Rental Renovations: the Under £100 Kitchen Refresh.

9 Apr

It’s Sunday morning and warm, gooey muffins just came out of the oven. I have my amazing local radio station playing some blissful music and I’m just so appreciating how my kitchen is set out. I love mornings like this and can often spend hours in the kitchen at the weekends cooking for the week ahead and enjoying some tunes or podcast. So it was important to me that I enjoyed this space.

When you rent there are ALWAYS thing you want to change but I’m lucky in my landlady trusts me to make whatever surface changes I see fit. It does mean I’ve spent a fair bit of money in the flat but as I add value I also save from rent increases. Plus, it really matters to me what my visual space is like. There are things that I have considered changing - like the tap and sink - but decided against it while I’m saving for my own place. Instead I’ve opted for cheaper fixes that have bought the space a bit more up to date.

When I first moved in I loved having a larger kitchen, most of the properties that came before it has paltry excuses for kitchens and it just wasn't giving me free kitchen vibes, man! But being a basement flat the light is crap and the black counter wasn't helping matters. I was struggling to photograph anything in the kitchen and it just never felt clean - no matter how much I cleaned it just looked a bit ropey. Also, the cabinets were no longer white so needed a bit of freshening up.

The kitchen has had a fair few changes since I moved in almost three years ago now. I finally found the right cupboard paint after 4 tries and the shelving has been changed since the first lot I put up as it just didn't have the right vibe to inspire me to cook.

So, taking everything into account - budget, time, light I decided to go for a few fixes that just freshened up the space without having to get a builder in or spend loads. In the end this ended up being two main things - covering the kitchen worktop and painting the cupboards. New handles also made a world of difference.

The Before Photos.

So before we get into it I really want to show you some before photos. These start of being the first day I moved in to somewhere around a year later. As you can see there was some ugly mirroring at the back that I suppose was added to try and reflect light in but just had the opposite effect I felt. At point along the line, before I gave up drinking, I had a social anxiety hangover and took my mind off it by ripping off all the mirroring - not recommended, there was some blood and some holes to fill!

First Port of Call: The Tiles.

They had to go! But I wasn’t about to start ripping tiles off and retiling - an expensive job that I had no skills for nor a budget to pay a builder. So I simply found some tile paint at B&Q (I think the colour is Canby) and got painting. The paint actually went on really easily with a mini roller - I had planned to sand between the grout after painting but when I had finished I hadn't felt the need to as using the roller meant the paint didn't cover all of the grout. It made an instant difference and almost three years on I can happily say tis is one durable paint!

In your face before and now calmly and subtly just sit in the background.

Total: £15 (plus equipment - I had a brush, mini roller and tray but budget around £7)

The Cupboards and Handles.

As you can see in the before photos the previous handles were chrome and chunky and didn't add anything to a style so initially I had bought some black handles from ebay. They did improve things a bit but when I painted the cupboards everything looked a bit cold so I found some gold handles on Facebook Marketplace for a tenner which warmed everything up nicely!

In terms of paint for the cupboards they are now on their fifth colour! I started with some cupboard paint someone was giving away on a Facebook group but it came out almost blue once up and while it was an advance from the yellow gloss it still wasn't right. Next up was some chalky Rustoleum furniture paint - big mistake, don’t use this paint for kitchen cupboards, it stains really easily and flakes off in high water places! In the end, after ordering about ten samples I went for Rustoleums Kitchen Cupboard paint in Half Light and I am delighted to say I think it’s the one! It also goes a long way so I’ve done the van with it too. It’s really durable and easy to clean.

Always take handles off to paint, it’s a quick job and will make life so much easier. The handles are so easy to replace, just make sure you are ordering the right size to fit on the holes you have. I did sand a little before using Half Light but only because of th previous two coats. You don’t need to sand and prime unless your cupboards are dirty/greasy. Again I used a mini roller set for this as well as a precision brush.

Total cost: £ 15 for handles and £20 for paint = £35

The Shelving.

When I moved in I was downsizing so I wanted as much storage as possible but as the months went by I realised I could get rid of quite a bit of stuff and streamline a little. I’d originally built pine shelves around the corner which I stuffed with errr… stuff. In fact I would come to be really annoyed with this corner and it took me ages to do anything about it! But when my neighbours had their home renovated some shelves were left over which I stained with Oslo acacia oil I had left over from the van and put up with some brackets I found on eBay. There is always wood to be found - on Facebook groups, on peoples doorsteps, ask a builder doing a renovation in your neighbourhood or visit your local wood recycling store.

Cost: brackets = £20

The Countertop.

The biggest bone of contention since moving in! For almost three years I longed to change it. I found many projects on Pinterest that I just felt too nervous about - fake marbling, concrete topping, painting. I dreamed of having a lighter colour worktop. In the end I figured it would do no harm to try DC Fix first - it’s low cost, risk free (will just peel off) and my landlady can ask me to return to the black if she wants to. I am actually so pleaded with it! It took three rolls and I recommend buying the little kit - a cutting blade and roller. There are a few air bubbles and creases in the first roll but as I got into it it started going on really well. For the sake of a few hours work and 20 quid I am over the moon. 6 months later it’s holding fast and I have zero regrets! To be able to photograph things in the kitchen is such a relief! The light colour bounces what little light comes into the basement sand it’s freshened up the whole room.

To DC Fix your counter you’ll need to wash down the existing one with a degreaser, make sure it’s dry, remove the silicone and then fit the DC Fix. Go slowly, put a good playlist on and make a morning of it rather than rush it. Once fitted use clear silicone round the hob and sink and cream silicone round edges to keep looking ‘proper’ and fresh. Don’t be scared of this stuff, its easy to work with and you can work slowly to remove all the air bubbles as you go. Aim to cut around appliances, so my first roll finishes at the hob then the second roll started at the left of the hob, I cut out the space and worked into the corner where I made a corner join. It looks fine where it’s joined but as my tea making board sits over it you hardly see it. I then used a hairdryer just to stick down the bits round the edges of the counter.

Cost: DC Fix x 3 £15 + DC Fix kit £5 + silicone £10 = £30

The After.

I’m trying to let it be what it is now without making further improvements but now I have a light worktop I’m so much happier with the photos I can take in the kitchen and how the whole space feels! So while I know it’s not the most beautiful kitchen on Pinterest, for fairly minimal effort I have a kitchen that is so much more enjoyable that clocked in at £100 and know it will see me through until I buy a place. I think even when I do buy a place I feel really happy that I can fall back on these fixes until budget comes available for a proper Reno.

Total cost (prices correct at my time of purchasing):