The goal was to create a space that was “bright on a budget.”

Plus a couple other swaps make this kitchen sing.

"We spent as little time as possible in the kitchen,” the homeowner says of the before.

A DIY backsplash adds to the airy, spacious feeling, too.

The pop of pink paint is a must-see.

The "after" has a "cozy, lived-in feel," the homeowner says.

It was inspired by the homeowner’s summers spent in Martha’s Vineyard.

It’s totally renter-friendly.

It was all DIY, and it cost about $800.

Wisconsin-based interior designer Emily Winters of Peabody’s Interiors was tasked with an all-too-classic mission: An outdated kitchen from the late 1990s to early 2000s was in need of a modern makeover — and a much more functional layout.“It was a sea of natural maple cabinetry with sponge-painted walls and Corian countertops,” Winters says of the original kitchen.

It cost $10,000 to renovate.

It's an homage to Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner.

It’s entirely DIY.

Even though you might not live in a rental home forever, that doesn’t mean you have to grin and bear it if you’re not loving the look and feel. There are plenty of smart ways you can update a space in a reversible, temporary way. Renter Sarah Bryant (@sarahlouwho) knows this well. After moving into a charming 1901 apartment in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, Sarah decided to make some changes to what she guessed was an “early 2000s” kitchen.

The original East Atlanta garage was built in 1950, but you’d never be able to tell because the space is so modern now.

See how the “builder-grade, landlord-special kitchen” took a turn for the colorful and whimsical.

The details are everything.

“I was drawn to a simple, classic, and subtle nautical look,” the homeowner says.