Kitchen in a Rental
Your rental kitchen might seem too small to even cook in. Your apartment might not have a dining room or a proper eating area in it. You may have more appliances than you can fit in the cupboards. This is especially common if you live in a studio apartment or you're just starting out. You might live in a city where you sacrificed space for prime real estate. You probably want to spend your money on improvements that you can take with you when your lease is over. You might have restrictions on what DIY projects you can do in your rental. Here is organize a kitchen in a rental. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
Organizing Your Kitchen in a Rental
1. Decide what you can live without. You might think that you need all of your kitchen appliances. Pull everything out of your cupboards and consider getting rid of anything you haven't used in a year. You could hold a garage sale and use the proceeds for the rest of your kitchen organization project.
2. Combine your appliances. Depending on your cooking expertise, you might not need a stand mixer and a hand held mixer. Remove appliances that perform close to the same function, such as a manual food chopper and a food processor. This will free up precious counter space in your rental kitchen.
3. Look for dishes that will stack easily. This is an easy way to organize a kitchen in a rental because it will give you more cupboard space. Look for plastic tumblers that will stack inside each other. Summer is a good time to shop for these; you might even be able to find a set that looks like real glass.
4. Add an island. This will give you another area for food prep. Look for an island that has added storage. This can come in the form of a cupboard or a pot rack. Use bar stools at your kitchen island for a makeshift breakfast nook. Portable kitchen islands are inexpensive. Find an island with wheels so you can move it around easily. You can even push it into the dining room to serve as a buffet. You can find one with a marble or granite countertop that compliments the rest of the counters. This way you'll be able to take the kitchen furniture to your next place.
5. Marry form and function. Look for a revolving spice rack for your rental kitchen. If you put this in your cupboard you'll be able to keep your spices organized as well as see them at a glance. These are decorative enough that you can leave them out on the counter so they'll be close at hand.
6. Make use of your wall space. This can make up for a shortage of cabinet or countertop space. You can buy magnetic wall strips that can hold spice jars or even knives. They almost serve as unique kitchen sculptures. Just make sure that sharp objects are out of the way of any kids. Find a dish strainer that hangs from the wall. Read your lease first to to learn if it's OK to put screws or nails in the wall.
7. Bring in decorative objects. You might not be able to paint your apartment. This can make things seem temporary or even stark. You might long for the days when you can add personality to a kitchen. Bring in brightly colored vases. Store your kitchen utensils like wooden spoons and spatulas in these. This adds color and organization at the same time. An iron basket can work as a chic fruit basket.
8. Use flat organizers. These hang on the back of your cabinet doors. You can hang utensils or other items from them with "S" hooks.
9. Find adhesive strips. These aren't just the cheap white plastic hooks that you sometimes see in some rentals: this type comes in brushed metal finishes. You can hang coffee cups and other items from the hooks. Plus, you can remove them without a trace when it's time to move. This displays your favorite items as well as giving you more storage space.
10. Make your breakfast nook disappear. A dining room table can take up a lot of precious space in your rental kitchen. Look for a drop leaf table. This way you can fold down your table when you're not using it.
Tags: rental kitchen, your rental, dining room, your rental kitchen, breakfast nook