If you’ve seen @Nabela’s or @Beccaxbloom’s kitchens, you were salivating over more than just the food. 2025 is the year of the rich girl and nothing says money like an expensive kitchen, decked out with a range cooker, an island and integrated appliances.
Yet another appliance joins the roster of integrated kitchenware—the cooker hood. They aren’t particularly pretty to look at but are necessary to avoid moisture issues and poor air quality. Camouflaging the cooker hood by matching it to your cabinet style or colour is a step away from the builder grade look.
We spoke to an interiors expert who DIYed this trend to understand why concealed cooker hoods are becoming the norm. We also put together a DIY guide for how to achieve Becca Bloom’s concealed cooker hood look on a budget.
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Why Are Concealed Cooker Hoods So Popular?
Seamless design is synonymous with luxury. Amy Harrison-Mason, Founder of Olive Jennings, explains: “I think they are becoming so popular as they make something that is purely functional look a bit more high end and design led.” Seamless design feels luxurious because it maintains the functionality while adding intentional, striking details. They’re the sort of details that make guests say, “your interior designer must’ve charged a lot for this.”
You can add details like trim, moulding, corbels and onlays to match your cooker hood to your other cabinetry. @Nabela’s concealed cooker hood is tiled to match her splashback—if the idea of DIY tiling scares you or you’re currently renting and can’t alter the hood or splashback, opt for some peel and stick tiles. There are many different styles on the market but we love the herringbone style.
For a complete kitchen refresh, an affordable kitchen cabinetry option is the shaker style. You can also conceal the cooker hood in a shaker style—the look won’t cost you more than what it’s worth in moisture resistant MDF panels and planks.
What also makes a kitchen look expensive is uniqueness: “Kitchens can be hard to make feel unique, so I think this is a great way of adding something interesting and concealing something ugly at the same time,” Amy says.
You can also achieve the high-end, intentional look by making the cooker hood boxing stand out. Try painting it a different colour to the rest of the cabinets or adding detailed appliques. This look is best if your stove and cooker hood are at the centre of your kitchen. However, it has to be executed well as it will be the statement piece and therefore the focal point of your kitchen.
Must Knows Before DIYing A Concealed Cooker Hood
“I hated the look of our cooker hood, but we couldn’t afford the designer kitchens you see all over Pinterest, so I decided to DIY it,” Amy says.
Unless you save up for a contractor, achieving the concealed cooker hood look will be a DIY job. That doesn’t mean it’ll be hard or time consuming. It just means that you’ll need to get comfortable with a drill.
“It was definitely a journey—especially when my father-in-law pointed out that we had bought the wrong style hood and that the buttons were on the front! So, with a bit of help from my dad, a carpenter and engineer, we designed a hood that was functional as well as beautiful,” Amy adds.
If she had to do the DIY project again, Amy’s advice would be to design the hood before buying the appliance. “Also, make sure you think about how you’ll access the electrics if something goes wrong,” she warns.
It’s also important to be able to locate the electrics in the wall and whether any wires run through the place you intend to drill so that you can avoid them. The tool is called a stud finder and it detects wood, metal and AC wires so you can avoid getting hurt or making a more expensive repair job for yourself while trying to save money.
Becca Bloom’s Concealed Cooker Hood on a Budget
Nobody on the internet is more known for the rich girl aesthetic than Becca. Her stone concealed cooker hood is in an Italianate style, with motifs that could pass as Rococo. Paired with her oak cabinets, this design is the perfect storm for a rich girl kitchen.
Let’s first start with the details. The motifs are scroll motifs—both the lip of the cooker hood boxing and the brackets are acanthus leaf scrolls. A great vendor for similar corbels to the brackets seen is Ekena Millwork. The Edinburgh corbel is most similar. Use it as a face to the legs of the cooker hood boxing to add some antique charm. If you love the Tuscan look but want a plainer corbel, the Devon corbel is similar and stunning. This heat bendable acanthus scroll wood trim is perfect for the lip.
There are trims to distinguish the cooker hood lip from the rest of the cover. This Ogee pine edging trim is great to section out the cooker hood. If you don’t own a mitre saw and box or don’t have space for one, mitre shears are also a good option for a quick clean cut. Stone is not only expensive—it’s also heavy, hence why Becca has real wooden cabinets and a stone worktop. To get the look for less, consider using limewash paint in a grey or beige stone colour. Rustoleum’s No.412 is a “warm mid greige” and perfect for that stone-like finish at a much lower cost.
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