DIY Mantel Hood Tutorial

Back in November, we completed a small renovation in our kitchen.  We removed our over-the-range microwave and replaced it with a mantel hood with enclosed exhaust fan.  Thanks to Pinterest, I became obsessed with adding a mantel hood over our range.  At first, I was just disappointed that we hadn't thought to design one when we remodeled the kitchen 5 years ago.  The more I looked at pictures, I began to realize that we could totally DIY one.  And so we did!

Our plan was to remove the microwave, install a new exhaust fan with diy mantel and add a new range.  Here's what we started with:

After we removed the microwave, the kitchen immediately felt more spacious. 

 We also removed the tumbled stone backsplash.  As you can see in the pictures below, most of the sheetrock came off with the tile...which was good news to me because, now that the wall was opened, we could add a (affiliate link) pot filler (our basement below the kitchen is unfinished, allowing us easy access to our plumbing).  Billy was just thrilled about that!  haha.  

To begin installation of the (affiliate link) new exhaust fan, we needed to utilize the upper cabinet to house the fan.  We lost most of this cabinet space, but I haven't missed it at all because I didn't store much in there anyway as it was awkward to access this cabinet.  

We cut a hole in the base of the upper cabinet to fit the fan.  We used a piece of 1 inch thick wood to secure the fan on both sides and fill the space.  We knew none of this would be visible once the mantel was constructed.  We then proceeded to vent the hood outside (our microwave hood was not vented to the outside so we had to add this ductwork).  If your hood was already vented outside, your ductwork will already be there.

Here is a picture of the fan after the backsplash was installed.  This is taken looking up from the range.  All of this is completed concealed by the arched piece of wood.  

We used a 1x8 piece of maple (our cabinets are painted maple) to fit the opening.  Next, we scribed the arch onto the piece of maple.  To do this, we copied the arch that was on another piece of furniture in our house (the bookshelf in our bedroom).  I am sure there is a more technical way of creating an arch, but this was easiest for us.  Then, using a jigsaw, Billy cut the arch and sanded any rough edges.  Yes, he cut the wood on our kitchen island.  He's crazy like that ;)  The arch was then secured into the opening by screwing into the sides through the adjacent cabinets, just as you would attach cabinets to each other during installation.

 The arch was then secured into the opening by screwing into the sides through the adjacent cabinets, just as you would attach cabinets to each other during installation.

We then added the corbels (purchased at Lowes) and cut a 5 inch piece of maple to create the shelf and secure it with screws into the corbels.  I couldn't resist adding a few accessories before we painted it :)  

Finally, we color matched the off white color of our cabinets and painted everything.  We are thrilled with our results and how it takes our kitchen up a notch.  Here are some after pictures.  These were taken after we added the white subway tile backsplash and pot filler.

Our new countertop microwave is now stored on an open shelf.

If you'd like to see more pictures of our DIY kitchen, you can see them here.

Sources:

(Affiliate Link)

Broan PM 390 range hood insert from Amazon-$204

Broan PM390 Power Pack Range Hood Insert, Silver