It's very nice but why the expense as a renter??? I understand it's your place and you want to make it homey but replacing the floor and new appliance? Shouldn't that come from the landlord?

Lovely example of how color can make all the difference in a kitchen!

It's apartment but that doesn't mean it's a rental. I don't see anywhere it says it's a rental. I think the whole apartment looks great.

They said apartment, but it's possible it's an apartment they own (I guess normally you'd say condo). From reading the design sponge post they're not in the US, so it might be a difference in termonology.

€9,000 A.K.A 11,413.80 US Dollars-- is a 'modest' budget? I'M DOOMED. @_@

Anyway, it depends on the costs. Once I rented an apartment and invested like 2000 EUR in "renovating" it (repainting everything and sanded the wood floor). The rent was 500 EUR. After renovation, it was shiny. I would have paid much more in rent if it was in this state (like 600 or 700). I stayed there 5 years. Do the math.

The link mentions price in British pounds, so apartment may mean condo. It may also be located in an area where buying is cost prohibitive and the renter is planning on staying for a long time. If you know you'll never be able to buy something and want to live there for 10 years, its not really losing any more money to do a budget renovation on the rental than on a house, since its not like you get a full return on investment and after 10 years whatever you renovate to is now out of style again.

Oops its in Euro not poounds, but still indicates a European market.
Which is much different than the US.

I love the make over, what a great way to spruce up a small kitchen.

Wow, they decided to put the open shelving right over the stove! Either they don't cook much, or those books are going to be filthy greasy in no time.

@granola suicide - That was the budget for the entire apartment renovation, not just the kitchen. It seems to be a relatively modest budget to renovate an entire apartment, especially since they replaced the floors.

I know; my reading comprehension is pretty good, but whether for a kitchen or entire 'small city apartment', $11,000 isn't a "modest budget."

Wish we could edit... - I shudder to think what my budget would be called.

If you look at the link on design sponge's website Niamh is in Ireland and I'm assuming the apartment is in Dublin. All in all It's a fantastic transformation, especially the living room. The kitchen's nice too, especially the use of colour, but the new drawer pulls still look a little dated.

@Granola Suicide, ARE you doomed? How old are you (rhetorical question) and how well established in your financial life? There are things people seem to expect in their lives IMMEDIATELY these days that my generation didn't expect to have until they were middle aged... so maybe you aren't doomed so much as impatient! ;^)

Wait, she painted the backsplash? She painted tile? Tell me more (I have an all-brown tile bathroom, shudder).

Apartment Therapy needs to edit . . .her name is a very common Irish name-- NIAMH and not NIMAH. Oops!

@granola suicide, don't despair! I remodeled by relatively large kitchen (10 x 24) for less than $5k, including drywall, flooring, sink, paint and cupboards. We could have even gone cheaper. In my experience, doing remodeling projects inexpensively is possible, but it takes a lot of effort and time to shop around and DIY.

@Lyonstill:
I spent $2,000 CAD on refreshing my rental apartment (not including the $2,500 the landlord chipped in) plus we did all the work ourselves. The place was a hole when we moved in.

Our rent is $1,500 and the place next door just rented for $2,100 and doesn't have the same quality finishes as our place does now after the "refresh". We looked at it as a medium term investment in our comfort and happiness. We could never find that amount of space in our neighbourhood for that price without having to compromise somewhere. I would much rather put out $2k now than spend $600 more every month ($7,200 extra in the first year) and have a place I love and want to stay in. The alternative would be to live in a nice shoebox and pay $1,800 per month in a neighbourhood I don't really care for. Seems like a good decision to me.

@granola suicide - I know where you're coming from, but $11,000 is not a standard to live by or despair from. It's a lot for many people and not much for others. It's relative.

There is no "right" budget for everyone, so take heart that that renovation on $11,000 included a lot of things you might not need to do, so your budget could be a more modest $2,000 or $5,000.

Very cute, love the floors.
@LyonStill - in some parts of Europe renters own the appliances and take them with them when they move. So the only "wasted" expense would be the floor. (Not sure if that applies to Ireland.)
Either way, if you are planning on staying there for a long time, it's def. worth it.

This has to be Europe with a washing machine in the kitchen :) Nicely done though. I share @POLLYS concern about the open shelving over the stove. That stuff will be splattered in grease soon. Still - nice job.

no range hood? Followed the link to the full before & after, and I do like the cover on the cooker that makes it into a countertop when not using the burners.

I knew it was Europe as soon as I saw the washer in the kitchen.

cute.
-and-
greasy books!

Even if its a rental...often times landlords won't do jack. I moved into my new place and saw potential. I worked out a 50/50 deal with the landlord that if I bought all the new light fixtures, ceiling fans...they could use their maintenance guy to install. That way they get a renovated apt. when I move out and can rent more. It actually worked to my favor because labor is often times more expensive than parts. And I did other little things like new door knobs, pulls, etc. Sometimes you just need to invest a little. Being in a place you enjoy is far more important than living in a place that feels temporary.

What happened to the range hood? If you cook at all, you need some type of ventilation.
By code, in the U.S. at least, you have to have some form of ventilation for any cooking surface indoors. Also, by code, you need at least 30" of space above the cooking surface to any combustible material. A typical backsplash is 18" high, so judging from the photo, those shelves are too close to the burners. Unless they are metal shelves, this is very dangerous. I'm looking back and it was not to code in the before picture either. I love diy projects and I think the look of the kitchen turned out great, especially on a budget. But sometimes, if you don't have all the information you could be creating dangerous situations in your home. The fact that a designer worked on this project kind of scares me. I'm sure Europe has different codes for remodeling, but I still think it's unsafe.

What's the best way to paint cabinets How did they do that? I'd like to know more about painting the back splash as well.

Annaqua, I'm in France where there are many different colors of paint for ceramic tile (don't know what it's called in English). I covered my ugly brown kitchen walls with this stuff; it's great. It must be sold in the US also.

I'm totally with Granola Suicide. $11K for a budget remodel is high for me, and I'm nearing retirement age and very patient. Then again, in Europe, prices are high for this type of work and nearly everything else. I'm always stunned with I get an estimate, and I'm from SF.

Looks great. I think I like the change above the stove the most. Very nice!

I live in a rental in Amsterdam and am currently renovating without any financial input from the landlord. Here in the Netherlands it's standard to move into a rental property that is completely empty -ie no flooring, no appliances, no light fittings. We had to put down carpet in the bedroom, buy our stove/oven and instal it, and the lighting was simply wires hanging from the ceiling (and still is in the dining room as we could not decide on a fitting). It is also very common to rent your whole life and not buy eve r -my partner's grandparent rented their apartment for 54 years. We'll be raising or family in this rented apartment, so we will be sure to make it as lovely as we can. There's also a great sense here of enjoying your home rather than seeing every decorating decision you make as a good or bad financial investment.

i just love how not cookie cutter this is, its a beautiful combination of gray, charcole, and white, and its updated without a total gut, LOVE IT

@NISSA22: Thanks for sharing your experience. I know several people in Europe who will rent their entire lives. I agree that your comfort and peace-of-mind is worth a lot.

Europeans rent apartments and houses all their lives because there is no mortgage tax deduction nor is there a concept of a "starter apartment." if someone owns a house, generally it is for generations.

11,000 Euros is nothing in Europe, where prices are much, much higher - for everything, including labor. And, I hate to tell you, it is nothing in cities like NY, where labor is a fortune.

@secretagentgirl

Or it's just a scan of an actual photo, but it's probably a conspiracy.

Kitchen looks great, I wish I could paint mine. I'm sure nicotine yellow laminate was attractive once.

Hi all! Thank you for your kind comments (& concern over the greasy books, lol). The greasy books was debated over for some time and in the end the client really wanted it and decided she wouldn't place an precious books there. So..some answers to the questions posted above.

There is a large window on the right in the kitchen - hence no ventilation hood. Regarding the tiles they were painted with 4 coats of tile paint which was rolled on for a better finish. I'm not sure if this paint is available in the US but I imagine the equivelent might be .
http://www.ronseal.co.uk/products/one-coat-tile-paint

The cupboards were spray painted with acrylic spray paint to give a nice smooth finish. You can get this done professionally or you can buy cans of it in your local hardware.

The apartment is owned. We don't use the word condo in Ireland. Apartments can be owned or rented but great dectective work by you all! The $11,000 may seem expensive by US standards (?) but for the amount of work done and items purchased it was quite reasonable for Europe. This included new kitchen appliances (fridge, cooker, washing machine), a new boiler (€2000) new wooden flooring, carpet & tiles throughout the entire apartment, new furniture for both bedrooms and the living room (some was re-painted and re-used), labour (carpentry, plumbing, painting professionally) a new bathroom suite, new tiles in the bathroom...

the explanation is helpful; in the us, we do not have individual boilers in most multi-family units yet. when the cost of fuel catches up to the rest of the world, those might show up. only in the past few years have we seen tankless water heaters, and those have not shown up in many multi-family units, but those are more likely b/c they are easier to retrofit & the endless hot water is a sell point. we are starting to see front-load washers, tho' on steroids. as requested several times, please identify the make/model of the appliances in the kitchen?

at that cost, why they didn't put a hood in ... is beyond me. i'm betting that expensive range is more eyecandy than functional. sure she won't put her books there but greasy open shelves ... eww.

So true, the books will be filthy grease in no time as well as the jars. This is also a fire hazard. I don't think too many kitchen designers cook on a regular basis or clean their own kitchens based on the designs I have seen. A hood with a circulating vent would haven been better than this shelf. I also don't get elaborate tile focal pieces behind the range because they get so dirty, a plain flat tile such as a subway or stainless steel is the much better solution.

hmmm nice makeover. Although I just cannot fathom why the renter opted to remove those cabinet doors. It seems that people don't take into account the amount of dust that accumulates on shelving!! And the worst part of it is, it is directly on top of the range! First of all, something might fall off the shelving and into a pot. And, the worst of it: oil splatter. You just have no idea how it gets EVERYWHERE! And you end up with sticky shelves and sticky items. Delightful, I must say! I don't even hang up utensils next to the stove top, let alone install shelving. What a mess!

I absolutely LOVE this!!