We did it — we found a stainless steel range hood on Craigslist. It’s an industrial-strength JennAir model (worth around $350 new), and we snagged it for just $60. Craigslist strikes again.
The listing stated $65, but a quick “how about sixty—we have cash?” sealed the deal. When we inspected it, the hood looked like it had likely never been used: it still had some of the white peel-off protective film on the underside. It hadn’t been stored perfectly, though, so there are a few scratches on the curved exterior. Those blemishes are almost certainly why we got such a steal; in near-mint condition it could have sold for at least $200. For our plans, the scratches don’t matter — we’ll be building a wood hood surround around the hood, so the finish won’t be visible. In fact, getting this high-end vent at such a low price lets us afford a nicer appliance while still creating a custom look.
We’re still deciding on the exact shape of the hood surround — some designs are boxier, while others have a little stem at the top. We’ll probably tape out a few shapes on the tile to see what reads best in the space before committing.
While hunting for lighting, we stopped by a favorite local outlet and found two pendant fixtures that match the ones we’d admired recently. They’re the same finish and style we’d been eyeing in a post we saw about a month ago. At full price these pendants retail for about $129 each, but the outlet had them for $60 apiece. In other words, we bought two for less than the price of one at regular retail — a great score. We expect these pendants to make a major visual impact over the peninsula, especially compared with big-box options that typically cost $100 or more per fixture.
For the finish, we chose oil-rubbed bronze. The kitchen already features a lot of nickel and stainless elements — hardware, appliances and metal stools — so adding a few oil-rubbed bronze accents creates a more layered, intentional look. We like mixing metals when each finish appears multiple times, so it reads as a deliberate design choice rather than an accidental mismatch. To keep the balance, we’ll introduce other touches of the deep, almost-black ORB finish, which will play well with the mocha cork floors and the dining room accents (there’s already an ORB door knob and curtain rod visible through the large doorway).
Next steps: hang the pendants, mount the JennAir hood, build the custom wood hood cover, add floating shelves, finish the trim, lay cork flooring, install the dishwasher and tackle a handful of other finishing tasks. Progress is steady — we’ll admit we’re crawling along like renovator tortoises, but we’re getting there one step at a time (and keeping our laptops tucked away as we go). How about you — any good Craigslist or outlet finds lately?