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What You Can Change in Your Rental Property Kitchen

January 19, 2023
rental property kitchen

Key takeaways:

  • You can change some stuff in the kitchen of your rental home, as long as the changes are not too big or will not damage the original space.
  • The best option would be to use portable stuff that you can easily replace when moving out.
  • If you want to make massive changes to your rental property kitchen, you’ll need permission from the landlord.

Among all the rooms, the kitchen is the heart of the home, and people like to make it their own. While you cannot make significant changes to a rental property kitchen, there are simple tweaks you can make to change its looks.

Living in rental properties can be less fussy, but it comes with some restrictions. Most landlords won’t allow you to make big changes in the house. You can expect the landlord to let you have a larger pool in their investment property.

So, when you leave, they don’t have to spend a lot of money to make it look the same as before. Let’s see what you can change in your rental property kitchen to make it look better.

Changes you can make in your rental property kitchen

Remember, anything that leaves a permanent and noticeable mark that requires extra paint is not allowed on the rental kitchen. So, you need to go simple and portable for kitchen renovation.

Paint your rental property kitchen

rental property kitchen

Applying new paint is the easiest and quickest way to renovate your kitchen. Most landlords are often okay with this since you can always paint the walls back to their original colour before moving out. 

Also, if your landlord likes the paint, you won’t have to re-paint it before leaving. Get permission, choose a colour scheme, and paint the walls as you like to make your rental property kitchen look more striking.

Swap appliances

rental property kitchen

One upgrade you can do without telling the landlord is swapping the kitchen appliances and keeping the original ones safe. Check your cupboard space and see if you grab the same size from the market. Kitchen cupboards are usually held by two screws, making them easy to replace. 

In addition, you can replace old faucets, doorknobs, and cabinet hardware to make a huge difference in the looks. If you want to swap the larger appliances, you might need permission first.

The best results come when you follow the interior design rules, so check them out before doing anything.

Stick on new flooring

rental property kitchen

You have three options here: cover the original floor with a wood pattern, use tiles, or peel-and-stick products. It depends on your budget and how often you want to renovate the kitchen. 

Just remember that you are not allowed to cause any damage to the rental home that might require more frequent repairs, and damaging the floor can be one of them.

Give your countertops a makeover

rental property kitchen

In your own home, you can install the countertops and change them as you like, but in a rental home, the best you can do is to cover the countertop with a textured peel-and-stick cover. 

On the other hand, you can also grab a white sticking sheet, apply it on the countertop, and paint over it. Ensure that the sheet is easy to remove so you won’t damage the countertop when peeling it off.

Hang a pegboard

rental property kitchen
Image credit: Ikea

If you want more space in your kitchen, a pegboard is the best option since you can break walls or create a large floor plan.

Get a custom size board, paint it, and decorate it as you like. Once done, you can use four or six huge screws to hang it anywhere in the kitchen. 

Make sure to paint the places where you used drilling for screws so everything looks as new before leaving. Open shelving is another option if you don’t want to use a pegboard.

Change the lighting

rental property kitchen

You can change the bulbs or SMDs with something offering bright colours, or an RGB bulb can be better. 

Moreover, you can add LED strips at the bottom of kitchen cabinets for better ambiance and lighting.

If you have a chandelier to light up the kitchen, things are more in your favour. You can use old retro-looking light bulbs and make it the kitchen’s focal point.

You can also use peel-and-stick films on glass windows to change the colour of natural light and make your kitchen look more dreamy.

Find a theme for your kitchen

rental property kitchen

The deciding factor in renovating your kitchen is the theme you want. Instead of changing things individually, see what theme suits your kitchen the most and grab the necessary stuff. 

On top of that, if your landlord is happy with the theme you chose, they might use it to attract renters once you leave.

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