I took my rental kitchen from dingy and grimy to warm and inviting with these 5 changes. High-impact, DIY, and budget-friendly too! Keep reading to find out the best things I did to upgrade my rental kitchen.
How It All Started
Something about me: I *love* cooking. But upon moving in to this apartment, I noticed that every time I went into this kitchen, I wanted to get out as quickly as I could. I had no desire to be in there. And it wasn’t just because it was new and I missed my old kitchen. I tried to make it work. But ultimately, the combination of…
- It being quite dimly lit (minimal natural light from the one little window)
- Both sides of the original double sink being SO small (I couldn’t wash baking sheets or pots without spilling water all over the counters)
- The permanently grimy laminate counters swelling and rotting in certain spots (due to water damage)
- And the wall colour being a soul-sucking grey
…gave me zero desire to ever be in this kitchen.
After drawing up designs, sourcing budget options, and getting approval from my landlord to do a mini renovation – *blog post coming soon on how to convince your landlord to make changes to your rental!* – I got to work on this kitchen.
The 5 Things That Upgraded My Rental Kitchen
- Cabinet Hardware
- Wall Paint
- Countertops
- Sink + Faucet Combo
- Backsplash
Let’s go through each of these in more detail.
1. Cabinet Hardware
The first thing I did in this space was swap out the cabinet pulls. It took all of 30 minutes to remove all the old hardware and replace them with the new ones.
I went with a super budget-friendly option from Amazon (only about $55 CAD for 25 handles, which is a STEAL of a deal if you’ve ever browsed for cabinet hardware before). Just a simple, clean black handle to contrast against the white cabinets.
*Pro tip: If you do this in your own apartment, keep the original pulls for when you move out! I kept my original handles and have them in storage, in case my landlord wants me to replace them when I leave (which I doubt she will, but you never know!)
Why was this one of the BEST things I did to upgrade my rental kitchen?
Cabinet pulls are one of those things you touch multiple times per day. Every visit to the kitchen involves opening and closing cupboards. I hated opening these cabinets with these skinny, flimsy, chrome pulls. They felt cheap and sad… which made *me* feel cheap and sad… Swapping them out for heavier matte black ones were an instant mood-booster for me!
2. Wall Paint
The original paint colour was cold. grey. dull. soul-sucking. (Not to be dramatic.) I could literally feel the spark in my heart extinguish every time I walked in here. I needed to warm up the paint immediately.
The paint colour I landed on is a perfect, warm-toned white: Sleek White by BEHR. It doesn’t pull blue at all, but it doesn’t quite pull yellow either. You can tell against the true white cabinets and trim around the room that the wall paint colour is indeed white, but with a really delightful, creamy warmth to it.
*Regarding sheen: I went against what the pros recommended and went for an eggshell finish instead of a satin or semi-gloss (which is normally the go-to for kitchens). Their argument is for washability for splatters from cooking — but 1. I knew I was putting in a backsplash, and 2. eggshell paint is still wipeable. This house is over 100 years old, so the walls are supremely lumpy and cracked, and I just knew that satin or semi-gloss paint would highlight this texture in a really unflattering way. So as a matte girl, I compromised with myself and went with an eggshell finish (and I would do it again).
Why was this one of the BEST things I did to upgrade my rental kitchen?
Paint colours are one of those things you almost feel before you see. It makes an impression on you before your brain even registers what colour it is. The feeling I had with the grey was an immediate, deep sadness and dreariness. In contrast, not only does this cream shade brighten up the room in a visual sense, but it brightens up my mood when I walk into the space. It reflects light better and emits a warmth that was severely lacking with the grey. I now feel a real, tangible, undeniable warmth in this space, all thanks to $70 worth of paint.
3. Butcher Block Countertops
People talk smack about wooden countertops in the kitchen because porous wood + water = swelling, rotting, and water damage. My personal main concern about choosing butcher block was maintenance. Not that I’d mind caring for them, but I didn’t like the idea of being super diligent about sanding and re-coating these counters with oil, just to have a future tenant not care and completely destroy them.
But like I mentioned earlier, the original laminate countertops were permanently grimy, rotting, and swelling. They were also very dark, which made them hard to clean. Since my two main goals for this space were to 1. bring in as much warmth as possible, and 2. spend as little money as possible — I landed on these solid acacia wood butcher block countertops from Rona… despite everyone I knew warning me not to.
I have zero regrets. *Click here to find out why!*
After cutting the counters down to size and cutting the hole out for the sink, I decided to stain them to even out the variation in wood tones across the butcher block. I sealed everything with several coats of spar urethane (a miracle product I will never shut up about!) and set them into place with a couple of screws. Easy peasy install.
*Pro tip: Always condition your wood before staining it! It makes for a far more consistent absorption across all the varying grains and densities in the wood. This is what I use!
Why was this one of the BEST things I did to upgrade my rental kitchen?
These counters were one of the best things I did because they accomplished my goal perfectly: to bring in warmth on a budget (about $500 for 3 countertops). The original counters were plastic and dirty grey. Name something less cozy, I dare you… Meanwhile these countertops bring in warmth, both in their colour and in the material being solid, natural wood. I can also confidently say that they are 100% waterproof because I used spar urethane on them, which means they are essentially zero-maintenance. I’d install these again in a heartbeat!
4. Sink + Faucet
One of my favourite upgrades I made in this kitchen was the sink / faucet situation; both from an aesthetic standpoint and from a practical one. The ones that came with the unit were so impractical. I made a mess with water all over the counters every single time I turned the faucet on. Choosing a very large single-sink to replace the original tiny double-sink was truly one of the best things I did in here. This new faucet has a great range of motion, along with a standard, a shower, and a pause setting on it, which makes cleaning the sink itself easier too.
Why was this one of the BEST things I did to upgrade my rental kitchen?
My husband and I both work from home, and like I mentioned earlier — I love to cook! So we spend loads of time at the sink, doing dishes. And like I said earlier with the cabinet pulls — your kitchen sink is something you interact with every. single. day. You touch that faucet multiple times per day! If your sink setup is frustrating, you’re going to be in a bad mood. I know I was. So for me, having chosen things that function better and that I prefer the look of have caused me to interact so much more positively with this space. With a bigger sink and more functional faucet, it’s honestly a pleasure doing the dishes now.
5. Backsplash
It’s incredible how much a backsplash makes a kitchen… look like a kitchen! I’d never tiled a backsplash before, so my dad taught me how and we worked on it together. And I am *so* proud of it! It’s an incredibly straight-forward process, especially if you’re using simply-shaped tiles like me.
It’s definitely time-consuming; but it’s not difficult. Meticulous and repetitive (my favourite kinds of tasks). Even after doing it just once, I feel like I’d be both confident and competent enough to do it on my own next time, and end up with a pretty professional-looking result.
*Pro-tip: use painter’s tape to make your caulking lines *extra* crispy! (Here’s the only tape I trust!)
Why was this one of the BEST things I did to upgrade my rental kitchen?
Going from staring at grey wall when I stood at the sink to do dishes; to looking at classic, shiny subway tiles? Instant mood booster. They’ve freshened up the space so much! I also love how easy they are to wipe down, compared to a painted wall. This rental kitchen reno would not have been complete without them.
How It All Turned Out
I used to walk into this kitchen and immediately want to walk out. Now, I’m happy to hang out in here for hours, baking breads, making brunch, simmering soups — even doing the dishes.
I take genuine pride in this kitchen now. When you have a good base, you want to keep it clean. You want to show off the pretty counters. You want to keep it styled and looking its best. I smile when I walk into this kitchen – and now it feels like it’s smiling back.
I am so incredibly proud of how this kitchen renovation turned out. These 5 changes really prove how much you can do to a kitchen without changing appliances, cabinets, or the layout. Just upgrading the finishings in this space made it so much more warm, cozy, and inviting. Exactly what I wanted.
What’s your favourite of these 5 changes?
Which one do you want to tackle in your own kitchen?
Let me know in the comments!
