One Room Challenge

The Kitchen in This 100-Year-Old Home Got the Coziest Vintage-Inspired Makeover

Written by

Olivia Harvey
Olivia Harvey
Olivia Harvey is a freelance writer and award-winning scriptwriter from outside Boston, Massachusetts. She’s a big fan of scented candles, getting dressed up, and the 2005 film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley. You can make sure she’s doing okay via…read more
published Jul 16, 2024
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About this before & after
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Rental Friendly

You might have (unfortunately) seen them at the beginning of a home makeover show or even in an older home apartment or home you’ve toured before: “upgrades” that are a poor match for a home’s historic inside or outside (think: a sleek Art Deco high rise in Miami with a farmhouse-style interior).

DIYer Courtney Deiter’s (@heart.and.home.crew) 100-year-old home had been updated with a standard-issue IKEA kitchen somewhere along the way, and she didn’t love it. “We moved into our century home that had been previously owned by an investor who ripped out all of the kitchen and slapped in some IKEA cupboards, and that’s about it,” Courtney explains. “The cabinets were gray and had no hardware, and it was basically all a blank slate.”

Courtney lived with the gray for a while, and over time added character back into the kitchen so it better matched the rest of the home’s charm. During the Spring 2024 One Room Challenge, she decided to take on a total makeover.

The first thing to go were the gray cabinets.

The gray paint on the cabinets made the kitchen feel “cold and way too modern for the home,” Courtney says, and she knew she had to warm them up with some soft white paint to make them match a more vintage vibe she was after. She used Benjamin Moore’s Natural Cream paint. 

“The biggest change was painting the cupboards, as it immediately warmed the space!” Courtney says. “Adding the hardware also made it feel more like a real kitchen and much more functional.”

Courtney says she had never painted cabinets before, but after doing some research, she felt confident to take on the job. “I was pleasantly surprised with how simple it was!” she says. “The hardest part was waiting for the paint to dry between coats.”

And once the gray was gone, the entire space felt brighter and cozier. “The cabinets are a breath of fresh air, and of course I am so happy that I can easily open all of the cabinets and drawers now that we have hardware!” Courtney says.

Secondhand finds and DIYs create a vintage vibe.

The best way to add a vintage vibe to any space is to find authentic vintage pieces to mix into the design. Courtney did just that and personalized her thrift finds to make them work even better in the kitchen.

She added wheels to a vintage bureau to create a custom center island and tucked vintage and antique decor items anywhere and everywhere to layer in charm. She also thriftily used Rub-N-Buff she already owned to turn her faucet gold for $0. “I also DIYed a thrifted pleated lamp by painting the base and adding fabric to the shade, which the internet loved!”

“I would definitely say DIYing and buying as much secondhand as you can will save you tons!” she says. 

A DIY skirted table hides the trash cans.

Courtney wasn’t about to let her garbage cans detract from her beautiful new kitchen. She got creative and designed a beautiful system to camouflage her trash and recycling bins near the front door.

“My garbage had no real home, so I created one by making a shelf and using conduit piping to hold a curtain and hide my garbage and recycling under it,” Courtney says. 

And this DIY project became one of her favorite feats in the entire design. “I’m really proud of the open shelving and the idea and execution of the garbage area!” she says. “I love not having to look at the ugly trash can anymore. It makes me feel so calm and happy.”

Though turning back the clock on this IKEA kitchen was a challenge, Courtney is so thrilled with her results. “I learned to think outside the box a bit more; like coming up with the solution to hide the garbage and seeing thrifted items in a different light and making them my own!”

This project was completed for the Spring 2024 One Room Challenge, in partnership with Apartment Therapy. See even more of the One Room Challenge before and afters here.

Inspired? Submit your own project here.