Kitchen of the Week: A Cottage-Chic Kitchen on a Budget

Designer Sarah Phipps saw potential as soon as she walked into the door of this 1940s Oregon kitchen — despite the shag carpeting, horrifying heater and peeling paperboard walls. "I always see what it looks like in the end," she says.

Phipps ripped out the old materials for a clean slate and used authentic vintage accents and bursts of bright color to pull this kitchen back from the abyss. She managed to reinvent the kitchen without making structural changes, sticking to a $5,500 budget.

Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Vacation rental for designer Sarah Phipps
Size: 210 square feet
Location: Bend, Oregon
Cost: $5,500 budget, including labor, subcontractors and materials; Phipps did the design herself

Phipps saved money by sticking to the kitchen's basic design; the cabinetry, hardware and sink are original. She did splurge on Hygge & West wallpaper and a Smeg refrigerator to match the minty green upper cabinets. Sturdy 12-by-12 vinyl square tiles — a steal at under $65 — replaced the original, worn linoleum.

All in all, Phipps spent a little over $1,700 in supplies, materials and furnishings for the kitchen (with the exception of the refrigerator); labor for the installation and plumbing and electrical updates took up the rest of her budget.

Rugs: Target; flooring: Polar White Speckle Vinyl, Armstrong; cabinet color: Bath Salts, Benjamin Moore; wallpaper: Daydream, Hygge & West


The cabinetry was in good shape, so Phipps cleaned them up, repainted the outside and relined the inside with contact paper. A new subway tile backsplash transitions between the cabinetry and new stainless steel countertops.

Smart Craigslist finds give the kitchen extra vintage flair. Phipps found the 1940s electric range for just $300. The kitchen's back door (just visible to the far left) had been kicked in, so Phipps replaced it with this vintage door with original hardware, which she found on Craigslist for $75.

Island: Stenstorp, Ikea; blue cart: Raskog, Ikea; subway tile: Daltile, Home Depot; wall colors: Marscapone, Benjamin Moore


The house was built for employees of Bend's lumber mill in the early 20th century. Mill workers would often bring home leftover wood and add on to these small, simple shacks as time went on. This particular mill worker had added on the kitchen to the back of the home.

Although she made few structural changes, Phipps did have to replace the cottage's windows, including the ones in the kitchen. "I don't usually do this, and struggled with the decision," she says. "I like to save old windows when I can, but these had rotted out beyond repair." The new vinyl window package cost about $800 for the entire house.


Replacing two big fluorescent box lights on the ceiling with affordable fixtures cost just $30 and gave the lighting scheme a simple, clean look. The slanted ceiling over the sink was awkward to work with, so Phipps took a Barn Light Electric shade and modified it with a galvanized stem mount to fit into the space.

By stripping down the kitchen to its bare essentials, Phipps highlighted what made this kitchen great. The new design lets the clean lines, vintage fixtures and quality construction shine.

Ceiling fixtures: Lowe's; pendant shade: Barn Light Electric

URL: Kitchen of the Week: A Cottage-Chic Kitchen on a Budget http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-20573.html