I would put an indoor/outdoor carpet on your kitchen floor. It will cover the brown and will be easy to care for. You could do a neutral faux sisal, a modern print or a solid bold color.

I would add a nice modern valance over the window and put some art or a decorative piece on the wall above the stove.

Hang a curtain over your open shelving so you don't have to look at the clutter.

If that doesn't freshen things up to your liking, then I would consider making other more complicated changes.

Outdoor carpet

Oh it's a fine kitchen! You have a roof over your head and that's what counts, right? There's nothing that can't be made better with a little diy... :)

The floor is nice and I wouldn't cover it up, except for a bright turquoise mat by the sink...

Clean everything. I have found that scratches in laminate often aren't that deep and it's the dirt that makes them visible. You'll need plenty of foamy bleach cleaner (I find the bathroom ones to work a little better) and a toothbrush to get in there.

Once all the dirt is gone from the scratches (I have used a pin to get to the ones that don't come out....I NEED it as sanitized as I can get it, as do you) I then put a good coat of car wax on it.

For your yellowed fridge plastic, use an oxy-clean paste and plastic wrap to seal it in place...(disclaimer, I have never done this on something that was attached to a metal, as your fridge is, so I would tape off any non-plastic.

I have lived in worse. Clean it up and then we'll talk...

What about some cheap fabric and a tension rod for the shelves??

You can buy skins for your fridge....they're not sticky so they're easy to fetch off

https://www.rmwrapsstore.com/collections/refrigerator-color-change-vinyl-wraps

@lazy_gardens Oh, trust me, I'm a really conscientious renter, and except for some recent dog barking issues, my landlord and I get along swell (I used to lease a different apartment in the building). No question I would check with him first.

Someone on Reddit suggested asking him if I could paint (or have painted) the icky beige front of the cabinets a real white. I don't know if they're just nicotine-stained; I should look into whether goo be gone or something would lift that. But that would be a step in the right direction (even tho the "wood" portion is a miserable clash w/ the floor.

@d_gw Thanks for the suggestion, but I really wan't to avoid any fibers on the floor because I have a dog and cat, both messy eaters, and the cat has the litterbox in the kitchen (tiny bathroom). I have a decent outdoor rug and even waterproofed it, but within a day the dog had puked on it and the cat had tracked all over it. One thing I love about my old rental: wood floors (everywhere but there)...

@pennydesign Hey great suggestions! See above: I was going to look into whether I could get rid of what I suppose are nic stains on the laminate and fridge. Oxy's a good idea.

And I saw those fridge covers--they look great.

The large open shelving I'm going to leave as is--I have it set up pretty well, actually with metal baskets and such--but there are two smaller shelves, and I do think that I'm going to put up a tension rod there for cleaning supplies etc.: things I want out of the way. Was hoping to find (or make?) an affordable macrame/crochet hanging or else do a whimsical Heritage Lace type valance/tiers dealy in white for the window, and then use the same material for that portion. And might do on the bottom shelf as well (where I store buckets etc. (Great minds think alike! :) ).

So does anyone have any idea for pulling this together--go white everywhere possible? Clearly, need to talk to the landlord, but he has not been responsive to my requests to unseal my painted-shut windows (in 110 degree weather), the total lack of water pressure and no sink stopper in the bathroom, and (most alarmingly, in Portland OR), the failure to repair the treads on the back steps, which are terribly slippery. Sigh.

In my head, there's Tiffany Blue everywhere in your kitchen...and turquoise looks lovely with that floor.

I would get myself a can of spray paint and paint whatever's mine.....

I have just checked a couple of DIY vids on youtube and they're using removable (temporary) wallpaper on refrigerators AND wall. I imagine it would be cool to do that to your cabs and your fridge...

Very retro.

Sink stoppers are easily replaced, actually. I would ask him to buy if you install. The windows you CAN use a utility knife to cut the paint...but I wouldn't attempt that as the paint can chip.

The treads are a hazard and I would tell him. Nothing stirs someone into action faster than the thought of a lawsuit!!

Hang in there! This is a most fun project!

@pennydesign Yes, that is the color for it, isn't it? Stick with non-cyan blues, navy as a highlight instead of a main color. Good idea.

Re repairs: I messed around with the windows for hours and just gave up. Tried every trick I could find. I'm not very strong. I have one window that opens and the kitchen window opens; luckily it's north-facing so it's not the end of the world... still irritates me.

The treads I'm going to tell him I'm going to DIY if he doesn't get it together; we haven't had rain in about 3 months, but we're going into the Portland rainy season, so he's going to be liable (and he knows I was a lawyer...).

Oh: and you seem to know a lot about DIY. How difficult would it be to install click lock vinyl on the walls? Is it possible to do that temporarily? Or would I need to mount it to plywood, like I've seen ppl do for tile for temporary installation?

Thank u!

I'm not sure you can put that on the walls...I'm pretty inventive, but I have yet to do anything to my walls besides wallpaper and paint...

Clean, clean, clean. Any chance that the yellowing is grease?

I had a renter who was a heavy smoker. All the walls were nicotine stained but not the white fridge. BTW, those cabinets were never white.

For counters, there's a product "faux granite" that's a self adhesive thick vinyl. I put it in a rental and it has held up well for over 5 years.

I would ask where they put the doors and put them back on. Seriously.

Those cabinet doors are naturally that color. I saw plenty of them when I was condo shopping. I also had them in an apt back in 1989. They were popular back in the 80's.

Do a thorough cleaning and live with it. It's a cheap kitchen and nothing will make it anything else in a rental. All the things you are suggesting are just going to make it look like a cheap rental kitchen that got all tarted up and is now tacky as well. Sorry to sound harsh...it's been a long day and all my diplomacy is totally used up.

Dirtex or spick& span cleaner (the powdered type) in hot water is good for smoke film & grease removal - its advertised for painting prep in general but good for even just to get a place clean.

Id paint (or apply contact paper) to only the laminate door/drawer fronts in your dark blue dansk fjord - leave the wood because a) it would be a massive pita to do all that prep &painting, not worth the effort - w/ a bright nice color instead of the dingy beige, the wood wont be as noticeable as it is now . Besides, the yellow gold of it isnt all that objectionable, IMHO. Its the dingy blahness of the beige.

I cant imagine that floor is all that huge- you could get some sheet vinyl for about $1 a square foot, the type that is taped not glued down. The problem is in that price range not sure its going to be any better than what yuove got. It doesnt look brown on my monitor - looks more like slate blue with gold/beigey screen.

Just have fun with it - you ve got some nice colors to work with (what about that lime green w/ blue and white,) .

arcy_gw what doors are you referring to? do u mean the cabinet in the corner? I'm doing a diy litter setup in there (contact paper, styrofoam, cardboard, more contact paper, garage tile) for my giant Maine Coon--my bathroom is teensy and I can't stand having the open box out in the kitchen. Or some other door?

@current resident, that's a great suggestion, some shade of blue on the front only. easy to do with contact paper, too, prob. appreciate it! Also, I'm constantly watching Wayfair for clearance/returns of click lock flooring, but it's almost always some cherry color or something that just isn't me.

@Anglophilia, I appreciate "it's been a long day," but I'd like you to live with it lol. Easier said than done. What was the point of responding--basically just helping out by saying, "just live in squalor"?

And thank you all for the info on the beige being beige, not nic residue. That's some hideous taste. I'm one lucky girl! :)

"Do a thorough cleaning and live with it. It's a cheap kitchen and nothing will make it anything else in a rental. All the things you are suggesting are just going to make it look like a cheap rental kitchen that got all tarted up and is now tacky as well. Sorry to sound harsh...it's been a long day and all my diplomacy is totally used up."

@Anglophilia...then don't comment. If you're stressed, then go do something else.

TC of yourself.

ETA: you're not doing your business any favors here :-/

You know I kinda miss some of my old (rental) apartments - just being able to have fun with decorating and not have to spend so much time, money and worry on stupid stuff like structural repairs, new furnace, roof, not to mention the ongoing maintainance keeping everything well caulked and watertight..

Particularly nostalgic about a particular 3rd floor apt - kitchen had vibrant rosey pink walls and window over sink that looked out over the rooftops - sigh!

Have fun - cant wait to see the after.

ps - look into rustoleum countertop paints and finishes

OK, yes, these are the 80s laminate cabinets with oak strips. If you google that, there will be a bunch of options:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=80s+laminate+cabinets+with+oak+trim&t=hb&ia=web

I'm not sure what your landlord will let you do, but there are several suggestions.

Painting

After proper cleaning, paint wood the same color as the cabinets (BTW, do they have a texture or are they smooth?).

Put full-length finger pulls over the wood. But probably a budget buster.

Therefore, I'd just really clean them and maybe stain the oak a bit darker. The 80s are making a comeback! Or remove the doors and go open.

Totally agree with Kylie M:
https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/5-ideas-update-european-style-melamine-cabinets-1980s-and-90s/

As far as the floor, if a rug is out, can you cut a piece of sheet vinyl and lay that down?

For more info about the faux granite I mentioned, check this link:https://ezfauxdecor.com/

They will actually send you complimentary samples. If I remember correctly, I bought the stuff on ebay for substantially less, and yes, it looks pretty good and is very durable.

Or just paint the whole dang thing:

http://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/transformations/cabinet-transformations-light-kit

Sometimes a cheapskate laissez faire absentee landlord can be a good thing! I've found that they often dont care what you do to the place esp. if you can convince them you know what you're doing and that youll leave it improved over what it was when you moved in - just dont expect to be reimbursed for any of your costs1

To do a decent paint job requires skill and a lot of work. While the current cabinets are dated, a bad paint job will really mess up the cabinets. As a landlord I wouldn't easily sign off on it unless I were planning to replace the cabinets soon.

Thank you for all of your help and knowledge. I'm pretty new to this and you gave me excellent info and links. You also made me realize that the floor isn't the worst of the problems or the first thing I should focus on: it's those cabinets! I had no idea they were a known quantity. Ick!

Regarding the cabinets: the easiest thing would be to temporarily remove the doors entirely as one blogger did, but honestly... I need somewhere to store my stuff. I already have about 20 square feet of open shelving and I've put everything attractive there, and used wire baskets with canvas lining to contain a lot of the less attractive. Even if I were to remove the doors 1) the gross interiors would still show; and 2) one of the cabinets is a deep corner one, which is just not going to look good at all (IMO at least).

This post (a link from the brilliant Kylie link above sent by @nosoccermom--truly the best treatment of this subject I've found) is by a DIY owner who just painted the "wood" trim. Easy-peasy! But the white of her melamine was truly white, and as Kylie notes, it would be hideous to paint the "wood" white and leave the rest beige or try to match (matching to tobacco stains, omg whathaveigotteninto). Which leads me to two issues:

• I really need to use some heavy duty TSP/ammonia/OXY/goo be gone type cleaner to see if I can actually get them any whiter (not a lot of renovating experience, but I'm a great deep cleaner!). Part of the problem is that my landlord has painted all the trim white, which makes the beige-nic-whatever-ness so much grosser looking. I've cleaned them with regular kitchen cleaner and they're definitely not greasy, but maybe there is some level of filth that still needs to be stripped off. That's step one. If they're not white, I need to talk to my landlord about simply painting them white: just the beige area wouldn't be hard to do from what I've seen with the right product and some time/care (flat surface, right?--not the whole shebang including the "wood", and would definitely improve the look of the place. I think he'd be amenable. If not, maybe I could try finding some contact paper or adhesive to attach something that is either white or blue and truly removable. And clean well when I do move (don't worry @nosoccermom!). :)
• Question: is the "wood" on these cabinets actually wood? One blogger suggests that it is, in that she suggests a quick "helping" fix can be to use this product. It doesn't feel like it, and parts of the edges are crumbling. Even if it's not, is it possible to treat it like it is and stain it (after cleaning etc., of course)? Does anyone know definitively whether it is in fact wood on this type of cabinetry?

The idea of adding hardware is great, thank you (@nosoccermom again!) I'm actually headed to Ikea this weekend and they have these pulls for (e.g. two 15" for $9.99).

That's do-able! Larger pulls actually installed in the face of the cabinet would have a better "pull the eye away from the horror" effect per Kylie, but I know I can drill and then putty up these when I move. Maybe I'll talk to my landlord about putting in something more tho--if I pay for it he might be cool. They can't get worse.

So in short, going to start with the cabinets, since I know that needs to be fixed and is the worst eyesore.

As for the floor, I've said above I really don't want to put down any sort of rug, but I have found well-reviewed recycled plastic, reversible rugs from Fab Habitat like this one:

(tried to make a collage lol--a link to the product here).

NB: often listed at ridiculously high prices--a comparable FH 6x9 on Houzz is currently $329. They're machine made, out of plastic straws. But other stores (and the manufacturer) sell it for much, much less).

And I already have an outdoor one that I've decided doesn't fit in my cyan-ized living room--just wish the nap was lower (can you seal a rug like a floor cloth so it has no nap? I bought it for a steal, I really don't care...), but maybe I'll do it :(

Caspian Rectangle Indoor/Outdoor Rug, Ivory, 6'7"x9'6" · More Info

If anyone has more advice I'd LOVE it! No Anglophile "pro" decorators tho, please! That elitist post bugged me all night :(.

Thank you all so much. What a great community! :)

With regards to your yellowed fridge - that's one thing a smoker was not responsible for. My fridge at my current home (same brand) is just as yellow, and I don't allow smokers to smoke indoors at my home. Light over time will do it. One reason my almost -ready home has black appliances.

How about this:

http://www.thekitchn.com/ugly-cabinets-try-a-hand-carved-design-on-contact-paper-kitchen-inspiration-166450

[Note, I don't think the directions are correct --- she used a wood contact paper.]

Or much easier, take off some doors and put pretty contact paper on back.

More links:

https://thedecorguru.com/2014/07/24/living-in-a-white-box-kick-ass-kitchens/

Shelf liner, burlap? I'd skip the acrylic handles, though.

nosoccermom, that's one of my favorite kitchens! With the forest!

one needs to be very patient though.

otherwise I wouldn't touch the cabs, except for cleaning. I might try and get a different fridge, on Craigslist or something. People sell them for a song. If this one is truly disgusting, and all..

Jessica does your lanlord allows to paint the walls?

if yes-I'd go for blue, pulled from the tile. Especially if you're not covering the tile

Someting like Marimekko fabric to use as a curtain for the shelves. Since you love Scandinavian graphic..(me too!)

And last but not least-have you thought of floor cloths? I now have one..no it doesn't move and I don't stumble upon it(which means a lot..I'm very clumsy)

You just wash them with warm water. Very useful thing-y

there are many sites..Spicher(I think?), Etsy..I think Garnet Hill has several now? that's the first site that came up though when I searched...they seem to have a lot, so here goes:

http://stores.puravidahomedecor.com/vinyl-floor-cloths/

you can choose designs, sizes, etc.

Let us know how it goes!

I'm pretty sure that the cabs are beige....to check, you can unscrew a hinge and see what's underneath. Whatever it is, is the original color.

Do you think adding hardware will add to an already "busy" look? I believe those cabs have built in pulls anyway, so is it absolutely needed?

What about a "landing area" for stuff out of your fridge:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70217336/

I posted the hardware suggestion, but I think they used hardware that covers the whole wood edge.

The wood may be veneer. Do you see layers that are separating?

What if you remove doors, put dishes, glasses and your attrae stuff in the cabs and make a little curtain for the currently open shelves?

Personally, I don't think those cabinets are that bad, but then I remember when they were fashionable.

Could you add fabrics that have beige, white and cream, maybe silver, so that it looks intentional?