DIY Rental Kitchen Updates

When renting you often have to compromise on certain things in order to get your perfect location or a suitable sized space. But don’t let the fact that you’re renting stop you from “renovating” your less then desirable spaces in your new home.

Very often rental kitchen space can be straight out of the 70’s with horrid cracked linoleum floors and brown cabinets, but with a little bit of cash and some out of the box thinking (and the landlord’s permission) these things can be changed very quickly.

Here are my top three easy kitchen updates:

The Dreaded Linoleum Floor

So you can either spend a weekend removing the linoleum floor, which can be a tricky job especially if it’s been there since the 70’s. (Make sure to remove the entire sticky residue before placing new flooring.) Or you can cover up/over the current flooring.

– replace removed linoleum…with more linoleum. Yes I know more linoleum, but there are so many more patterns now that linoleum can be a great option. Just ensure your floor is level, clean and focus on the edges the room (as badly fitted edges make it look like crappy linoleum)

– Vinyl tile flooring, this can also be placed over the old lino, and removed once you move out. Vinyl tiles are very easy to install, are not too costly and also come in some great styles.

– rugs – yes just rugs, if you’re not keen on flooring experiments, chuck couple of rugs on the floor (make sure they are durable and easy to clean) and you have a temporary solution that you can take to your next home.

The Plainest Walls

No backsplash, cream walls, holes in the plaster? Simple plain walls really mean endless opportunities for change.

– create a backsplash with peel and stick vinyl tiles, or with printed contact paper. This temporary backsplash is quickly removable, and the best part is it can be exactly your style.

– Ugly cream tiles? Consider tile decal stickers, they are cheap and easy to apply and like all these suggestions – easy to remove

– Consider art – no budget to paint over the ugly spots? Hang some picture frames on your kitchen walls, kitchens can be art galleries too!

The Ugliest Cabinet Doors

The easiest option is to just remove the cabinet doors and store them but this depends on whether the actual cabinets will look good without doors. Cover the shelves in your cabinets with contact paper if they are ugly, and display your dishes and pots artfully for a great look kitchen.

If you prefer cabinet doors on, to hide the mess you’re keeping secret (me I am guilty) here are a few easy way to beautify:

– remove the doors and paint them, use chalk paint in a colour of your choice. Chalk paint in general will apply to any surface and stick, so you save time and money not priming your surface. And since its chalk paint, if your landlord objects to the colour you can easily repaint in a colour of the landlord’s choice without breaking the budget.

– Or perhaps replace the cabinet doors entirely with custom made doors that suit you or are more of a timeless design. This is if you have extra cash to spend or if you haven’t been winning big with online NZ casino betting – work out a deal with your landlord to reduce your rent by some of the cost of the cabinets.