Get the Look with a Custom Hood

April 24, 2020 / 2 Comments

Specifying a custom hood for your client’s kitchen is the ideal way to focus the décor style of the room and to produce a focal point. The hood is an element in kitchen design that you as the kitchen designer are best suited to design and specify.

I will be covering all aspects on specifying the mechanical aspect of custom hood design in an upcoming ICON Courses at Vestabul School of Design under the Science of Kitchen Design, but in this post I wanted to talk about the kitchen hood as it relates to the Art of Kitchen Design.

There are infinite design directions you can take your kitchen designs. Statistically 9 décor styles have been identified as consumer favorites. Let’s have a look at how you could include a custom hood in your next kitchen design to Get-the-Look!

Contemporary Décor Style

Contemporary design is defined as design of the moment or design that is popular now. You can find a lot of standard metal hoods at your local appliance showroom for your contemporary kitchen designs, but you can get a unique look by specifying a custom hood.

Kitchens with white shaker cabinets are everywhere and you can differentiate yours with a simple hood like this. The square lines echo those of the shaker doors and the horizontal band in a warm wood is right on trend.

If your contemporary kitchen design has softer lines, adding a curve to the hood would be an appropriate design detail. This arch could be echoed elsewhere in the design. Perhaps in the shape of the sink or in the lines of the cabinet hardware as the designer did here.

Modern Décor Style

Modern is a style that evolved out of the Mid-Century Modern design movement in the 1950’s and 1960’s. This streamline minimalist look could position the hood by blending it into the décor or by having it make a statement.

The red range is the showstopper in this first example, but the modern approach to the hood design perfectly blends in with the upper cabinetry. This type of cabinet hood can either tilt forward or pull out to function over a gas range.

The modern glass and metal custom hood in this design is the perfect addition to the moody two-tone grey kitchen with its clean, lineal lines. This very functional piece of equipment has become a modern art installation here.

Do note that this moody color scheme was trending at the Milan Italy Euro Cucina trade show a few years ago and we will be seeing more of it in North American kitchen design in the future. It took a bit of getting use to at first, but by the time I had finished walking the show I could see it working for some of my clients.

Traditional Décor Style

Traditional style is inspired by the past but is constantly being updated for today’s consumer. It is a classic style that will always be popular and can support an over the top custom hood.

Incorporating classic traditional elements such as the keystone in the center of this white hood is a good starting point for your hood design. The addition of crown mouldings and panel mouldings are the finishing details that will make it unique.

Another classical detail that is appropriate for traditional hoods is the introduction of decorative corbels. The mahogany hood shown here has the corbel installed sideways to continue the line from the arch detail in the center of the hood. The choice of the dental moulding and exotic wood species is perfect for a traditional kitchen.

Transitional Décor Style

Transitional style is the combining of modern and traditional styles into an up to date look and is an extremely popular choice with consumers. The kitchen designer has a lot of creative flexibility with this décor style and a custom hood is the perfect place to start.

This grey hood becomes transitional due to the addition of the simple crown moulding at the top and the panel detail on the front. It is the perfect pairing of traditional and modern styles.

The maple island hood has combined the modern clean lines of maple wood with the addition of a copper band that is accented with a small crown moulding. A larger version of the crown moulding anchors the hood to the ceiling.

Farmhouse Décor Style

Farmhouse style is an updated country look. This décor style has been popular for awhile and is in the process of getting a bit of an update. A contemporary take on Farmhouse is to warm it up a bit.

Shiplap is a staple of farmhouse style and this custom hood is clad with it. To warm it up the designer has chosen to accent it with a wide piece of wood stained in a warm grey. The wood is a nice contrast to the all-white kitchen and balances the stainless-steel range below it.

The designer’s approach to the hood in this farmhouse kitchen was to repurpose the “backsplash” from a piece of furniture and design a hood around it. The backsplash was flipped upside down, attached to a plastered hood top and then finished off with crown moulding stained to match. The furniture piece was then used as a custom island in the room. This hood is truly a one of a kind!

Industrial Décor Style

The Industrial Kitchen Design style was inspired by commercial kitchen design. It is a style that is substantial and can balance large pro-styled appliances. These oversized appliances need a hood to match.

Metal is a material ideally suited for the custom Industrial styled hood. This first example is mixing matt and polished metals and is highlighted with large rivets. This oversized hood would feel right at home in an industrial loft.

The designer of this hood employed hammered brass and variegated copper for this Industrial hood design. The material finishes were the stars of the show here with the scooped shape of the hood quite classic.

Coastal Décor Style

Coastal style has become a popular décor style with consumers because of its casual laid-back style that evokes vacation living. It is influence by living by the water often using blue and white color schemes.

Simple accents like Beadboard are popular in coastal design and a simple hood clad with beadboard will evoke the look. The white color is classic, and this design would be easy to achieve.

For a more sophisticated look this bulbous shaped hood would be ideal. The shape is reminiscent of waves so it would work well in a coastal scheme. Again, simple crown moulding accents finish off this hood.

Mediterranean Décor Style

The Mediterranean style originated in areas around the Mediterranean Sea. Morocco, Spain, France, and Italy have all influenced the design style. Natural, earthy materials are the hallmark and the style and the manipulation of these materials by craftsman produces beautiful hood designs.

Plaster hoods with a patina is a popular look for Mediterranean styled hoods. Oversized hoods resembling hearths is often part of the design with the main part of the hood being supported by columns and oversized corbels. The designer of this hood also specified the niches in the columns to keep the much-used olive oils close at hand.

Incorporating stone is also a way to evoke the Mediterranean style. The stone accent on this hood has a carved rope detail above a simple crown attached to an angular plastered top. The subtle coloring in the finishes is perfect and does not overwhelm the space.

Cottage Décor Style

Cottage styled kitchen design is a décor style with a retro feel. It is a look can work in both intimate cottages and large country homes.

The AGA cooker is a stable in English cottage kitchens. In this design, the bright yellow color draws the eye to the cooking hearth. The simple hood accented with a display shelf is the perfect compliment. The shelf provides a display area for treasured collections.

This next example is a bit more regal and was designed to compliment the original stained-glass windows in this home. The black accent of the small crown moulding capping the hood echoes the lead in the glass windows and ties in the contemporary black painted base cabinets.

More than any other single item in a kitchen, the hood can set the décor style direction of your kitchen designs. I recommend you collect images of custom hoods to inspire you to include them in your designs. If the cabinet manufacturer offers hoods look at them to see how you could enhance them for your own unique look.

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Comments can be shared below, and I would love to hear your thoughts.