Hehe well, you can read whatever part of it you'd like and it would still make sense I think, as I broke my questions apart according to each room and added inspiration pictures to help imagine what I mean. It would really help if someone could weigh in on at least one of the issues. Most of it is just restyling and not really remodeling, but we are redoing the kitchen.

Why would we do that for a rental? Two reasons: first, we signed a multi-year lease and are planning to stay here for the next 5 years at least. The kitchen is very old and doesn't fit our daily needs, so redoing it will allow for more storage space plus a small dishwasher!

Second reason is we got a discount in rent for redoing the kitchen, which will not cost us nearly as much as it does other people, as my partner owns a woodworking business. He can get the majority of materials for the kitchen in wholesale prices, plus we will not pay for the work as we will do it ourselves. For these reasons we are remodeling the kitchen and I'm taking the opportunity to restyle the space to make it look a bit more upscale and reflect our style.

Disclaimer: I am not a designer not did I sleep in a Holiday Inn last night.

Does the owner of the property have and input into your design? To keep a friendly relationship with the landlord, I would give him or her a chance to give feedback on your proposed changes to the kitchen

Is this a long term rental or short term (VRBO, AirBNB, etc)? It sounds like this may be your home but I may have misunderstood. I have assumed that you are not the owner.

Personally, looking beyond your lease, I wouldn’t design permanent parts, such as kitchen cabinets, to meet your tastes. You limit the number of potential renters that follow you.

Open shelves just don’t work for me. Storage is at a premium so, IMO, cabinets to the ceiling would be a huge plus to me as a long term renter. As a short term renter, open shelves would be great. I don’t understand how you end up with more storage when you eliminate the existing upper cabinets .

Hard sharp corners in narrow spaces equal pain. I would have a permanent bruise on my legs if I had to live with a platform bed in the small sleeping area. Plus a platform bed takes up more precious floor space than a conventional bed. I’d also end up with a broken toe from running into the end of the couch that sticky out beyond the wall.

Thanks for your input:)

Here is some background to this place:

We’ve been living here for 3 years and plan on staying for another 5 years or so (signed a multi-year lease).

One of the reasons we were chosen as tenants in the first place is my husband’s family’s experience in building and our promise to keep everything in top shape without bothering our landlord - as many other tenants would if anything went wrong in the apartment. Since living here we made good on that promise - we added electricity points, repaired aircons and plumbing, redid the bathroom and the yard, all at our own expense (which isn’t much as we get wholesale prices on most equipment+material and do the work ourselves).

We never asked the owner for money and he didn’t ask to be advised in design choices (though we always updated him before and after any changes were made). It works for everyone and that’s also why he doesn’t raise our rent from year to year (yearly rent raises are pretty customary where I live).

Renovation of the kitchen is long overdo, some of the cabinets are practically crumbling on the inside, hinges are rusty and the sink has mould growing all around it, so it’s either we do it for free or he would have had to do it at his own expense by now.

The kitchen will indeed be the first major renovation we are going to make, and I will definitely ask the owner if he wants to see the plans and have an input. But generally, we are going with a very simple, all white design that would not clash with any future tenant‘s personal taste. It‘s a bit complicated to explain what‘s the current layout of the kitchen and what is the plan for the new one, but I‘ll try.

First, it’s important to note the existing overhead cupboards are very narrow. They can’t fit a large dinner plate, for example, which makes them very impractical as I can only store narrow items such as cups and some pantry goods in them. I don’t need all that space for those items alone. Second, the row closest to the ceiling is very high. I have to stand on the kitchen counter to reach the top shelf, which isn’t fun or safe or sanitary to do often. It only makes sense to store less used items over there, which I don’t really have (meaning I frequently use everything I own, which is really important for small space living), so all that space is pretty much empty atm.

I could potentially have lower and wider cupboards instead, but my dinnerware and serving dishes are a truly exquisite handmade ceramic set my potter aunt custom made for my birthday. It’s such a shame they are all tucked away in the bottom cabinets these days, actually taking up some needed space for pots and pans.

I know not everyone would like to display their dinnerware, though it would be pretty cheap to get a cupboard unit installed later on if needed, but surely, if the landlord objects to the idea of open shelving I will go with his flow as it’s his property.

The two thing I actually miss having the most in this kitchen is a proper pantry and a dishwasher. Right now the pantry good are divided between two small cabinets: condiments, oils, sauces etc. are in the cupboard directly over the stove top and dry goods such as rice, pasta, canned food etc. is in the cabinet under the microwave. It’s never enough and not as accessible as I would want it to be, so the plan is to add a full size cabinet to the right of the stove, behind that divider wall. It will look like a continuation of the wardrobe but will actually have 5 or six deep drawers from the floor almost to the ceiling, that I can slide out to get a good view and reach of its contents.

Moving all the pantry goods to that cabinet will also free up space under the microwave for a narrow dishwasher, which is the actual dream! Both my partner and I have intensely physical jobs and part of why we love living in a small home is we don‘t have to slave away on chores at the end of the day. Having a dishwasher will eliminate our ultimate chore!

I believe any future tenant would love having a big, accessible pantry and a dishwasher. It’s way more than any other small apartment in our area has and will surely up the value of this apartment.

I will add some photos soon so you can come back to check them out later, if you’re having a hard time following my elaborate explanation (very understandable).

Regarding the platform bed, you have a point. You can’t really see it in the picture of my bedroom as the duvet is covering it, but the current bed frame also sticks out beyond the mattress edge, and I definitely bump my knees and thighs in it on my way to bed every so often. I might go with a similar design to the inspiration photo, and just keep the bed frame closer to the mattress edge, leaving more leg room on the side. But all in all, having a bed frame that doesn’t cover the mattress at the bottom edge would be an upgrade - right now the bed frame is a tiny bit higher that the mattress so we can’t really enter the bed from the bottom edge of it, which would be a convenient option in this room where the bed can’t be centred.

The only thing I don’t understand is why a platform bed specifically would have that issue of bumping your legs in, and not any bed frame that isn’t flushed with the mattress?

And regarding my sofa - it is a 20 year old Ikea that is still going strong, has removable, washable covers and opens to a comfy guest bed. It’s far from being my favourite piece in the house, but a new sofa is expensive (and is one thing we can’t make ourselves). Plus few sofa designs that I like and are within my budget open to a guest bed with such ease, or at all. So the sofa is staying for now and I have to admit I’m on the clumsier side and never once did I bump into it from the kitchen side (where it sticks out toward) - there is plenty of floor space right next to it. Besides, if you would bump into it you would basically be bumping into a cushion, as It’s soft at the edges.

I understand the issues with your current kitchen. After spending over 25 years moving every couple of years, I’ve lived with some of the most awkward kitchens out there. We own one rental property right now that has about 10 feet of those stupid shallow cabinets that are pretty miserable for storing much. I can’t wait to get rid of them. Another kitchen was so small I could stand in the middle and come within a foot of touching all walls without moving.

My philosophy is to make a space that anyone could like to live in. Not all of us have dishes we would like to display nor are we neat enough to want to have open storage. Just because you don’t have much that you want to store that is seldom used, doesn’t mean the next renter won’t. How difficult will it be for the owner to find upper cabinets to match the lower ones?

yes, I can and do bump my legs on foot boards that extend beyond the mattress I love the bed you had pictured but those corners are sharp and the space for the bed is narrow. The extra 6 or 8 inches in width is going to make getting around the wall that extends into that space even tighter than it already is

Standing in counters is easily avoided by using a step stool or ladder. In a small kitchen, the dishes on open shelves are going to get dirty. Just look at your cabinet doors and thing on your counter that are close to your stove.

Just a few things to think about. I’m certain is going to be a great space for you when you are done with it.