Alayna and Louis just moved into their first apartment. While saving for their forever home, they contacted me to help them make their apartment feel more functional- especially their kitchen!
As renters, there usually isn’t much that can be done to improve a kitchen, but for those of us who amass more cookware than necessary, adding a bit of temporary storage can help give your kitchen a custom feel.
Not enough room in your cabinets? Need tips for a small kitchen? Stick with me to find smart solutions for more kitchen storage and counter space!
When Alayna and Louis first visited their apartment, they fell in love with the Ahunstic neighbourhood and how close it was to the subway station, restaurants, shops and their places of work. However, the kitchen just had one counter with a sink in the middle, and only one drawer!
Alayna loves to cook and has all the latest kitchen gadgets, so she was worried about the lack of space for both storage and prepping.
Except for the few features in the picture above, the rest of the kitchen was bare!
I believe you can live in a small apartment and still have big style. Here’s how.
Refresh the walls
Most landlords will agree to let you paint the walls of the space you are renting. Make sure you have an agreement with them to do so. Paint is the best way to customize a space and is the least expensive update to make in any room. Alayna and Louis are passionate and bold, and they both love warm hues, so they instantly fell in love with this colour.
Benjamin Moore – Rasberry Pudding 2004-30
Counter space
If you love making food but you need more room to prep, you can increase your counter space with a free-standing kitchen island that you can take with you to your next home. In Alayna and Louis’ case, I already had the perfect unit in storage. I found this island in the trash last summer and I kept it for the perfect project.
Curb treasure!
The island became the inspiration for the whole kitchen. We decided to add shelves made out of barn wood on the walls, and black accents would play off the surface of the island.
You’ll notice we added a shelf at the bottom of the island for more storage and placed this paper towel holder on the side.
We also added wheels at the bottom for easy movement.
If you are shopping for a free-standing island, consider these options.
Use the walls
If, like Alayna and Louis, you lack cabinets, consider using vertical space- your walls!
By installing shelves on the walls, we were able to add a ton of handy storage space.
Use your ceiling
Since Alayna and Louis have a limited amount of cabinets in the kitchen, they needed storage for their pots and pans. I suggested a ceiling fixture that saved lots of space and added visual interest to the kitchen.
Hang things
Facing the stove, we added these cool Ikea rails, hooks and a magnetic knife holder.
To finalize the kitchen, we added other accessories, like a black faucet and black knobs. These are all items that can be removed and taken to their forever home.
