Hello! Today, I am sharing a DIY Wood vent hood we made for the kitchen while renovating the Airbnb house. It is the number one thing I’ve gotten asked about on Instagram since we showed the reveal a few weeks ago. It was a quick weekend project and ended up costing about $200.00. I think it’s perfect for the vibe of this kitchen, which has a coastal modern feel.

this …

DIY Wood Vent Hood

When we purchased the house, one of the newer items in the kitchen was the existing stainless hood vent. While it was in decent shape, the stainless steel was too stark and cold for my envisioned warm, cozy space. We ended up selling it on FB Marketplace.

I had a particular vision of what I wanted a new hood vent to look like. I wanted clean lines that were modern and warm. After scouring Pinterest, I showed my husband a few ideas of what I had in mind. I couldn’t find anything we could actually purchase, so we decided to DIY it.

Materials

“First, we bought a new vent. We chose this 30” vent by Broan because it was highly rated, inexpensive, and convertible. We ended up venting ours into the garage. First, we bought a new vent. We chose this 30” vent by Broan because it was highly rated, inexpensive, and convertible. We ended up venting ours into the garage.

• Vent
• 1 x 4’s for frame
• 2 x 4 poplar boards
• Pneumatic Nailer (we have this one)
• Stain (Min Wax) Natural with a touch of Special Walnut

Steps

Next, my husband used 1 x 4’s to build a frame (basically a box) around the installed vent hood. From there, he framed the box with plywood. At this point, I have to say I almost had him stop because I loved this look! I think stained just like this would be amazing. Perfect for a modern home. However, I was looking for a little more coastal cottage feel.

We found the 2 x 4 poplar boards (below) online at Home Depot with beautiful grain. Though we could have searched out less expensive options, we were using Home Depot’s curbside service due to the pandemic and had to use what was available online. A side note: The entire renovation would not have been possible without a curbside pickup. We were in deep quarantine because both of our daughters were pregnant.

Once we trimmed the boards to size, we used a pneumatic nailer to attach the boards to the plywood.

The final step was to add the wood planks to the box with the pneumatic Nailer.

We also trimmed the inside bottom of the frame to make it feel finished. I totally forgot to photograph that, but it shows in the final pics. :-

Then, it was time to stain. I used Minwax natural and added a bit of English Walnut to brown it up a bit. I like to mix my own stain from open cans I have on hand. It’s great for finding a particular tone.

And here is the final result! I LOVE it.

That is it! The hardest part was finding the lightbulbs that were not included with the vent! We love the warmth it adds to the kitchen; it feels much better than the stainless steel. If you are interested in how we stained these countertops, you can find them here.

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You can shop my kitchen here!

Until next time,

-Libbie