Living in a White Box: Kick-Ass Kitchens

If you’re like me, you love to look at beautiful kitchens—the ones with freshly painted cabinets, lovely hardware, tons of storage, and perfect organization. And then you look back at your tiny apartment kitchen, sigh, and hope to have the perfect one someday.

But just because you rent your home doesn’t mean you can’t have a wonderful kitchen! There are many ways you can customize your rental kitchen to be unique and suit your lifestyle. Continue reading for my tips and ideas that will help you turn a ho-hum rental kitchen into a kick-ass kitchen.

One of the biggest concerns for renters is the size of the kitchen. Often, apartments do not come with spacious, roomy kitchens. If this is your dilemma, make vertical storage your new best friend.

My current home has much less cupboard space than my last apartment, so I pared down my cookware collection to the bare essentials. After doing this, I hung a steel pegboard to display and store my pots and pans. Next to the pegboard, I hung an IKEA Grundtal magnetic knife rack and a hanging file sorter for the cutting boards.

cookware pots pans cutting board knives kitchen corner vertical storage pegboard sideboard makeover The DIY Homegirl

This steel pegboard is slightly more expensive than a DIY pegboard but was worth it since it’s sturdy. A DIY pegboard is also terrific though, because you can customize it to match your kitchen’s color scheme. Apartment Therapy shows you how you can create your own pegboard for your kitchen.

Another aspect of vertical storage is to use any wall space you have available, no matter how narrow. I used this small section of wall in my current kitchen to store my spices with DIY chalkboard labels. Here, the spices are easily accessible, attractively organized, and are not stored above the stove (where heat and moisture can ruin your spices).

One common complaint about rented homes is that you’re very limited in how you can put your personal stamp on the space. However, there are lots of inexpensive and creative ways you can personalize your kitchen.

Adding a DIY backsplash to your rental kitchen is one way to personalize the space. Priscilla from Thrifty Crafty Girl added classic style into her kitchen with removable mosaic tiles from SmartTiles.

Also, check out how Liz from A + L Chronology made a temporary backsplash in her kitchen using fabric and liquid starch.

Another lovely way to create a backsplash is to hang plastic plates like Danielle from 2 Little Superheroes did in her kitchen.

Open shelving can do wonders for a kitchen as it brightens the space and can display a cute collection of dishes. Check out how Lela from Vorstellung von Schön used washi tape to embellish the cabinets in her kitchen.

Wallpaper and shelf liner are also fantastic ways to update the look of your open shelving. Stephanie from Love and Lace created a lovely backdrop to her cabinets with chevron shelf liner.

Contact paper is a cheap and effective method of revamping kitchen cabinets and drawers without paint. Check out how I used contact paper to make over the wood cabinets in my previous apartment’s kitchen.

Being unable to change the lighting is another downside to renting a home. However, you can conceal unsavory lighting by mounting a drum lampshade like Roeshel from DIY Showoff did in her rental home.

In many rental homes, you also have no choice over the appliances. Thanks to removable wallpaper though, you can easily transform a kitchen appliance. Head over to Aunt Peaches to learn how you can give your refrigerator a unique look with removable wallpaper.

Another great way to avoid the cookie-cutter look in your kitchen is to customize it with fabric accessories like curtains, napkins, place mats, etc. Rachel from A Beautiful Mess has a thorough tutorial on how to create pot holders and oven mitts.