Need some seriously good rental apartment kitchen decor ideas? Use these 11 smart ideas to elevate your boring rental apartment kitchen without breaking the bank!
Beautifying a boring, basic rental apartment kitchen is super hard! Without the right ideas, you could get in trouble pretty easily!
That's why I found it important to share my top 11 rental apartment kitchen decor ideas with you!
As a renter myself, I've been experimenting quite a bit! I've figured out extremely smart ways that helped me turn my old rental kitchen with its ragged flooring & cabinets into some REAL eye-candy - using only reversible, temporary solutions!
So if you wanna learn how to decorate your rental apartment kitchen without putting your security deposit on the line, definitely keep reading!
the best rental apartment kitchen decor ideas
01. Cover up nasty flooring
If you live in a rented apartment, you've probably wondered about what you could do to beautify your old, nasty kitchen flooring that's full of stains, scratches & a thousand other marks of previous tenants.
I know the struggle! But here's an easy, reversible solution: use peel & stick floor tiles!
You can find versatile designs, patterns & colors from BleUcoin on Etsy that will instantly freshen up your flooring without making you lose your security deposit!
02. Add a fun backsplash
Are the walls empty in your rental apartment kitchen? Freshen them up using peel & stick tile backsplash!
With a cute set of white, black, emerald or even navy peel & stick backsplash, you'll be able to make your rental apartment kitchen look at least 10 times better. BUT! These come with another HUGE advantage: they help keep the paint looking clean & fresh!
You definitely won't be leaving stains & marks of minor accidents on those walls. One less thing for your landlord to hold against you!
03. Swap out old hardware
One of the easiest, most affordable but most impactful ways to spruce up a rental kitchen is to swap out old hardware! This is honestly one of the few rental apartment kitchen decor ideas that I keep secret, because it's just SOO good!
Ideally get your landlord's permission for this, but you don't have to worry too much even if you don't, because this change is easily reversible.
You just need to remove your old hardware & install the new ones into the already existing holes. No drilling needed here!
Brushed nickel, gold, black metal or silver, whichever design you choose, you're sure to elevate the space!
04. Spruce up basic lights
Something so subtle could literally change the way your rental apartment kitchen looks! Choose something that's impossible to NOT look at it, like this beaded lampshade from Target! This way, a tiny, boring kitchen can have an accent!
And no, this won't cost you your security deposit either, since it's just a lampshade! You don't need to change the light fixture to install it.
05. Hide outlets using the power of styling
I don't know about you, but I'm super bothered by outlets! It might just be my OCD brain, but if there's something remotely ugly in my kitchen, I use all my resources to hide that thing!
So if you're anything like me, you wanna hide outlets to make your kitchen seem more decorative & less functional.
And let me tell you, it's super simple! Using the power of styling, you can create a very pretty composition around your outlets. So use decorative utensil holders, a set of wooden cutting boards, potted plants in ceramic pots & salt and pepper dispensers to hide & beautify those outlets!
06. Decorate with linens
One of the most surprising rental apartment kitchen decor ideas for most people is the fact that you can use towels as decoration!
Just take a look at the photo above for inspiration! Aren't those grey & blue towels so cute? If you learn to combine different patterns & colors well, you can easily create a nice composition of kitchen towels that'll instantly draw the eyes in & make your rental kitchen look much better!
07. Don't like your cabinets? Lend them some personality!
The cabinets in a rental apartment kitchen always need a makeover! They're pretty much the one surface in the whole kitchen, where EVERY stain, scratch, discoloration is visible. And these are SO easy to spot!
However, I've got something for you! With a solid color contact paper, you can easily cover these marks AND also lend your boring wooden cabinets some personality in a renter-friendly way!
08. Add shelves & decorate
I think you know exactly how valuable your countertop space is, especially if you have a small rental kitchen. To save some of it, but also make your rental apartment kitchen look good, consider going vertical with storage!
Install a few floating shelves using double sided tape & decorate it with printables, mini decorative cutting boards, candles and vases, but don't forget to display your ingredients in cute food storage containers either!
YOU MIGHT ALSO WANT TO READ:
{ Apartment kitchen storage : the top 26 storage solutions to maximize your space }
09. Get cute bottles
If there's one thing that'll totally cancel out ALL your efforts in making a rental kitchen look good, it's definitely regular bottles! Always, ALWAYS get cute matching bottles for dish soap & cleaning supplies!
Tinted glass, clear glass or those brown plastic bottles you've been seeing all over your social media are all great choices! Put nice labels with eye-catching handwriting on them as well to further enhance their aesthetics.
Trust me, you'll notice the difference!
10. Make use of that top of the cabinet space
Did you ever think about utilizing all that empty space on top of your cabinets? This is really one of the best rental apartment kitchen decor ideas on this list, it's super useful for multiple reasons!
Firstly, if you accessorize the top of your cabinets with decorative baskets, you'll have much more space to store your stuff! I don't know if anyone else does this, but since I have no space in my cabinets, I store my sandwich maker & waffle maker on top of them in my cute woven baskets.
Secondly, baskets on top of your cabinets & potted plants are great ways to make your rental apartment kitchen look better! They really draw the eyes in!
11. Prop some artwork against the wall
To further enhance the aesthetics of your basic rental apartment kitchen, consider incorporating some artwork into your design!
Personally, I love a simple landscape propped against the wall. It's super simple, but will definitely make you look. And it doesn't require any effort on your end! No drilling, no need to use double sided tape, nothing!
This post was all about the best rental apartment kitchen decor ideas.
RELATED POSTS: