$1,000 Rental Kitchen Redo – Earlier than and After Images

Whereas they can be environment friendly and purposeful, small kitchens typically include just a few issues, resembling a scarcity of countertop house, slim storage choices, and too-tight walkways. That was positively the case in Kyra Petticrew’s apartment kitchen earlier than she — and her sensible design thoughts — moved in. 

“My dad and mom used to flip homes once I was youthful so I’ve grown up round renovation and DIY my complete life and have fortunately picked up just a few expertise from them,” Krya explains. When she moved into her apartment in 2020, it felt a bit “scientific and chilly,” she says, however she may see the potential. 

“The kitchen was varied shades of white, beige, brown, and cream and didn’t actually have a lot persona or heat to it,” Kyra says. “Plus, with so little counter house out there and minimal backside storage, I actually wished to discover a strategy to make it purposeful however extra open to the remainder of the house.” 

In her 600-square-foot apartment, “it appeared foolish to squish the kitchen right into a tiny room when it could possibly be extra open to the eating room and front room so I may extra simply converse with friends after they’re over,” Kyra says. Initially, she envisioned including an island for extra counter house and storage, however ultimately, she determined she’d fairly have a bit extra open house. Kyra’s kitchen redo consisted of a number of medium-sized tasks that made a more-than-medium-sized distinction.

“Since this was my first place I owned, I wished to make your complete house really feel like me,” she says. “I’ve at all times lived with roommates or household and have by no means actually been given the chance to design an area from starting to finish, and this apartment was that chance.” 

First, Kyra up to date the counter tops with assist from her dad, Shaun; he additionally helped her substitute the sink and tap. She eliminated the blah tan backsplash and changed it with a vertically stacked blue artisan tile (impressed by a restaurant Kyra had visited in California). “This was the primary time I ever tiled or did backsplash, however I watched a number of YouTube movies, purchased the required provides, and managed to determine it out,” she says. She used a scoring tile cutter and a jigsaw with a diamond blade for tiles that wanted to be minimize round my shops and light-weight switches. 

Subsequent, with the assistance of her mother, Pam, Kyra painted her cabinetry the identical coloration white because the partitions (Benjamin Moore’s Merely White) “It made the house really feel larger inside the room,” she says. “I feel I efficiently managed to discover a strategy to stability each neutrals and brighter colours in order that it doesn’t really feel overwhelming, however as a substitute calming.” After portray, she swapped out the cupboard pulls for sleeker gold ones.

Kyra says conserving the cupboards was a good way to save cash on her kitchen rework — as was sourcing her butcher block counter tops and sink from IKEA and her faucet from Amazon. “These are nice locations to search out options to costly objects, particularly in a small house that’s not your endlessly dwelling,” she says. “These are nonetheless nice high quality objects that don’t break the financial institution.”

9 months later, with a bit more cash saved up, Kyra addressed the format of the house. She eliminated a lot of the wall between the kitchen and eating room, lifting the archways nearer to the ceiling and opening up the facet partitions to border the kitchen. “My dad helped me rewire the sunshine switches right into a neighboring wall and helped me drywall the brand new wall edges,” she explains. Now, her kitchen and eating space (painted Farrow and Ball’s Calke Inexperienced), are extra seamless. 

With the format the best way she wished it, Kyra may flip her consideration to the flooring, utilizing a chisel hammer to raise the terracotta tile and mortar all through her total residence — essentially the most labor-intensive a part of the mission. “The tiles typically chipped in small chunks, and the mortar was extremely sturdy, which means it took plenty of effort and power to get every tile up,” she explains. “Nevertheless, the brand new flooring have been price it, as a result of I discover it helps add dimension to the house contrasting towards the white, the place with the previous tile every part blended collectively.” Kyra selected engineered hardwood for the brand new flooring. Excluding the flooring, the redo value about $1,000.

“At this level, I believed I used to be completed with the kitchen makeover, till this previous fall,” she says. “I’ve at all times dreamed of getting open shelving to showcase my glassware and dishes and assist brighten the house. However I didn’t wish to take away the present higher cabinetry. As an alternative I did a DIY hack, the place I eliminated the cupboard doorways, stuffed in the entire holes with wooden filler, painted the insides of the 2 cupboards white, after which tiled the again of the cupboards with the identical tile I used for the backsplash to make them seem like built-in cabinets.” (Renters may use this similar hack with a peel-and-stick backsplash!) 

Kyra stuffed her new open shelving with thrifted bowls and glassware, and native ceramics so as to add little one-of-a-kind splashes of enjoyable among the many dishware and open cabinets. As a result of she eradicated two cupboards price of closed storage, Kyra painted the nook cupboard door a stable white (it was a glass panel) to provide herself extra storage for pantry objects.“Having a small kitchen has inspired me to be very vital about what I want within the house and make the most of the storage I’ve to the very best of my means,” she says. 

What she loves most about her kitchen “after” “is that the stream of motion inside the house is a lot better, it will get pure mild from the patio door, and feels brighter.” She loves that she will be able to have buddies over and prepare dinner within the kitchen whereas friends sit on the eating desk or in the lounge on the sofa. “I can nonetheless really feel like part of the dialog,” Kyra says. And the cherry on high? When she doesn’t have buddies over, she will be able to watch TV whereas she cooks. Kyra’s reminder for future kitchen remodelers out there may be that her kitchen rework didn’t occur in a single day; it occurred in phases. 

“Take your time curating the house,” she says. “I spent plenty of time diving into Pinterest sourcing inspiration and concepts and discovering methods to DIY or hack one thing to get what I wished for much less. This additionally applies to executing your makeover. While you’re doing it your self, it may be discouraging how for much longer it’s taking you to perform than others, however when you’re completed, it’s so satisfying to know that you simply did it your self. 

Her different recommendation is to work on upgrades over time. “My kitchen has gone by means of a number of iterations since buying my apartment three years in the past: from tile flooring, to eradicating partitions, to new flooring, to open shelving. It didn’t occur suddenly, I actually took my time and did what I may as I may do it or afford it.”