A $600 Vintage Charm Redo Reversed A Gray Flip In An “Uninspired” Kitchen

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Emma and Zack Shay refreshed the kitchen in their 100-year-old Craftsman-inspired bungalow for about $600, replacing its blue-gray look with sage cabinets, white walls, patterned peel-and-stick flooring and vintage-style hardware. Their account, reported by Apartment Therapy, describes a cosmetic renovation that kept the existing cabinets; countertop updates remain on their to-do list.

Emma and Zack Shay refreshed the kitchen in their 100-year-old Craftsman-inspired bungalow for about $600, replacing blue-gray finishes with sage-green cabinets, white walls, patterned peel-and-stick flooring and vintage-style hardware. Apartment Therapy reported the makeover as a lower-cost alternative to replacing the existing cabinets, while noting that the couple still plans to address the countertops.

The Shays said the kitchen’s blue-gray cabinets, gray floor and gray walls did not suit the older home or their taste. Emma told Apartment Therapy that previous owners had changed the room to fit the gray trend, leaving a space she described as “a bit uninspired.” The couple aimed to bring in a warmer, cottage-influenced look that also referenced the home’s Craftsman character.

They replaced the former gray peel-and-stick floor with a black-and-white pattern designed to resemble vintage tile. They also widened the trim and floorboards, added beadboard, and painted the walls and beadboard Benjamin Moore’s Simply White. The existing cabinets were painted a color matched to Farrow & Ball’s Lichen, a sage green, rather than replaced.

Brushed-nickel bin pulls and glass knobs completed the update. Emma said a hardware template made fitting the new pieces straightforward. The couple’s reported total was about $600; Apartment Therapy’s account does not provide an itemized budget, so the exact cost of each element is not clear.

A Refresh Without New Cabinets

The project shows how the Shays changed the room’s appearance while keeping its main cabinetry, a choice Emma said saved them several thousand dollars compared with buying new cabinets. That trade-off comes with a known drawback: two cabinet doors do not close properly, which Emma said she is willing to live with for now.

The makeover is a specific example of a modest-budget cosmetic update, not a full kitchen renovation. Its value for readers is in the choices the couple made: reuse the cabinets, use paint and trim to change the room’s character, and choose affordable flooring and hardware. The result reflects the owners’ stated preferences, but the report does not establish that the same approach or budget would work for other kitchens.

Restoring Character to a Gray Kitchen

The home is described by Emma as a Craftsman-inspired bungalow with original wood floors and wide trim. She said the kitchen’s gray finishes felt out of step with those details. Her design approach combined references to the house’s style with vintage and cottage touches used elsewhere in the home.

The flooring is a temporary choice rather than the couple’s preferred long-term material. Emma told Apartment Therapy that she and Zack would eventually like to install linoleum sheet flooring to better honor the home. For now, the patterned peel-and-stick floor and added trim helped them change the look without taking on that larger replacement project.

““The blue-gray cabinets, gray flooring, and gray walls were a bit uninspired and not our style.””

— Emma Shay, speaking to Apartment Therapy

Budget and Countertop Work Pending

The reported $600 total is not accompanied by a detailed breakdown, and Apartment Therapy does not specify exactly when the project took place. It is also unclear how much of the work the couple completed themselves or whether the figure includes every supply and tool used.

The countertops remain unfinished. Emma said they are tan tiles painted white by previous owners and chip easily; she plans to repaint them and expects that to make them manageable for another couple of years. The report does not say when that work will happen, what products she will use or whether the couple will later replace the counters. The desired future linoleum flooring is also a plan, not a completed part of this makeover.

Countertops Remain on the List

The next stated task is repainting the chip-prone countertops. Emma said she and Zack are choosing to make the existing surface work rather than replace it immediately. She also said the couple hopes to install linoleum sheet flooring eventually, but gave no schedule for that project.

For now, the reported makeover is complete apart from those future plans. No additional work dates, updated costs or later results were included in Apartment Therapy’s account.

Key Questions

How much did the kitchen makeover cost?

Emma and Zack Shay reported spending about $600. Apartment Therapy did not publish an itemized breakdown of that figure.

What did the couple change?

They added patterned black-and-white peel-and-stick flooring, painted the existing cabinets sage green, painted the walls and new beadboard white, widened trim and floorboards, and installed brushed-nickel bin pulls and glass knobs.

Did they replace the kitchen cabinets?

No. They painted the existing cabinets. Emma said two do not close properly, but keeping them saved the couple several thousand dollars compared with buying new cabinetry.

What parts of the kitchen are still due for work?

The couple plans to repaint the chip-prone countertops. They have also said they would like to replace the peel-and-stick floor with linoleum sheet flooring in the future, but they have not announced a timeline for either project.

Source: rss