Kitchen of the Week: A Cottage-Chic Kitchen on a Budget
Designer Sarah Phipps saw possible when she walked to the door of this 1940s Oregon kitchen — regardless of the shag carpeting, horrifying heater and peeling paperboard walls. “I always see what it looks like in the end,” she states.
Phipps torn out the old stuff to get a fresh slate and utilized authentic vintage accents and bursts of vivid color to pull this kitchen back in the abyss. She was able to reinvent the kitchen without making structural changes, sticking to a5,500 budget.
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Vacation lease for designer Sarah Phipps
Size: 210 square feet
Location: Bend, Oregon
Price: $5,500 budget, including labour, subcontractors and substances; Phipps did the layout herself
Sarah Phipps Design
Phipps saved cash by adhering into the kitchen’s basic layout; the cabinetry, sink and hardware are original. She did splurge on Hygge & West wallpaper and a Smeg fridge to coordinate with the minty green top 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 to the kitchen (with the exclusion of the fridge); labour for its installation and plumbing and electric updates took up the rest of her budget.
Rugs: Goal; floors: Polar White Speckle Vinyl, Armstrong; cabinet color: Bath Salts, Benjamin Moore; wallpaper: Daydream, Hygge & West
Sarah Phipps Design
The cabinetry was in great shape, so Phipps cleaned them up, repainted the outside and relined the interior with contact paper. A new subway tile backsplash transitions between the cabinetry and brand new stainless steel countertops.
Smart Craigslist finds offer the kitchen additional classic flair. Phipps found the 1940s electrical range for just $300. The kitchen’s back door (just visible to the far left) was kicked in, so Phipps replaced it with this classic door with original hardware, which she found on Craigslist for $75.
Isle: Stenstorp, Ikea; gloomy cart: Raskog, Ikea; subway tile: Daltile, Home Depot; wall colours: Marscapone, Benjamin Moore
Sarah Phipps Design
The home was built for workers of Bend’s lumber mill in the early 20th century. Mill workers would often bring home leftover wood and put in on to these small, easy shacks as time moved on. This specific mill employee had added on the kitchen into the rear of the home.
Although she created few structural adjustments, Phipps did have to replace the cabin’s windows, including the ones in the kitchen. “I don’t usually do this, and struggled with the choice,” she states. “I like to save windows when I can, but these had rotted beyond repair.” The new vinyl window package cost about $800 for the whole residence.
Sarah Phipps Design
Replacing two big fluorescent box lighting onto the ceiling with cheap fixtures price just $30 and gave the light scheme a simple, clean look. The slanted ceiling over the sink was awkward to work with, so Phipps chose a Barn Light Electric shade and altered it using a galvanized stem mount to fit in the space.
By stripping down the kitchen into its bare essentials, Phipps emphasized what made this kitchen amazing. The new layout lets the clean lines, classic fixtures and quality structure shine.
Ceiling fixtures: Lowe’s; pendant shade: Barn Light Electric