Renter-Friendly Kitchen Update—The Inspiration
The Space
I’m coming up on my one-year anniversary in my current apartment, and we decided to renew the lease. Overall it’s a really cute space with great vintage features, a nice layout, and beautiful lighting. The place has windows on all sides (a rare feature in apartments) so we get beautiful natural light in the space. I can see us potentially just staying here until we’re ready to buy.
That said, there are a few things I wish were different about the place. It would be nice to have a balcony (so we can have our own little outdoor space), a bigger bathroom (the bathroom space is a bit small), and I’m not a huge fan of the kitchen counter material or flooring. These are things I obviously can’t change about the apartment, but there are plenty of little things I can: First off, I never finished decorating the living room. I looked at inspiration, talked to a designer, created a plan but never got much further than buying the couch. I also never got new cabinetry for the dining room. When I moved into my current place, I knew the kitchen was going to be a bit too small for all the food/ingredients I keep on stock and my collection of cookware/bakeware AND all the dishes. As a baker and cook, I always keep a nice range of shelf-stable ingredients on hand (flours, sugars, grains, etc.). My solution? To keep all the dishware displaced on shelving in the dining room. I love how this looks but the shelf I currently have was always meant to be temporary. It’s an older bookshelf that I always intended to replace with a display cabinet with doors to keep things a little safer and elevate the look.
The biggest thing on my list though is the kitchen. The kitchen is nicely sized for a 950-square-foot apartment but it’s felt cramped when cooking a more involved meal, and I could use some extra counter space. I actually found myself putting cutting boards on the floor to roll out pie dough this past Christmas. Also, after a year in the place, the paint job is already starting to look a bit dingy. Did I mention I am not a fan of the flooring in there, too?
What I need to Change in the kitchen
I have two main goals with the kitchen: 1) to increase the functionality and 2) elevate the look of the space. Here’s what I’m thinking to help increase functionality: bring in a cart/shelving unit/island to create a bit more storage and reorganize counter space, do a massive clear-out and reorganize cupboards, and swap out our existing cookware set for one that is more multifunctional and space-efficient. I think this will be the most practical approach to make the best use of the space we have. For the look? That’s where things could get a bit more fun. I have loads of inspiration from other kitchens I love. My personal taste swings from boho and dessert to Scandinavian and modern. For the past year, I’ve really tried to find a decor theme I can use throughout the entire apartment.
The Inspiration
There are a few bloggers and YouTubers whose kitchens give me serious home envy. I picked my top three kitchens to draw inspiration from and pulled out a few of my favorite elements that I could use in my own kitchen. Leave a comment below to let me know which kitchen inspiration you like the most.
Zoe Sugg’s home in Brighton, England is one of the dreamiest homes I’ve seen. I love the colors in her home and the overall aesthetic (the bathroom is also to die for). I love the open shelving in the kitchen pantry, the massive windows and glass ceiling, and how she brings plants into the space.
While it’s impossible to recreate her kitchen in my apartment, I can pull in some of my favorite decor elements: The decorative shelving with the flip clock, a bit of greenery, and the use of wire baskets and Le Parfait orange top jars. (I happen to already have a collection of Le Parfait.)
Check out her YouTube Channel to see more of her beautiful home.
I am a huge fan of The New Darling’s blog (and Instagram). Their Arizona home has a beautiful desert vibe that I am all about. The kitchen feels very bright and airy. Again, there are open shelves with La Parfait storage jars and touches of greenery from all the plants.
One of the things I really love about this kitchen is the collection of ceramics they’ve brought in, from mugs and trivets to the utensil holder and serving bowls. I also love the brass accents throughout (the hardware is from SchoolHouse Electric).
The elements from their kitchen that I could bring in the elevate the look of my own are the handcrafted ceramics, plants, and natural colors. (My dream would be to replace my cabinets with open shelves but that is just not possible for my lease…. Hopefully, I can do this in a future kitchen.)
Check out more of the New Darlings on their blog.
Bri Emery from DesignLoveFest has a delightfully cheerful Los Angeles home, and I have long admired her kitchen. A few common elements to the other kitchens I love—brass accents, bright white walls, and open shelving.
This kitchen has some more colorful bohemian accents mixed in with ceramics and natural wood. I adore the runner rug in this space and her breakfast nook. (Not pictured, she also has some colorful cookware that adds a nice pop of color.) Her space feels very LA to me with the types of colors and textures she uses.
There are a few elements I can bring into my own kitchen. The runner rug, beautiful cutting boards, and colorful cookware would go well with the limitations of my space. I’m also very tempted to get a “marble” removable surface paper to transform the countertops in my own kitchen. I’d like to do a bit more research on it first to make sure it doesn’t look too “cheap” or damage the countertops.