We’ve come a long way updating this kitchen! Let’s back up a bit and I’ll share a “before” photo featuring oak cabs and one enormous microwave.

This big honking microwave above our oven made me crazy. I didn’t want a microwave to be the focal point of our kitchen.

The microwave was “installed” so I thought it would be difficult to remove. I did some investigating and really the only thing holding that bad boy in place was 2 bolts from the cabinets above it. I backed out the bolts, released the microwave and listed her for free on the neighborhood page. Gone, baby, gone.

Bought a smaller microwave to use in our pantry area. I love that this is compact yet can fit a dinner plate inside. My affiliate link for this microwave is https://amzn.to/39zNWiO.

I used a paddle bit to make a hole in the cabinet wall to access the outlet behind the fridge. It attaches to a power drill and makes a perfect circle.

Out of sight and functions just fine in there.

Now for the FUN part…what to put in place of the microwave???? I wanted a pretty range hood to steal the show.

I purchased a ventless exhaust fan with under mount switches. Having the switches underneath is very important as you will be covering the front of it. Here’s my affiliate link for this exact model https://amzn.to/3bTT7N8

The fan is ventless but uses charcoal filters for absorbing smells and has 2 lights.

It was super easy to install to the underside of the cabinets following the manual.

After trolling some Pinterest and instagram I decided that I wanted a simple angled box design in black. It basically involved cutting 2 side pieces of wood to create the angle, a piece across the front of the fan and a flap for the front over the cabinet space. I chose to use a hinged door on the front that opens if you need/want access to the cabinets.

I removed the door on the right to give me more space to work. I taped off the sides knowing my hood would be painted Iron Ore and installed a hinge.

I screwed pieces of wood vertically on the outside of the cabinets so I had somewhere to attach the sides for the hoods. I used cardboard to make a template then cut 2 pieces of wood for the sides.

Here you can see the sides and one of the horizontal planks.

I used 3 horizontal planks for the lid section that opens. I played around with trim on the outside to beef it up and define the lid better. Everything was screwed from the back so you don’t you don’t see screws or nails.

I used my nail gun to secure the hood to the braces. This is made of very light plywood so it’s not super heavy. It fully covers the vent fan and light. i made it up as I went along and took photos of the process. I know this isn’t super specific measurement wise but I would wager any DIY hood needs to be custom for it’s space.

Isn’t she pretty?

Now we have a beautiful range hood vs a microwave as our focal point of the kitchen. I couldn’t love it more.

Thanks for reading along- Kristen