personality and add to the aesthetics of the entire room. The options are endless.

 

With limited space I knew I wanted something with some texture and to make the cabinets look more custom and expensive. Originally my plan was to paint it white to match the cabinet color. However, when we added the little butcher block island, I really love the warmth the rich wood brings to the room, so decided to stain it a warm wood to match and give another element to the room by added the wood grain look.

Supplies

Foam core board

1/4 ” plywood

(2)1 x 4″ x 8′ pine board

(1) 1 x 2″ pine board

Finishing nails

Liquid nails

 

First, we made a pattern using foam core board. It is easy to cut and is more substantial to hold its form. I measured the distance from the top of the cabinet to the bottom of the hood then we extended that a fe more inches We wanted to be sure we left enough of a gap underneath to reach our hands under to the fan and light knobs.

We had discussed possibly hinging the top to have the option to life the door and still have the cabinet space for storage. However, after planning the layout, we decided it would be too heavy and bulky to handle.

Once we had the pattern of the pieces all laid out, we taped it all together to create the hood prototype.

Next, we removed the cabinet doors

Then, we took the prototype apart and laid out the pieces on the wood to cut. Once we had all the pieces traced out, we then cut everything and started putting it together.

 

1- we attached a 1 x 2″ at the top to anchor the sides

 

 

 

2- then attached the side pieces

 

 

3- Next, we added a piece of plywood for the front base

 

 

 

 

4-then we placed a 1 x 4″  horizontally across the bottom of the base board

 

 

5- once that piece was attached it was time to start adding our  vertical 1 x 4 “boards. we had intended to place each board side by side but as we started laying our the boards, we realized we didn’t have enough of the pine boards. So we decided to space each board about an inch apart and I love how it looked. This gave a little more dimension and texture to the overall look. We used liquid nails to attach these boards because I did not want nails showing. They were cut to fit snuggly between the top and bottom boards

 

 

 

 

6- stain the hood. We used Minwax American walnut to give it a very rich and warm look

 

 

We are so thrilled with the completed project and the overall effect that it gave the entire look of the kitchen. It feels like a gourmet kitchen now….well maybe not gourmet but it sure adds a lot more personality and character to the space.

I hope you were able to get some inspiration and at least this was a helpful DIY for your own project possibilities. Let me know what you think and if you have any questions.

Thanks for following along and feel free to pin any of the ideas you like on my page.

Happy Decorating !