A “Generic” Brown Kitchen Gets a Cozy Storybook Cottage Makeover

Cullen Ormond

Sat, November 1, 2025 at 2:00 a.m. UTC

2 min read

ABOUT THIS BEFORE & AFTER

HOME TYPE: Historic Home

PROJECT TYPE: Kitchen

STYLE: Cottage

SKILL LEVEL: DIY

RENTAL FRIENDLY: Yes

Door in white kitchen with dark wooden cabinets before renovation. — Credit: Ashton

One of the elements that excited Ashton (@ashtonscottage) and Peps most about their Downtown Mesa, Arizona, rental home was that it was originally built 84 years ago. Unfortunately, the kitchen had been updated over the years and lacked any historic charm.

“The kitchen had lost much of that character; its original cabinets, countertops, and backsplash tile had been stripped away and replaced with generic, rental-grade choices,” Ashton, a content creator, photographer, and founder of Vielle Collective, says. “I wanted to find renter-friendly ways to restore some of that lost history and let the home’s personality shine through.”

Neutral toned granite countertops in kitchen with brown tile backsplash and dark wooden cabinets before renovation. — Credit: Ashton

How to Use a Screwdriver

The renovation inspiration was what you’d imagine a cozy cottage in a children’s book to look like. And with that, Ashton set out to transform the space — without losing her security deposit. She admits she had to get “resourceful” to keep it renter-friendly.

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Gingham cafe curtain in window of newly decorated farmhouse style kitchen. — Credit: Ashton

Ashton installed peel-and-stick floor tiles (which she added in other rooms, too) by herself. “Cutting and scoring each tile to the right size presented its own challenge,” she says, noting it was the hardest DIY of the renovation. “By the end, the floor looked great, but my back was not impressed with me, ha!”

Dark wooden cabinets in newly renovated farmhouse style kitchen with sink skirt curtains. — Credit: Ashton

Moving upwards, Ashton covered the existing granite countertops with butcher block-inspired contact paper and hung Carrara marble-inspired contact paper over the backsplash. She also painted the walls with Behr’s Wax Sculpture and the door’s interior with Behr’s Ombre Blue.

Blue painted door with linen curtains in newly renovated farmhouse inspired kitchen. — Credit: Ashton

Ashton made a few other smaller updates to add that extra layer of coziness. She hung beadboard using Command strips behind the fridge to add texture, and used double-sided tape to hang new brass hardware on her kitchen cabinets. Adding accessories like vintage-looking baskets, a jute rug, and swapping out the light fixtures (and bulbs!) for a moody ambiance all help the room feel like you’re stepping into a homey cottage.

“Every project we’ve done can be reversed, making it a great approach for renters who want to personalize their space without permanent changes,” Ashton shares. “Since we were on a budget, we focused on updates that looked impactful but stayed affordable — and it’s amazing how far those little changes went.” To see how Ashton made her entire home feel like a cottage in the English countryside, visit the full house tour on Apartment Therapy.

This post originally appeared on The Kitchn. See it there: This Outdated Kitchen’s Makeover Went from Brown to a Breathtaking English Countryside Dream

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