Creating an Old World Range Hood

When we finally redid our kitchen a few years ago, I was beyond happy with it.  No longer was I embarrassed having people over for dinner because I had new cabinetry, granite counter tops, new flooring...in short - my kitchen was finally a place I could be proud of.

My kitchen was featured in HOUZZ!

But...I couldn't make up my mind which backsplash I wanted. Nothing seemed to go with the granite (oh, it probably did...I was just very picky).  So, I finally took the plunge and created my own backsplash (which you'll see a better picture of soon).  Because the backsplash was very old world, textured and rustic, it made my range hood look too new, too light and out of place.  So - that had to change. I took out the trowel...

I used a product called PlasterTex from Faux Effects. It's a wonderful texture for old world effects - plus it takes a glaze well. I stippled the texture on first with an old brush, then I troweled it, giving it that "been there forever" type of look. In the smaller and straighter sections where I couldn't use a trowel, I stippled and then I "mushed" with my fingers (very technical faux treatment!!) Then, after it was dry, I took out a large brush and glazed the entire range hood with some Mahogany Stain and Seal (also from Faux Effects).  I threw in a little bit of chestnut brown and brown glaze as well.  Where it was too dark, I just wiped it back with some cheesecloth. For the onlay on the top of the range hood, I just wiped back a lot of it because I wanted it to stand out...otherwise the depth and definition of that feature would have been lost.

Above, not the best cropping job, but you can see the range hood a bit better. I then used the same glaze and wiped it over the lower molding on the hood.  The question I have for all of you reading this - should I also do the same glaze on the top molding?  I left it cream - like the rest of the cabinetry.  I'm not sure...so I would love some suggestions.

Here's a closeup of the section over the cooktop.

I wish I could say that I painted that middle tile - but I was afraid of messing it up too much, so I had a friend who's a fabulous artist do it for me.  It's a revised version of a section of a toile fabric that I had purchased awhile back. We didn't copy the toile exactly, we changed it quite a bit.  I like to think that the lady is taking the wine bottle away from the man because he's getting a little crazy.  In my house, it's usually my husband taking the wine bottle away from me!  Oh well - in art, you can be a more glorified version of yourself!!

If you'd like to see a few other photos of my kitchen, go HERE

Hope you enjoyed this!

I'm linking this project up to...

From Plain to Beautiful

Refinishing and Revamping Plain Furniture

If there's one thing that I totally love, it's creating something out of nothing. Whenever I get a chance to revamp something - whether it be walls, furniture, ceilings, floors etc - it's the creative challenge that leads me to the answer of what something wants to be.

In my kitchen, I knew that I wanted something beautiful for my island. I didn't want an island like everyone else - I wanted it to be French, antique and unusual. I did a beautiful pale metallic and antiqued finish on the demilune that's attached to my island. I also had some inspirational photographs and some napkins with "Chinoiserie" artwork and this is this is what I came up with.

Our kitchen was featured in HOUZZ!

Here is a side view...

It's exactly what I wanted - with my own personal stamp on it. I'm happy every day when I look at it - even though the demilune only houses very mundane things like dog food and extra vases and large pots that we don't use very often - it's functional and beautiful and I love it!!


If you would love to have a kitchen that looks like mine, please call me at 631 793-1315 - I would be very glad to help you!  Linda

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