TL;DR
Get home appliances delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
Emma and Zack Shay updated their kitchen in a 100-year-old Craftsman-inspired bungalow for about $600, replacing a blue-gray scheme with sage-green cabinets, white walls and black-and-white peel-and-stick flooring. The makeover kept the existing cabinets and left the countertops for a later project, showing how paint, flooring and hardware can change a kitchen without a full replacement.
Emma and Zack Shay spent about $600 to rework the kitchen in their 100-year-old Craftsman-inspired bungalow, replacing blue-gray cabinets and gray finishes with sage-green paint, white walls, patterned peel-and-stick flooring and vintage-style hardware. Their makeover, reported by Apartment Therapy, kept the existing cabinets and left the countertops for a later update rather than replacing the kitchen wholesale.
The Shays told Apartment Therapy that the kitchen’s blue-gray cabinets, gray floor and gray walls did not suit either their preferences or the older home. Emma described the previous look as “a bit uninspired” and said the couple wanted the room to feel warmer and more connected to the house’s original character. The home has original wood floors and wide trim, according to the report.
The couple replaced the existing gray peel-and-stick flooring with a black-and-white vintage tile-style peel-and-stick product. They also widened the trim and floorboards, added beadboard paneling, and painted the walls and beadboard Benjamin Moore’s Simply White. For the cabinets, they used a color matched to Farrow & Ball’s Lichen, a sage green. New brushed-nickel bin pulls and glass knobs supplied the finishing details.
Apartment Therapy reported the project cost at about $600 total. The Shays chose to paint their existing cabinets rather than buy new ones. Emma said two cabinet doors still do not close properly, a compromise she accepted to avoid spending several thousand dollars on replacement cabinetry. She also said fixing and covering the plaster with beadboard and trim, along with living through two months of kitchen disruption, were among the more difficult parts of the work.
Small Changes, Lower Renovation Cost
The makeover illustrates a lower-cost alternative to replacing a kitchen’s cabinets: changing the room’s color, flooring and visible details while retaining the existing cabinet boxes. In this case, the reported total was about $600, though that figure reflects this particular project and should not be treated as a standard price for kitchen renovations. Costs vary with materials, room size, labor and the condition of the surfaces.
For readers considering a similar refresh, the project also shows the trade-offs involved. Keeping older cabinetry helped limit spending, but the Shays continued to live with doors that do not shut properly. The countertops remain another unfinished issue. The result is a changed look without a complete renovation, rather than a fully repaired or newly fitted kitchen.
The choices were also tied to the age and style of the house. Emma said the couple wanted the room to feel consistent with their Craftsman-inspired bungalow and the vintage and cottage elements elsewhere in their home. Their approach was not simply to remove gray; it paired paint and hardware with details intended to feel at home in the older property.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
How the Gray Kitchen Changed
According to Apartment Therapy, the kitchen had been altered by previous owners and featured a blue-gray cabinet color, gray flooring and gray walls. Emma said that palette reflected a trend that did not suit the bungalow. She and Zack wanted to bring back a warmer, more personal look while keeping the project within a modest budget.
The floor was one of the first changes they made after moving in. The couple used peel-and-stick flooring with a vintage tile appearance, while Emma said they would like eventually to replace it with linoleum sheet flooring. The new flooring, broader trim, beadboard, paint and cabinet hardware formed the makeover described in the report. The Shays did not replace the cabinets or countertops as part of the approximately $600 project.
The couple’s plan leaves room for future work rather than presenting the kitchen as fully finished. Emma told Apartment Therapy that the tan tile countertops had been painted white by previous owners and chip easily. She plans to repaint them and hopes to keep them manageable for another couple of years.
““The blue-gray cabinets, gray flooring, and gray walls were a bit uninspired and not our style.””
— Emma Shay, speaking to Apartment Therapy
Costs and Remaining Kitchen Work
The report gives the makeover cost as about $600, but the supplied material does not provide a detailed receipt or itemized breakdown. It also does not specify the square footage, the quantities of materials purchased, or whether the total includes tools and supplies the couple already owned. The figure should be read as the reported cost of this project, not a quote for comparable work.
Several aspects of the kitchen remain unresolved. The countertops are still the existing painted tile, which Emma said chips easily, and two cabinet doors do not close properly. The report does not say when the counters will be repainted, whether the couple will pursue their longer-term plan for linoleum flooring, or whether they intend to repair the cabinet doors.
Countertops Remain on Their List
Emma told Apartment Therapy that the next item on the couple’s project list is the countertop surface. She plans to repaint the painted tan tile and said she hopes that will make it manageable for a few more years. No schedule or final material choice for a future countertop replacement was reported.
The Shays have also said they would like to replace the peel-and-stick floor with linoleum sheet flooring someday. For now, the report describes that as a longer-term goal, not a booked project. Their immediate next step, as described by Emma, is addressing the counters while continuing to use the kitchen as it is.
Key Questions
How much did the kitchen makeover cost?
Apartment Therapy reported a total of about $600. The source material does not include an itemized budget, so the figure applies to the Shays’ project rather than serving as a general renovation estimate.
What did Emma and Zack change?
They installed black-and-white vintage tile-style peel-and-stick flooring, widened the trim and floorboards, added beadboard, painted the walls and paneling white, painted the existing cabinets sage green and fitted brushed-nickel bin pulls and glass knobs.
Did the couple replace their kitchen cabinets?
No. They painted the existing cabinets to keep costs down. Emma said two doors still do not close properly, but she accepted that issue rather than spend several thousand dollars on replacement cabinets.
What is still unfinished in the kitchen?
The countertops remain the painted tile installed by previous owners, and Emma said they chip easily. She plans to repaint them. The couple has also said they would like to replace the peel-and-stick floor with linoleum sheet flooring in the future, but no timetable was reported.
Source: rss
Fall yard work Picks
leaf blowers
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
