How to Spruce Up a Rental Kitchen for Under £200

Everything You Need to Know to Spruce UP a Rental Kitchen…

The one question I get asked time and time again is why I decided to makeover and renovate my rental home. Ultimately, the answer is because I thrive in a space that I love. When I’m in a well-decorated room, I’m just the best version of myself. One of the rooms I spend most of my time in is the kitchen, and it was one of the first rooms we gave a makeover. It was also the first room that had a ‘glow up’ last year.

When it comes to sprucing up a rental kitchen, even the smallest thing can have a large impact on the room. For us, just changing over the kitchen cabinets was enough to make it seem different at the beginning. There are so many things you can do to spruce up a rental kitchen and I’ve pretty much tried all of them. It’s been heavily documented on my Instagram feed and blog. So, if you’re wanting to give your rental kitchen a little makeover this weekend, here are my top tips…

PAINT YOUR KITCHEN CABINETS.

One of the first things you can do to spruce up a rental kitchen is to paint the cabinets. Previously, our kitchen cabinets were pine, a horrible, orange pine. A few licks of paint and they turned out so good. We started off with a stark white, however, in the most recent makeover we went for a putty colour and it’s perfect. It totally softens up the room, ideal for that South facing light.

Painting cabinets can be tedious, however, it is totally worth it. Paint costs nothing these days and can be done in a weekend.

 

 

SWITCH UP THE HARDWARE.

Another thing you can do to spruce up a rental that really doesn’t take a lot. Changing up the hardware in a kitchen will make such a difference and is totally reversible. For our kitchen, I installed this drawer pulls and brass knobs and they have made such a difference to the room. The kitchen looks luxe and chic, the vibe I really wanted to go for.

If you’re wanting to change up your handles and knobs, a top tip would be to keep the previous hardware in a bag somewhere. You may decide to leave the handles for the next person however, you never know how the landlord will react (especially if you’ve not asked them before changing them over).

CHANGE UP YOUR WINDOW TREATMENTS.

Something that anyone can do, regardless if you’re renting or not, that can change the look and feel of a room. Changing up your window treatments will just give the room a new lease of life. For our kitchen, I’d love to look at changing up the blinds to wooden ones, rather than the faux ones I have. I also think giving a bistro curtain will give the space a vintage feel.

Aside from this, even painting your windows with black paint will give it some interest.

 

 

COVER YOUR TILES.

This was one of the biggest things I did in my last makeover and I’m so happy that I did it. I decided to cover the green tiles with these blue tiles and it looks great. In terms of cost, yes it’s expensive, however, in terms of cost per wear, think about the amount of time you’ll be living in the home and figure out the cost per day. Realistically, it’s not that bad at all.

Tile stickers are actually really easy to apply. You’ve just got to make sure your tiles are perfectly clean before applying. As a perfetionist, it did drive my head a little crazy lining everything up and making sure the pattern was great. However, be patient and it will work out and look amazing.

COVER YOUR COUNTERTOPS.

The biggie that started all th makeovers. Using contact paper to cover your counters will make such a difference to the room. Contact paper is affordable and very easy to apply. Again, much like tile stickers, you’ve got to have patience to do it right.

Whilst I went with marble contact paper, there are many different styles and patterns available. For a more countryside feel, I’d go with a wood pattern. If you’re feeling daring, then black marble/ granite is a striking look.

 

SHOP MY HOME.