Ways To Upgrade Your Rental Kitchen

1. Use a Rug

Adding a rug is an easy and convenient way to add some personality to your rental kitchen. As far as renter friendly kitchen upgrades go, this is the easiest. The side benefit, in case you do not have good flooring, is that a rug would hide that. Especially in India, most rented kitchens do not come with the highest level of presentability. Choosing a patterned rug for your Kitchen Design would also take the attention off your flooring. You can always choose rugs with colours that pop out or with a rich texture. Bear in mind that the kitchen is the place in the house that is susceptible the most to staining so choose a material which is washable and maintainable.

2. Use Some Plants

As far as customized rental kitchen décor ideas go, a very good way to add some life to the kitchen (quite literally) would be to make it more green. Add some house plants to the kitchen to let the outside in. These plants (or kitchen décor items) do not need to be a fern or something heavy, but they can be succulents, or even an aloe vera. It could also be wheatgrass or a leafy money plant. Definitely do not go for climbers or veins if you have a small kitchen. Adding some plants would also add a dash of green to the kitchen.

3. Use Some Light

The usual motto for a room in any house is “Turn up the lights”. If you have a rental kitchen that is a bit on the darker side, and standing in the kitchen makes you feel dreary, then installing new lighting can be a good idea. There’s always more than one way to achieve the same outcome of lighting pattern. You can use a variety of lights - be it LED lights (bars or strips), neon light bars, puck lights, or under-the-cabinet lighting. We would definitely avoid floor-to-ceiling lights.

4. Change the Background

When your kitchen is a rental, you may not be allowed to change the paint tones or use a backsplash. But worry not, we have a solution. You can always use wallpaper when it comes to simple kitchen design. A removable wallpaper would not only allow you to change the vibe of the place to match your needs, it would also be easier to change your mind in the future. Wallpapers are available in a wide variety of colours and patterns. You could even cover the cabinets with multiple tones to create a wonderful and vibrant feel in your rental kitchen. If you have open shelves, the wallpapers could be colourful backgrounds for them. Always pick the colours or patterns that would either match or complement the colour tones and vibe in your kitchen.

You could also try your hands on stick-on tiles. Bear in mind that these are temporary upgrades, and hence they would be the solution to the lack of ‘personality’ or ‘taste’ in your rental kitchen modern design.

5.Add Some Art

One of the best ways to make something borrowed your own is to add your own flavor to it. If you own some art, or are an artist, hang some art in the kitchen as well. This includes anything - from that amazing art piece you scored at a garage sale, or the embroidered landscape your mom did in college. If you have kids, their artwork either goes on the wall or on the fridge. Whatever tells your story better, should be a part of the kitchen. This would upgrade rental kitchen and add your own personal signature to the kitchen’s vibe.

6. Add an Island

Another one of these amazing rental kitchen décor ideas is to add an island. Not a literal one, a kitchen island! A island kitchen design can serve a lot of purposes, aesthetic appeal being one of them. It adds counter space to the kitchen if you have a big enough one. It can also double up as a makeshift breakfast table. It can also add some change to the scenery and make the kitchen not look too empty.

To make your own island, you can either utilize a butcher block, or use an old bookshelf as an island.

7. Use the Space

If you do not have a big kitchen, and are battling a cramped space, but still want to upgrade rental kitchen, worry not. You should use the walls for storage. Floating shelves, pot racks, and pegboards are the best way to utilize that wall space as storage by hanging your kitchen items on all these. These can be easily availed at any local hardware or interior decoration supplies store.

8. Upgrade the Hardware

Changing these little things can make a big shift. You can always start with the small ticket items like door handles or cabinetry when you are about to upgrade rental kitchen. Change a drawer pull or two, add a pot rack, update the cabinet knobs. Consult your landlord before hopping on to items like faucets or sinks to fulfill the rental apartment kitchen decorating ideas.If it is allowed, go for a not-so-low-hanging faucet. A short one (or a low-hanging) faucet creates issues everytime - cooking, washing dishes, cleaning, drying, etc.