As an editor at Apartment Therapy, I’ve been seeing more and more of renters investing in permanent changes to their spaces. That can be a scary thing to do if you’re not sure how long you’ll be in a space, or if your landlord is less than agreeable — but if you intend to stay for the long haul and you’re willing to make some compromises with your landlord, it can be a great way to make your home a better fit for your needs.
This kitchen redo from DIYer Lily F Tsutumida is a great example of the sorts of changes that might be worth considering even if you’re renting. The before is a space that the renter describes as “dated, dingy, damaged, and sad” — maybe the worst four kitchen characteristics possible. If Lily had wanted to stick with only renter-friendly kitchen upgrades, she and her husband Evan would have had plenty of options for giving the space a facelift. But instead, the renters decided they’d rather put some extra money into the home they intended to live in for a long time (while also adding in a few renter-friendly touches). Here’s what Lily and Evan did, and how renters with a little less freedom can get the look.
Permanent Change: New Floors
Lily and Evan paid pros to remove the dingy, torn linoleum tiles and install vinyl plank flooring throughout the whole apartment, which cost $4,000 total. That sounds like a hefty price, but compared with the cost of moving to a new apartment, the couple says they still came out ahead.
Nervous about taking on such a big, expensive project as a renter? One ultra-quick way to deal with ugly flooring is to cover it with a beautiful rug.
Permanent Change: Painted Cabinets
Yes, paint is a relatively affordable and easy way to transform a space, but it’s a lot less reversible on cabinets than it is on walls (especially for cabinets that started out as a wood tone). The process of painting the kitchen cabinets was painstaking, but the new white color made the whole space feel much brighter.
Temporary Change: Open Shelving
Tearing out cabinets and replacing them with open shelves would have been a big project (and definitely not reversible). Instead, Lily and Evan decided to create an open shelving look by removing the doors from a couple of the cabinets, which puts pretty dishes on display. If they need to, they can add the cabinet doors back with a few screws.