Sage – Author at Plaster & Disaster

A few weeks ago I shared my process for tiling our new kitchen backsplash. As you know from photos, I subsequently installed a new range hood right on top of the backsplash, and today I’m sharing how I went about doing that without ruining my beautiful new tiles.

First, the range hood itself. From the beginning, I knew that replacing the microwave range hood with a stainless steel chimney hood would be an inexpensive but visually transformative part of the renovation. I actually bought this range hood last January (!!) off of craigslist, and it’s been sitting in my basement ever since. With the renovation ongoing I have a list of things I regularly search for on craigslist, and so when I came across a well-reviewed range hood being sold for $200 on craigslist instead of the ~$250 I was seeing it for in various places online, I figured I may as well snap it up even though I was far from ready for it (it’s made by Eureka).

A mere eleven months later with the backsplash finally tiled, it was at last time to install the new range hood before I risked too much cabinet damage from oils and splatters off of the stove. Before installing it, I took a few minutes to paint the ceiling where it would be going, which was not looking so hot as it had previously been covered by the microwave cabinet. I figured that by painting it before installing the hood I would save myself some cutting in (I did tape off the new backsplash to protect it).

Tiling a kitchen backsplash -- Plaster & Disaster

A reminder of the ceiling, albeit pre-backsplash

The instructions that came with the range hood were barely intelligible, but I managed to figure out that I just needed to drill two holes for anchors and screws, and then the range hood would rest on those screws securely in place. I was nervous about drilling into the tile, but followed some tips online and it all worked very well. First I put tape up where I would be drilling to help keep the drill bit from slipping, and used a measuring tape and level to mark exactly where my holes needed to be.

Then I used a set of rock carbide drill bits to drill the holes. We happened to already have some from mounting our TV on the cement wall in the basement gym, but here’s a link on Amazon (affiliate link – read our policies) to the ones we own.

I started with the smallest bit, and just drilled slowly, stopping frequently to dip the drill bit in cool water lest it get overheated.

The drilling actually went very quickly, and I got nice clean holes.

I used a larger bit to enlarge the holes to insert the anchors, and then screwed in the two mounting screws. Then I just had to lift the body of the range hood into place to hang on the mounting screws.

Next it was time to wire the range hood. It came ready to plug in, so to convert it to hard wired first I cut off the plug and removed a bunch of the outer coating to expose the wires underneath.

Then I stripped the ends of each wire.

After turning off the power to the circuit in question, I connected black to black, white to white, and green to copper, securing everything with wire nuts. (Note: one commenter on my backsplash tutorial noted that I probably should have used a junction box in the wall, and they’re probably right…but I didn’t…if it isn’t obvious by now, please do not take electrical advice from me of this blog.)

Next I needed to install the hose connecting the body of the hood directly to the outlet pipe. Because we have very low ceilings, the hose that came with the hood was too long. I figured I would just cut out a bunch of excess length in the middle and tape the two ends back together. I measure where to cut:

And used a boxcutter to slice off the ends:

Then I used duct tape to attach the two ends back together. Of course the only duct tape I had was some highly professional tape that someone gave me as a present once:

Then I mounted the hose to the top of the hood using the mounting panel it came with, and taped the top of the hose around the outlet pipe for a secure connection.

Installing a range hood -- Plaster & Disaster

I like to think of someone taking the range hood down sometime many years in the future and finding this colorful sight.

The last step was to mount the chimney piece that covers the outlet hose, which attached to the body of the hood with a small screw on each side.

With everything in place I removed the protective white coating that came on the pieces to minimize the risks of scratches, and was left with a shiny new range hood!

I’m thrilled with how easy it was and that I only had to drill two relatively small holes in my lovely backsplash. I do wish I could have mounted it a little higher, but the ceilings are so low that this is really as high as I could have mounted it without needing to cut down the chimney – and though I have some experience cutting metal from my coffee table masterpiece, I was still worried I might not get a smooth cut and I’d end up ruining the whole thing. I’m really quite pleased with the transformation!

But wait, don’t go! While I have you, I figured I’d share one other quick project in the kitchen that won’t get its own post but is definitely a little bit more progress: I installed shelves next to the pantry (which still needs doors and shelves…).

I copied Naomi, and used the same Black Arch Steel Decorative Shelf Bracket by Rubbermaid that she used for the shelves in her bedroom. But I spray painted mine white, so it’s not egregious copying right? For the shelves themselves I used an inexpensive 10″ wide pine plank which I cut to the right length and stained with Minwax “Natural” to give just a little color. I actually mixed in a hint of “Golden Pecan” to darken it just a tad, since I had some on hand already.

I’m not a big shelf styler, but I put up some cookbooks, a plant, a gold reindeer (Naomi has a matching one — we found them while thrifting), a favorite photo, and a a few other odds and ends. The pitcher painting is something I made years ago for our apartment kitchen — it won’t be permanent there, but it works in the meantime.

Okay now I am done sharing. Have a lovely Monday!

Sage’s kitchen. Sage’s dining room. Naomi’s bedroom. Naomi’s garage. We couldn’t blame you if you’re starting to wonder if we’re capable of finishing a room makeover. We’re starting to wonder it ourselves. So in the midst of the projects-in-which-we’re-making-progress-but-it-still-feels-like-they’ll-never-end, we thought we’d reflect back on some room makeovers we actually finished. You know, in case you need your faith in us restored, or you just want to look at some pretty pictures for a change of pace.

In case you missed them (or they feel like a long-ago dream), here are a few of our favorite room transformation projects from bygone days!

Sage’s guest room

The main floor of my house might be in shambles, but at least I still have my beautiful guest room to retreat to when the kitchen gets too overwhelming/Sam is talking in his sleep. We made over this room in just a few weeks in preparation for Sam’s sister moving in with us for awhile, since we thought she might run for the hills if we told her she had to sleep in here:

Yes, that *is* floral contact paper on the walls:

With the help of a lot of white paint, some colorful accessorizing (mostly scavenged from elsewhere in the house), a fresh coat of paint on the dresser, and one giant map, we managed to transform this very blue-meets-orange-wood-paneling attic bedroom into a light and airy oasis:

It’s hard to believe that was over a year ago. Man, we’ve really been working on this kitchen forever….

Sage’s living room

Another of my favorite room makeovers we tackled in pretty much the opposite way, which is to work on it slowly over time: the living room. When we first saw the house it looked like this:

We took the first big step by painting it literally the day we moved in, we added a gallery wall (as all self-respecting homes must have), we added the most amazing thrifted chair and then another amazing thrifted chair, we swapped out the rug and I sewed colorful pillows, and then I built a coffee table. After over a year of slow progress and tweaks, the living room reached its current “finished” state:

I say “finished” because of course it is subject to more changes. For instance, I want to add sconces on either side of the mirror above the couch to balance things visually and add some more light for reading (though the bench in the dining room is my new favorite place to read).

So at least over the last 11 months when everything has been covered in dust/broken tile/more dust/thinset/grout/more dust from the kitchen renovation, I have had some places to retreat to and remember it’s not all a disaster zone.

Naomi’s Dressing Room/Office

Brad and I made a deal when we bought this house and saw that there was just one small closet in the master bedroom: he gets to use this closet and I get a whole other room as my office/dressing room/craft room. While it is hard to count any of the rooms in my house as really “finished,” this one is definitely in a nice, steady state.

When I first saw this room, it was pretty striking. Mainly because it was very very bright green. Here is the listing photo:

And here is the cell phone shot I took the day we bought the house:

I embarked on an exhaustive search for a different green, one that was still pretty bold but not so I-can-film-a-movie-in-here-green-screen.

And landed on a strong teal that plays well with my yellow doors and lets me enjoy a fun, jewel-tone vibe.

This wasn’t a belabored room makeover, but I did paint the doors and hardware, get art on the walls, bring in a vibrant vintage rug I found at Brimfield, and fill it with furniture, including fixing up an old set of drawers and making over a cabinet for added storage.

I’d like to do more, of course – in particular, I have been keeping my eyes out for a stylish filing cabinet because keeping your important paperwork in a box is only cute when you are in your 20s – but the room is definitely working for me the way it is for now.

Naomi’s Living Room

Another room in a similar state – done for now – is the living room. This started pretty sad and dreary, with gray-beige walls, clouded retro windows, smelly forest-green carpet, and a cave-like atmosphere. Here it is in the listing photo and when we moved in:

We did a lot in our initial renovation, including new bamboo floors, taking down some of the built-ins and walls for a more open floor-plan, new windows and trim, and demoing the front covered porch to let more light into the space.

The decorating was, of course, more fun. We got our dream lamp and dream couch (which we covered with bright pillows) and hung a gallery wall.

Brad’s parents also gave us an awesome teak bookself, which I decorated with a lot of our favorite things and Brad’s Zuni statue collection.

I got to keep the award-winning cactus table that Sage and I made, which I think works pretty well in the space. I also made a table to run along our big window to give me more room for plants, and finally got around to painting the window sashes (which I stupidly got in plain wood during our renovation).

A recurring theme here is that I definitely have more that I want to do. But, man, looking back on those befores – I have to say I am pretty happy with the way it is now!

While we continue to chip away at projects that seem like they will never end, we take solace knowing that we can retreat into rooms that are pretty and not construction zones. Hopefully, this has also been a break for you, and you can trust that we will get there in the end!