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Emma and Zack Shay refreshed their 100-year-old Craftsman-inspired bungalow’s gray kitchen for about $600, using paint, beadboard, new trim, flooring and vintage-inspired hardware. They kept the existing cabinets to avoid a more expensive replacement; updating the easily chipped countertops remains on their to-do list.
Emma and Zack Shay spent about $600 refreshing the kitchen in their 100-year-old Craftsman-inspired bungalow, replacing a blue-gray look with sage cabinets, white walls, vintage-style flooring and new hardware. Apartment Therapy reported that they retained the existing cabinets rather than replace them, keeping the project focused on lower-cost cosmetic changes.
The couple said the kitchen’s blue-gray cabinets, gray flooring and gray walls did not suit the older house or their taste. Emma Shay told Apartment Therapy that they wanted to bring back a warmer, more personal feel, drawing on both the home’s Craftsman character and the couple’s vintage and cottage-style furnishings.
They replaced the previous gray peel-and-stick floor with a black-and-white, vintage-tile-look peel-and-stick covering. They also added wider trim and floorboards, installed beadboard, and painted the walls and paneling Benjamin Moore’s Simply White. The existing cabinets were painted a color matched to Farrow & Ball’s Lichen, a sage green.
The Shays completed the look with brushed nickel bin pulls and glass knobs. Emma said a hardware-store template made installation easier. The couple had to repair the plaster as best they could before covering it with beadboard and trim; Emma described living through the kitchen’s disarray for two months as the hardest part.
How the Couple Kept Costs Down
The project shows how the Shays changed the kitchen’s appearance without replacing its cabinets, a decision Emma said saved several thousand dollars. The roughly $600 total reported for the makeover covered a set of visible updates—paint, flooring, trim, beadboard and hardware—rather than a full kitchen renovation.
The result also reflects a specific design choice: matching new finishes to the house’s age and the owners’ preferences, rather than treating a complete rebuild as the only route to change. That approach may be relevant to readers weighing a lower-cost refresh, although the source does not provide a detailed itemized budget or establish that the same costs would apply to other kitchens.
Keeping the existing cabinets involved a trade-off. Emma said two cabinet doors do not close properly, but she was willing to live with that issue to avoid replacement costs. The makeover improved the room’s look without resolving every functional problem.
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From Gray Finishes to Craftsman Details
The kitchen sits in a Craftsman-inspired bungalow that Emma described as about a century old, with original wood floors and wide trim elsewhere in the home. According to her account to Apartment Therapy, previous owners had changed the kitchen to a gray palette that felt disconnected from those older features.
The renovation brought in details the couple felt better suited the house: wider trim, beadboard, a patterned floor and glass cabinet knobs. Emma said the hardware was chosen to evoke what might have been in the home around 1924. That is her design intention, not documentation that the specific hardware matches the kitchen’s original fittings.
The Shays have not replaced the countertops. They are tan tiles that previous owners painted white, and Emma said the coating chips easily. She hopes to repaint them and keep them in use for a couple more years, while saying that sheet linoleum would be a preferred longer-term flooring choice.
“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 Plans
Apartment Therapy reported the renovation cost as about $600, but the source material does not break down spending by material or indicate whether labor, tools or taxes were included. It also does not state when the project took place, so the figures cannot be treated as current prices for similar work.
The countertops remain unfinished: Emma said they chip easily and that she still needs to repaint them. The couple’s longer-term plans for replacement, the exact timing of that work and the final cost are not specified. The report also does not provide measurements, product specifications or details about the installation, which limits how directly readers can compare their own project costs.
Countertops Remain on the List
The Shays’ next stated task is to repaint the existing tile countertops. Emma said she hopes the work will keep them manageable for another couple of years, while acknowledging that the painted surface chips easily. She has also said the couple would like to replace the floor eventually with sheet linoleum, but the source gives no timetable for that project.
For now, the couple is making the current finishes work rather than undertaking another major renovation. No further work dates, new budget or planned cabinet repairs were reported. The next clear update would be whether the countertop repaint happens and how long the couple can continue using the existing tiled surface.
Key Questions
How much did the kitchen makeover cost?
Apartment Therapy reported a total of about $600. The source does not provide an itemized breakdown or specify whether that figure includes tools, labor or taxes.
What did the Shays change?
They changed the peel-and-stick flooring, painted the cabinets sage green and the walls and beadboard white, added wider trim and beadboard, and installed brushed nickel pulls and glass knobs.
Did they replace the kitchen cabinets?
No. The Shays painted the existing cabinets. Emma said two do not close properly, but she accepted that issue to avoid the cost of new cabinetry.
What part of the kitchen still needs work?
The tile countertops, which previous owners painted white, chip easily. Emma said she still needs to repaint them. The couple has also expressed interest in replacing the flooring with sheet linoleum eventually, but no schedule was reported.
Source: rss
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