Looking for a low-cost refresh for tiny rental kitchen
I am looking to update this kitchen. The cabinets are solid and will stay, but I could paint them. The
flooring is newer as well and will stay. I don't have a picture of it but there is now a microwave over the stove.
I would love ideas for lower cost counters, etc.
This is a rental unit I will be furnishing to rent to traveling nurses.
Flooring ...
Help!
Comments (12)
Lukki Irish
4 years agoFor a rental, I would just paint the cabinets, install laminate counters and maybe do a nice tile backsplash of some sort. Something similar to this maybe
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teeny tiny rental kitchen
Comments (25)The stove (or cooktop) against the wall is a building code violation. Must be at least 4" away. Also, the compact freestanding fridge placed directly under a countertop and surrounded by cabinetry will have its compressor burn out from excessive heat in the back within a few years. Read the installation or owner's manual and you'll see it requires about 4" of space on each side and above. A proper undercounter refrigerator with the compressor grille in the front toekick area should be used here; these are designed for zero clearance to the sides, back, and top. My usual space-saving tips: a 12"w two-burner cooktop, an undercounter 24"w, 24"h oven with a 5" or 6" drawer beneath it (I like Fagor's inexpensive oven with the side-hinged door and glide-out racks for easy access), either a good-quality 18"w dishwasher (Miele's is best; Bosch is good but less roomy, Danby, GE, or others if you're price-conscious), or Fisher & Paykel's 24"w but only about 16" tall drawer-type dishwasher with a drawer beneath it, and perhaps a shallow drawer above it too. Roll-out trays or drawers in the base cabinets and any full-height pantrys. Sink that is less wide than usual but deep front-to-back, with either a wall-mount faucet or the faucetry in the corner(s), and the drain in a rear corner or off to the side or back - no lengthwise faucet deck stealing space from the sink. Undermount sinks gain about 5" of countertop width, if you use a countertop that can accept one....See MoreOld house kitchen renovation for rental unit
Comments (28)If it has original cabinetry and you ripped it out to put in Big Box boring or that gawd awful Ikea ....... well let's just say I would not buy it when you go sell without a HUGE price reduction or escrowed funds to track down vintage cabinetry appropriate to the house. No house in our family was built before 1927. You CAN fit in a dishwasher -go for compact. You can fit in a microwave - get one that attaches to the bottom of the cabinets over the counter. And do save every cabinet door your remove. (1) next to the stove. Get an old 1900-1930 dresser. Paint it to match. Pick up some old marble top from an architectural salvage. Ditto find an upper cabinet at architectural salvage. Attach the micro wave under the cabinet and over the counter. (2) Next to the fridge - move it to the wall? DO the same thing with a small stand. Alternatively frame in a pantry cabinet and get an vintage door from architectural salvage. (3) Keep the appliances white - period appropriate. Stainless steel is the fad du jour - just like the avocado and harvest gold were in the 60s and 70s (and will be considered as -oh-so-passé-tacky in the not-too-far-future the way the fad of the 60s/70s is considered now.) Stainless with period cabinetry is like an 80 year dowager in a mini-skirt. (4) SInk - hit the architectural salvage and get a porcelain over cast iron. (5) Counter Would have been linoleum (linoleum - not laminate) or wood, 2 options that would cost less than period linoleum. First just do a laminate that looks like marble. Passable for a rental. If the counter run is as short as it seems, try Lumber Liquidators for butcher block counter lengths. Not the best but okay for this....See MoreHow to update this tiny kitchen on tiny budget
Comments (48)DO NOT mess with that refrig! It is not counter depth and making it white or some sort of faux stainless will make it appear larger than it already is. When you replace it, go counter depth in stainless. As to painting it or using contact paper...well I would not do that. Forty seven years ago, I bought a special kit to epoxy spray paint a refrig. It even had a 2nd can to give shadows. It was avacado green which went well in my kitchen. What refrig did I paint! A 1943 GE, rather small with a tiny freezer compartment inside that held two ice trays and two packages and of frozen veggies - it didn't stay cold enough for ice cream. My parents had bought it the summer before I was born and over the years, the enamel had worn off in places and it had a bit of rust in places. We had just bought our first hous in St Louis - $23,500 - and were broke. It turned out pretty well and I had nothing to lose as it was unsightly. It was a conversation piece as all would say "I didn't know they made colored refrigerators in those days!" My husband took it with him when he left me in 1975 - don't know what ever happened to that old thing but it did not go into the lovely home he and Wife#2 bought 3 months later! But I would never do this to your black refrig...leave it alone....See MoreLooking for Ideas to Refresh Rental Apartment
Comments (11)Thanks for all of the comments so far - much appreciated! It's a one bedroom apartment since the wall to the 2nd bedroom was partially carved out by a former owner to expand the living area - so will be for a young professional/ couple (which is what I currently have despite the furnishings currently skewing university student). Unfortunately I'm competing with shiny new builds that have an industrial look and extras (like swimming pools and indoor parking) while my unit was constructed in 1900 and previous owners have stripped out all original character. The newer builds also offer appliances, which oddly enough is not the norm in the regular rental market in this city (tenants normally need to supply their own fridge/stove/etc.). In addition to the fridge and stove, there is also a washer and dryer in a laundry room that I did not show. Window treatments are also usually not provided unless they are cheap plastic Venetian blinds. Security deposits are not allowed - so most apartments are offered as-is and most landlords put in minimal effort. Personally I find this apartment so ugly, and I'm used to rental markets that provided bright white and clean apartments, that it pains me to offer it as-is without some refresh. My style definitely skews modern/industrial and my unit is now all white/ black/ grey/ exposed brick - so all of that wood in the kitchen seems awful to me. I refinished my cabinets with INSL-X Stix primer and Benjamin Moore Advanced paint when I bought the place and they are still look good 3+ years later...but understand perhaps that's not the best for a rental unit. Peel & stick flooring tiles are definitely not my top choice, but as I was researching laying vinyl sheeting, it seemed like it might be a difficult task to take on by myself. Seems like the consensus is that I should paint all rooms and install a dishwasher....See More
gmp3
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoI successfully painted the same cabinets in another unit at this property, and they haven't needed a touch up for 3 years
(I used INSL-X primer and paint), but I kept the counters in that unit because they were in better shape, and painted cabinets a warm gray to coordinate with the ugly but functional counters.
I really like the black and white photo too. I will keep the current pulls. They were replaced when we did the first round of renovations. I planned on redoing the kitchen but the place rented while we we were renovating and the tenant wanted to move in ASAP, so I left the cabinets and counters and just replaced appliances and pulls.
Does anyone have experience with IKEA counters?herbflavor
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
katinparadise
4 years agoI'm not normally in the camp of painting cabinets either, but in this case, I think they would look better with the flooring. I'd pick out a light taupe from the flooring for color. Are the counters themselves in bad shape or just the laminate. You can buy laminate sheets and go right over the existing counter tops. If they need to be changed altogether, I'd do a simple cream color for the top if you're planning on painting the cabinets. If you want something with some pattern, I like Wilsonart Cippolino Bianco.
acm
4 years ago
PROBeth H. :
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoYours would be super easy to refresh.
The absolute first thing would be to get rid of that florescent light. they are easy to remove and put up a regular ceiling light. (look for a light that can house 1-2 lights w/100-200 watts. use LED's)
Look up, "how to remove kitchen florescent light fixture and replace with ceiling light". it's actually pretty simple.
you can shut off the power from the main electrical panel.bring in a light like the one in the first pic, or something like this:
you have almost no counters, so look for remnants from stone yards, craigslist, fabricator shops,,or try Butcher block from Floor and Decor/Ikea, or, make your own from Douglas Fir planks. (how to's on that too)
If you're going to paint, think about adding on some boxes up top. it's really not that difficult.
you can leave them open, fit them w/doors, or even doors w/just glass.
The best how to 'paint oak cabs' is these two,,(plus lots of other budget upgrades)You barely have any to do so it will be a snap
https://www.evolutionofstyleblog.com/how-to-paint-your-kitchen-cabinets-like
https://www.thriftydecorchick.com/2015/11/the-epic-how-to-paintyour-kitchen.html
check on craigslist for a counter depth fridge. (or, could you move it to that spot directly across? this way you'd get more countertop space
C W
4 years agocalidesign
4 years ago
Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK