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Emma and Zack Shay spent about $600 updating their kitchen in a 100-year-old Craftsman-inspired bungalow, replacing its blue-gray palette with sage-green cabinets, white walls and vintage-inspired details. The couple kept the existing cabinets and chose peel-and-stick flooring, beadboard and new hardware rather than undertaking a full renovation. Their next planned project is managing the easily chipped countertops.
Emma and Zack Shay refreshed the blue-gray kitchen in their 100-year-old Craftsman-inspired bungalow for about $600, using paint, peel-and-stick flooring and vintage-inspired hardware instead of replacing the cabinets. In an Apartment Therapy before-and-after report, Emma said the previous owners’ gray color scheme felt out of step with the home and with the couple’s preference for vintage and cottage details.
The project changed the room’s main finishes while keeping its existing cabinetry. The Shays painted the cabinets a sage green matched to Farrow & Ball’s Lichen and used Benjamin Moore’s Simply White on the walls and newly added beadboard. They also replaced the gray peel-and-stick floor covering with a black-and-white pattern designed to resemble vintage tile.
The couple added wider trim and floorboards, along with brushed nickel bin pulls and glass knobs. Emma told Apartment Therapy that a hardware-installation template made fitting the new pulls and knobs easier. The report describes the total cost as about $600, though it does not provide a line-item budget or explain whether that figure includes tools and supplies already on hand.
The work was not limited to cosmetic changes: the Shays repaired damaged plaster as best they could before covering it with beadboard and trim. Emma said the kitchen remained in disarray for two months, which she described as the project’s hardest part. She also acknowledged that two cabinet doors do not close properly, a condition she accepted to avoid spending several thousand dollars on replacement cabinets.
A Lower-Cost Alternative to New Cabinets
The project illustrates a homeowner’s choice to change a kitchen’s appearance without replacing its cabinets. For the Shays, painting existing cabinetry and adding new surface details kept the renovation near $600, while Emma said new cabinets would have cost several thousand dollars. The account is a specific household example, not a verified estimate of what another kitchen makeover would cost.
It also shows the trade-offs behind a low-cost update. The couple retained cabinets with functional problems, used temporary peel-and-stick flooring, and has postponed replacing the countertops. Their approach created a room that better fits their preferences and older home, but it did not address every wear issue or amount to a full kitchen renovation.
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Restoring Character in a Craftsman Kitchen
Emma described the house as a Craftsman-inspired bungalow with original wood floors and wide trim. She told Apartment Therapy that previous owners had changed the kitchen to suit the gray trend, leaving blue-gray cabinets, gray flooring and gray walls that she considered a poor fit for the home.
The Shays’ redesign drew on both the house’s period character and Emma’s taste for vintage and cottage styling. The patterned flooring, glass knobs, bin pulls, beadboard and wider trim were chosen to suggest an older look. Emma said the hardware was intended to evoke what might have been in the home in 1924; that is her design intention, not confirmation of the kitchen’s original fittings.
The flooring is also a stopgap. Emma told Apartment Therapy that she and Zack would like to replace it eventually with linoleum sheet flooring. The couple is also living with tan tile countertops that a previous owner painted white; Emma said the surface chips easily and that she plans to repaint it to keep it usable for a few more years.
“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 Remain Open
Apartment Therapy reports a total of about $600, but the available account does not list individual expenses, the project’s exact completion date, or whether the total includes supplies the couple already owned. The figure should be read as the reported cost of this particular project, not a standard price for a similar makeover.
The countertops remain unfinished. Emma said she still needs to repaint them and expects that to make them manageable for a couple more years, but the report does not say when that work will happen or provide a replacement plan. The eventual flooring replacement is also a stated wish rather than a scheduled project. The report does not establish whether the cabinet doors will be repaired.
Countertops Are the Next Planned Fix
Emma said the couple’s next task is to repaint the painted tile countertops, which chip easily. She expects repainting to extend their usefulness for another couple of years. The Shays have also said they would eventually like to replace the peel-and-stick floor with linoleum sheet flooring, but have not announced a timeline.
For now, the kitchen remains a partial, staged update rather than a complete renovation: the cabinets stay in place, two do not close properly, and the countertops need attention. Apartment Therapy’s report does not describe a further project date or confirm whether the couple will make additional changes.
Key Questions
How much did the kitchen makeover cost?
Apartment Therapy reported that the Shays’ makeover cost about $600. The article does not provide a detailed breakdown of expenses.
What did the couple change?
They painted the cabinets sage green and the walls and beadboard white, installed black-and-white peel-and-stick flooring, replaced some trim and floorboards, and added glass knobs and brushed nickel bin pulls.
Did the Shays replace their kitchen cabinets?
No. They kept the existing cabinets and painted them. Emma said two cabinet doors do not close properly, but she accepted that problem rather than pay several thousand dollars for new cabinets.
What work does the couple still plan to do?
Emma said she plans to repaint the easily chipped countertops. The couple has also expressed interest in replacing the peel-and-stick floor with linoleum sheet flooring eventually, but no schedule was reported.
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