Jeff Doubet shares an insider look at how a custom Spanish range hood is made. See the fascinating process as an expert plasterer works with his talent and specialty tools. The rare sequence of steps were filmed in beautiful Santa Barbara, CA.
Before I get to far I thought I would share a photo of the completed project. This Spanish kitchen remodel was a part of a much larger whole house renovation that took place in the Riviera neighborhood of Santa Barbara. See the completed interior Spanish Interiors Collection 1.
Scroll for professional design tips, beautiful photos and resources for building or buying a Spanish-style range hood for your own project.
Design Planning Tips for a Custom Spanish range hood
If you are planning a high-end Spanish range hood like this for your own kitchen renovation, there are several details I recommend you think about.
TIP # 1: It’s important to consider final dimensions and layout of your cabinets as they relate to the custom hood build. This might seem obvious, but custom plaster range hoods are built with layers of material not easily measured or controlled. You will need wiggle room for the subtle variance in the final width of the completed hand-built hood as it relates to your cabinets.
In this photo, the Artisan builds up the edge detail on the left side of the hood. As a handcrafted process, you can see how there will be slightly imperfect final dimensions.
Here, the expert plasterer is using a straight edge tool to make his hand-built project as accurate and straight as possible. He is doing it by eye, not with a regulated measuring method.
Plastering a custom hood is an artistic process. In this photo you can see how the Artisan works the plaster to the underside portion of the range hood. The plaster is mixed on site. Once water is added to the dry mix, it has a short “shelf life”. He has to move fast, moving the material where he wants it- before it sets up rock hard.
Design Planning Tips for a Custom Spanish range hood Continued
TIP # 2: The sizing and shape of your Spanish hood design will partially be determined by the internal mechanical range insert you choose to purchase. Hood inserts vary greatly in size and profile, depending on what brand you are interested in purchasing.
In the above photo you can see how the metal worker fabricated the general swoop shape around the outer box of the hood insert. Here is an Amazon direct link to 36″ range hood inserts. Something you can study later. But you will see how much the size and shape of brand manufacturer inserts differ from one to another.
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TIP # 3: A thinner profile of a hood insert allows for flexibility in how much you can do with the plaster shape and degree of “swoop” in your design.
TIP # 4: If you seek to build a Spanish-style kitchen range hood that will be supported by decorative corbels, more planning is needed. The overall width of your hood will expand. For example, if you have a 48″ range and want 6″ wide corbel supports- your hood will be 60″ wide. Above: a close up photo of the underside of the basic fabrication of the hood. You can see the range hood insert unit (includes the buttons and squirrel cage fans). The C channel and steel lath used to fabricate the overall shape of the hood are materials you can purchase at Home Depot.
Here the plasterer roughs in the material over the C channel. Note the self stick EIFS tape adhered to the metal. The fiberglass tape enables the plaster to stick to the metal framework.
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More Pro Insights for Fabricating a Custom Spanish Range Hood
Spanish range hoods similar to this custom project will take several days, or a couple of weeks to develop. Once the range hood insert is attached to the wall, a fabricator develops the metal skeleton and expanded metal the plaster will be applied to. Some plasterers who make hoods do all of the work themselves, once the general contractor and electrician install the insert.
The process requires multiple layers of plaster, and this takes time to cure between coats.
Here the skilled plasterer is using a “tool” made from readily available metal angle. Other professionals use a store bought specific tool called a skimmer.
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My client had a cool idea of adding a band of black plaster within the hood. A design detail to coordinate with the black La Cornue Range and black cabinets he and his wife also specified.
The plasterer keeps all of this in mind as he achieves the sharp lines required to make the idea work.
Where to buy Off-the-shelf Spanish-style Range Hoods
For those who does not have the time, bandwidth or money for developing a custom Spanish range hood, there are attractive options for achieving a similar look.
Here are a couple of recommendations for prefabricated range hoods compatible with Spanish-style home design.
1) WHITE SPANISH-STYLE HOOD ON AMAZON This hood is fabricated in wood. It has a similar swoop design as above, but with a taller base section.
2) BLACK SPANISH-STYLE HOOD ON AMAZON This hood has a similar shape and has decorative straps. It is a more masculine look, but can work great for the right project.
The manufacturers of these range hood products have unpainted versions, as well. This will allow you to paint it to coordinate with your overall Spanish kitchen design.
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Well friend, this wraps another site visit in beautiful Santa Barbara, CA. I hope you enjoyed learning how to infuse more Santa Barbara Style into your own Spanish home design project by incorporating a Spanish-style range hood into your kitchen. Scroll to explore more helpful links and resources for designing and building your own Spanish-style home and landscape.
