A $600 Vintage Charm Redo Reversed A Gray Flip In An “Uninspired” Kitchen
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Emma and Zack Shay refreshed their kitchen in a 100-year-old Craftsman-inspired bungalow for about $600, replacing its blue-gray palette with sage cabinets, white walls and vintage-inspired details. The account, reported by Apartment Therapy, describes a cosmetic update that reused existing cabinets and left the countertops for a later project.

Emma and Zack Shay spent about $600 refreshing the kitchen in their 100-year-old Craftsman-inspired bungalow, replacing blue-gray cabinets and gray finishes with sage paint, white beadboard and vintage-style hardware. Apartment Therapy reported the makeover as a lower-cost way to give the room a look the couple said better suited both their home and personal style, while keeping the existing cabinets.

The Shays changed several visible finishes rather than replacing the kitchen wholesale. They covered the gray peel-and-stick floor with a black-and-white vintage tile-look peel-and-stick option, replaced trim and floorboards with wider versions, and added beadboard paneling. They painted the walls and beadboard Benjamin Moore’s Simply White and used a color matched to Farrow & Ball’s Lichen sage green for the cabinets, according to the Apartment Therapy report.

They also installed brushed nickel bin pulls and glass knobs. Emma Shay said a hardware-store template made fitting the new hardware straightforward. She described the overall cost as about $600 and said keeping the existing cabinets avoided spending several thousand dollars on replacements, though two cabinet doors do not close properly.

The work was not limited to surface changes: the couple said they repaired plaster as best they could before covering it with beadboard and trim. Emma described the kitchen being in disarray for two months as the hardest part. The tan tile countertops, which previous owners had painted white and which she said chip easily, remain in place; the couple plans to work with them for now and revisit them later.

At a glance
reportWhen: Reported by Apartment Therapy; project…
The developmentApartment Therapy reported on a roughly $600 kitchen makeover that replaced a gray flip-era look with vintage and cottage-inspired finishes.

A Lower-Cost Alternative to New Cabinets

The makeover is a specific example of how homeowners can change a kitchen’s appearance without replacing every major component. In the Shays’ case, paint, peel-and-stick flooring, beadboard and new hardware changed the room’s palette and character while the cabinets stayed. Emma said that choice saved several thousand dollars compared with buying new cabinets, although the report does not provide a detailed budget breakdown.

The project also reflects the couple’s stated aim of making a renovated room feel consistent with an older house. They described the previous gray finishes as out of step with the bungalow’s original wood floors and wide trim. Their choices—sage paint, vintage-inspired fittings and wider trim—were intended to restore a warmer, more personal feel, rather than reproduce a documented original kitchen.

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Updating a Craftsman-Inspired Bungalow

Emma Shay told Apartment Therapy that the house is a 100-year-old Craftsman-inspired bungalow with original wood floors and wide trim. She said previous owners had changed the kitchen to fit a gray trend, leaving blue-gray cabinets, gray flooring and gray walls that the couple felt did not suit the older home.

The couple’s response combined elements they associated with the house and their own taste. Emma said she drew on Craftsman details while incorporating vintage and cottage touches used elsewhere in the home. The flooring is a temporary choice: she said they would eventually like to replace it with linoleum sheet flooring. The report does not establish what materials or colors were in the kitchen when the house was built.

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

— Emma Shay, as quoted by Apartment Therapy

Budget and Countertop Work Still Open

Apartment Therapy reports the project cost as about $600, but the article does not give an itemized budget, specify whether the figure includes tools, or provide receipts. The reported amount should be treated as the couple’s approximate project cost, not a guaranteed price for similar work.

The report also does not specify the exact completion date or provide a full assessment of the work’s durability. The peel-and-stick floor is described as a choice the couple made after moving in, while a more permanent flooring replacement remains a future goal. The painted tile countertops are still in place; Emma said she intends to repaint them, but no date or final replacement plan was reported. The account does not independently verify the home’s original kitchen finishes.

Countertops Remain on Their List

The Shays’ next planned task is addressing the tan tile countertops, which were painted white by previous owners and, according to Emma, chip easily. She said she still needs to repaint them and hopes to make them manageable for another couple of years. Longer term, the couple has said it would like to replace the peel-and-stick floor with linoleum sheet flooring.

No schedule or confirmed budget for either future project was included in Apartment Therapy’s report. For now, the kitchen remains a phased makeover: the cabinets and finishes have been updated, while the countertops and eventual flooring replacement are still outstanding.

Key Questions

How much did the kitchen makeover cost?

Emma Shay told Apartment Therapy that the project cost about $600. The report does not include an itemized list of expenses, so the figure is an approximate total rather than a detailed materials budget.

Did the couple replace the kitchen cabinets?

No. The Shays painted the existing cabinets sage green and installed new knobs and pulls. Emma said two cabinets do not close properly, but keeping them saved several thousand dollars compared with buying new ones.

What changes did they make to the room?

They installed black-and-white vintage tile-look peel-and-stick flooring, added beadboard and wider trim, painted the walls and beadboard white, painted the cabinets sage, and fitted brushed nickel pulls and glass knobs.

What is the couple planning to do next?

Emma said she plans to repaint the painted tile countertops, which chip easily. The couple has also said it would eventually like to replace the peel-and-stick flooring with linoleum sheet flooring, but the report gives no timetable for either project.

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