DIY Custom Range Hood With Shelf and Brass Tipping Rail
December 15, 2025
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How to add a decorative shelf with tipping rail to a wood range hood.
I added some character and charm to our kitchen by adding some pretty molding
and a decorative shelf to our vent hood.
This project turned out even better than I imagined! I absolutely LOVE how
this DIY project turned out!
Years ago I built a
wood vent hood that covered our stainless steel vent. At the time I went with a very simple look created with shallow trim:
I built it so we can still easily access the controls for the vent.
We loved the look -- it really warmed up our kitchen, especially compared to
just the metal vent hood. Over the past year or so, I've dreamed of adding
more charm to the hood with molding and a decorative shelf.
So I finally got to it last week...about three hours before I was hosting a
bunch of girlfriends for a Christmas party. I tend to think projects are
going to take way less time than they actually do. :)
I did this DIY project in two segments. The first was before the party -- I
added the bulk of the new trim that day and then added the pretty details
later.
First up, I needed to remove the trim box on the bottom of the vent cover. To
do that, I scored the caulk with a razor blade:
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And then used
my tiny pry bar
to remove the trim:
This smaller pry bar isn't as thick and removed the wood boards with no
damage. I'll definitely use this wood for another project someday.
Once that box was removed, I needed to cut down the vertical boards on top
to make space for the new shelf. I held up the wood I was using and marked
the height, then marked exactly where I needed to cut with a level:
This will all make more sense in a bit!
This
oscillating cutting tool
is perfect for projects like this! It allowed me to cut the trim down
without taking everything off:
This tool is GREAT for cutting down baseboards if you just need a portion
removed as well!
When the wood trim was removed, I made sure to remove all nails and leftover
caulk.
Once the front was prepped, I could start adding my new trim. For the boxed
molding look on the front, I used 1x4 poplar boards.
I added a bead of wood glue to the back first, then nailed them in:
Once the box was installed, I nailed in a 1x3 poplar board horizontally to the
top (where I had cut with the saw earlier) to create a shelf. After some caulk
and a couple coats of paint, this is where the project was at for the
party:
The design still needed more character, so I grabbed an eight foot piece of
this coved molding
from Lowe's:
They have a wood option, but this PVC version is so much cheaper
and is paintable.
I used this same product for the
library panel molding
in my office:
I also grabbed an eight foot piece of this simple corner bead molding,
also made of PVC:
I installed the coved molding on the inside of the box I created, similar
to the larger version on my walls. Then I nailed the small bead molding
tucked up underneath the shelf as a small decorative touch.
At the last minute I realized the whole thing needed to be more balanced
top to bottom, so I added another 1x3 piece along the bottom, with the
matching corner bead molding as well. I'll share a detailed photo with the
exact products I used down below!
The jewelry on this project was the brass tipping/gallery rail for the
shelf. I wanted to be able to prop decor without it falling off, so the
tipping rail was a necessity:
When I did a similar project in our basement, I made my own
faux tipping rail with wood craft items:
It saved me a ton of money!
I splurged on the real thing for the kitchen, since it will be seen and
used way more. Over the years, I've consistently found that Paxton Hardware has the best prices on the unlacquered brass posts and railings
needed for this project.
They were delivered incredibly fast and were packaged so well! I will definitely be shopping this site again.
I spaced out the brass posts where I wanted them on the shelf, then
drilled small, shallow holes for the provided brass screws:
And this is how the project turned out!:
Here's a reminder of how it looked before:
It's hard to tell in the two pics above, but I warmed up the hood by
painting it in the same color of our dining area, a Sherwin-Williams color
called Pachyderm.
It ties the kitchen and dining room together nicely and still works well
with the light gray grout on our backsplash.
The new detail on the front consists of four pieces of wood and molding. I
created a graphic that shows exactly what I used and where:
I LOVE this update in our kitchen! It's so pretty with that brass accent.
😍
Here's a look at the side with the new trim:
The cabinets open and close just fine (I adjusted at the hinges when I
built the first version so they don't rub against the vent hood).
I was so excited to add some Christmas touches to the new vent
cover!:
You can see the coved molding I added to the inside of the 1x4 box better
here:
I'll share a full Christmas kitchen tour this week! Now that this project
is done, I'm tweaking some things, but this is how this spot looked right
after I finished it up!:
Oh my, I love it! What a difference a little bit of trim added!
Let me know if you have any questions about this project.
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