Modern Vintage Cottage Kitchen Mood Board | One Room Challenge Week 3

Looking for small kitchen design inspiration? Today I’m sharing a mood board and design plans for the little kitchen renovation in our Tiny Lake House! I’m joining the One Room Challenge and I’ll share weekly progress with you as we makeover this room.

It’s been over 3 years since I’ve joined the One Room Challenge, and when I saw it was running this season I thought I should hop on board! We’re working on our Tiny Lake House, and a challenge like this is just the motivation & encouragement I need to complete our renovation. I’m jumping in LATE, so I’m linking up to the group’s week 3 when it’s my own week 1! Let’s see if we can do this renovation in 6 weeks instead of 8!

What’s the One Room Challenge (ORC)? The One Room Challenge™, currently in its 10th year, is a collaborative biannual event that lasts eight weeks. Everyone with a blog or Instagram account is welcome to join by linking their own room makeovers each week during the event. Each Wednesday, everyone shares about their room makeover, and we all find interior design inspiration, ideas, and encouragement. (Read more about it right here.)

Here are previous room makeovers I did for the One Room Challenge:

• my mom’s primary bedroom ensuite (2019)
• rich & magical boho kids’ bedroom makeover (2018)
• my mom’s lake house primary bedroom (2017)
• boho farmhouse dining room (2017)
• modern French Country primary bedroom (2016)

Our Tiny Lake House Kitchen BEFORE

For this season of the ORC, I want to chronicle the weekly progress of our Tiny Lake House Kitchen. In case you missed it, we’re renovating a 476 square foot cabin by a lake and turning it into our second Airbnb + a place for our family to enjoy. We’ve completely gutted the cabin to re-insulate it and alter the floor plan. You can see that here. Here’s what the kitchen looked like in the original cabin layout:

We moved its location from the center of the cabin to the Northwest corner (see the floor plan switch here), and here’s what the kitchen looked like a couple weeks ago:

Oof! We’ve got a lot of work to do. This is the new kitchen location in our little cabin, and my husband Sean has it all wired and plumbed. Since this photo was taken, we’ve also had the cabin spray foam insulated, and Sean has drywalled the interior. I’ll show you pics of that next week!

Modern Vintage Cottage Kitchen Floor Plan

This little kitchen is only about 9′ by 7′, so we need to make every inch count. We’re also on a budget, so I’ll be using lots of budget-friendly finishes. I want this kitchen to have a modern vintage cottage feel, and since it will be a holiday home we can have some fun with the design!

After MUCH thought, I’ve decided to put all of the appliances & the sink along the back wall, and create a peninsula in the middle of the kitchen. This was the best solution for us to keep all of the plumbing in the house on one wall, plus the peninsula will make a great coffee bar area. I’ll fit a small round table and four chairs in the little dining area in front of the peninsula. The appliances are very compact, so we’ll be able to make everything fit!

Modern Vintage Cottage Kitchen Mood Board

I feel IN LOVE with the Summer Mint Green coloured retro-look appliances from Unique Appliances. They are the perfect compact size and vintage colour for our tiny cabin. When Unique Appliances agreed to work with us on this project and gift the appliances to us, I was SO excited!! The appliances are my muse for the whole “modern vintage cottage” kitchen design:

The mint green appliances will be the stars of the show, and I’ll be using inexpensive white cabinetry from IKEA. Copper accents will contrast beautifully with the green, and touches of black will keep everything grounded. I found these fluted pendant light fixtures that have the vintage look I want, and I can’t wait to see them over the peninsula! The backsplash will be either inexpensive subway tile or beadboard… I haven’t quite decided that yet. A butcherblock countertop will add warmth and keep our costs down. For the ceiling, we’re installing shiplap throughout the entire cabin and the flooring will be luxury vinyl plank in a soft oak colour.

The To-Do List

Sooooo…. here’s the list of everything we need to do over the next 6 weeks to get this little kitchen finished. Not only do we want this renovation complete, but I’ll also be stocking the kitchen with kitchen basics (dinnerware, cookware etc.) for our guests and ourselves:

• insulate the cabin
• drywall & prime the walls
• install shiplap ceiling
• install luxury vinyl plank flooring
• assemble and install IKEA kitchen cabinets
• customize IKEA cabinets with bead board to create peninsula
• cut & install butcherblock countertops
• install light fixtures
• install appliances, sink & faucet
• add floating shelving over peninsula
• install cabinet hardware
• add table, chairs, kitchen basics & decor

Make sure to visit the Fall 2022 One Room Challenge link-up to see what all of the other participants are working on this season! I can’t wait to see all of the other ORC room makeovers as they progress.

Tell me: what do you think of our Tiny Lake House kitchen mood board and floor plan? Do you think we can get this all done in 6 weeks?

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