1970s Kitchen Makeover with an English Cottage–Inspired Design
Installing the Countertop and the Sink Were First-Time DIYs
Neither of us had ever installed a sink before, and we only had one shot to get the placement right and cut the hole correctly. We spent a good four hours on and off the phone with my dad, measuring and re-measuring before finally committing to the cut. There were tense moments, but we figured it out. The sink turned out perfect, and honestly, the fact that it was $35 and we installed it ourselves makes me love it even more.
We also installed a tall cabinet next to the fridge that provides dishware storage on top and a coffee station setup below. My favorite detail is the cutouts I added to the cabinet door here. These were common in Arts & Crafts kitchens — simple shapes like diamonds cut directly into the wood to provide ventilation. In our case, they’re perfect for our 1920s home, and they let steam escape from the coffee maker.
I’m planning to make all new custom cabinet doors down the line and add matching cutouts to them, too, because the historically inspired, actually useful detail makes me happy every time I catch a glance.
We also decided to install beadboard on the walls to add some charm (and cover up the plywood the previous homeowners had used in place of drywall), and I built some shelves using leftover wood from a previous project and some simple wooden brackets.
The wall behind the stove is completely covered in beadboard, and I knew I wanted a new hood in the same material so that it would blend in while still standing out. Unfortunately, we ordered the wrong vent hood and didn’t realize it until way past the return date.
When my dad came to visit, he built a frame around it so we could mount it, and we wrapped it and added trim to make it look like it always belonged. Since then, it’s become the visual anchor of the kitchen and a reminder that mistakes can turn into meant-to-be design.
