apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

How about using some the new peel & stick vinyl silhouettes on the outside of the cabinetry? They are temporary, do no damage and could help to bring some interest to the kitchen area.

Wow - Poor Elena!

I gather since you state that you can't paint the cabinets that you're renting - which obviously precludes ripping the kitchen and floor out...

...so here's what I'd do to the cabinets apart from painting the walls (which I think is a good move, and a smart color choice.)

Other than getting some internal shelf organizers and keeping the doors closed: Nothing.

What I would suggest is investing in a high-quality freestanding kitchen island w/ lots of drawer and enclosed cabinet space below which you could place outside the kitchen and use as additional counter/storage space and maybe even as an eating counter such as the one below:

http://www.kitchensource.com/kitchen-islands/hs-5086-95.htm

Contact paper is a great solution for cabinets you can't paint. I'd use white paper to keep everything spacious and open. I'd also keep the wall with the door, the ceiling, and the walls above the cabinets white, to give the space height and dimension.

The bubble light should be replaced with a light fixture you like, and if you have to keep the bubble light for future tenants or something, just put it in storage. You should also consider getting lighting to put under the cabinets in order to light the counter space and brighten the whole kitchen.

Other than that, my highest recommendation would be to keep clutter non-existent. Don't keep anything on the counters, on top of the fridge, or on top of the cabinets. Keep everything hidden away neatly in the cabinets, and buy organizers for them if you find it's a challenge. Even a small amount of clutter can make a small space look ten times smaller, instantly.

paint the bulkout a different color; add a bold pattern to the cabinet fronts and fridge. it can be fabric or paper taped on (medical tape) - black might be the safest bet plus very high impact.

Since it's so small and a rental, I'd focus more on making it as functional and tidy as possible. Once you've finished painting, declutter. Move the little bits and bobs on the various surfaces and hide the garbage can.

If you can put holes in the walls, I'd suggest installing hooks for pots, pans, tools (or whatever) above the stove and maybe a small spice shelf below the cabinets next to the fridge. Replace the little cart next to the stove with one that has more storage space (shelves, drawers, etc.).

It's hard to tell from the provided photograph, but it looks like you have some space above the cabinets. Do not be tempted to just throw random stuff up there. Find attractive containers if you need additional storage, or use it to display vases, art, plants, etc. Whatever you do, make sure the area is visually unified and tidy.

I'd leave the cabinet doors on, too. Taking the doors off (as some may suggest) will lead to too much visual clutter. If you don't like them so plain, vinyl decals would be an easy and inexpensive way to spruce them up.

A few ideas off the bat:
1) Shelves shelves shelves! Get brackets and simple shelves and put them on all of the walls, and/or those IKEA systems

2) I'd vote no, then, on removing the cabinet doors, since you'll probably have so much open shelving (and like me, not as many display-worthy kitchen items!)

3) The exposed side of the oven is the only major eyesore, so you should put something there - a small island or simple bookcase or cabinet would be just fine - looks like you have a little extra room.

4) With that great color you're painting, a cool patterned rug would look great on the floor!

Good luck!

I like the blue paint and think it goes pretty well with the wood grain! Go to home depot or target or what have you and pick up a few rolls of contact paper in a coordinating pattern or color and use it to cover the white laminate doors. I think it'd make a world of difference.

there is nothing - NOTHING - i have done to my rental that has made more of a difference than putting up painted pegboard in my tiny kitchen to hang all my pots and pans from. it looks cute, it makes cooking much easier for me, and it freed up a ton of cabinet space for the rest of my stuff.

looks like you have space on the wall next to the refridgerator. pegboard can be cut with a little hacksaw from the hardware store to fit the space exactly, and since pans are fairly flat, you'll still be able to open the cabinets. you could also put some behind the stove for utensils and spices.

also, small note: get a short extension cord and tack it to the underside of your cabinets, so you don't have that random cord mocking you every time you use the microwave. it's going to make a big difference if it looks neat, i promise.

take the doors off teh cabinets and have open shelving.

What slowdown said.

Obviously you have to work with what you have, which means no changing the cabinets or moving the fridge and stove. In that case. . .

1. Color is the answer.( Don't limit yourself just because its a kitchen, you can use designs, patterns, simulate wallpaper, add texture) Create a fake backsplash with a stripe of paint.

2. Lighting is very important! With color this can liven up a space, create a mood or make the space seem larger. If you can remove the light fixture replace it with a nice chandelier or pendant light. You could also buy spotlights(table/under the cabinet kind)If that fails use objects with a reflective surface.

3. Walls are your best friend. The best space lies here, use wall shelves, cubes, racks, baskets . . . invest in a kitchen cart or island.

4. I agree. You must declutter. This takes away space visually. Removing the cabinet doors and using the space as display for dishes but this would only work with a matching set.

5. Maybe put a small rug, some art, a flower or plant(but don't go overboard) this can make a big difference!

These suggestions should draw the attention away from the cabinets and focus more on feel or look of the space.

You need something next to the stove - it's unsightly, plus the kitchen needs some kind of boundary, something to stop the eye. What about a tall bookshelf or cabinet with doors that you could use for more storage?

How about a nice tall bookshelf between the kitchen and the room the picture was taken in. Butt it up against the wall and have it run next to the stove, no wider than 1/2 way across the kitchen. shelves facing out. put books and decorative items in it. On the back put something heat resistant (sheet stainless steel would be nice) up to about 2 feet above stove top level--above that peg board or hooks for small pot and utensils. hang a curtain that reaches from the ceiling just to the top of the bookshelf. you could do those short Japanese-restaurant types, and have another pair next to it over your now smaller doorway.

I probably would have gone with a brighter blue, but I think when this is finished it'll look really nice. I would pick an accent color and get a rug and a couple accessories. If you need more storage, you could get one of those ikea kitchen storage systems, like the grundtal- I think they're pretty cute if they're not too cluttered and they're really reasonable. In my last place, I covered my fridge in fabric (the kitchen was along the wall in the living room). Taping it was pretty easy and it looked amazing. I never got around to putting contact paper on the cabinets (same ones), though... it just seemed like too much work.

If you have space, a couple pictures would be nice- maybe a colorful place mat over the stove?

Just cleaning up clutter and keeping all the cabinet doors and drawers closed can do wonders.

If you just get tired of looking at it, a long curtain rod over the doorway and curtains might be cute. You could tie them back to the side when you need the space open.

What about taking the doors completely off the cabinets? then lining the inside of the cabinets with cute wallpaper. I'm pretty sure AT posted something on this a while ago. It looked awesome!
Love the color your painting with! Good Luck!

Dear Desperate :) You will be ok. You just have to think about vertical space instead of horizontal space.

I suggest investing in a free standing 4ft wide by 5 or 6 ft tall open wire shelving unit to put next to the range. Depending on what you choose, you can add 16 to 20 running feet of shelf space, and that will make all the difference in the world in your tiny kitchen.

You can use it to store all your food-stuffs on---you will actually like this because nothing gets lost in the cabinets and everything is so easy to reach---and there is room for your pots/pans/serve ware and small appliances. Then you will have lots of space in the cabinets for table ware and drink ware, etc.

To provide a more stable "floor" for your food items, canisters, etc. you can use thick vinyl placemats which can be cut to fit or overlapped, easily washed, and used somewhere else later. You can store small things (spices, pkgs of mix, etc.) in baskets or wash tubs that are easy to pull out. If you are uncomfortable having your "pantry" on display, you can put up simple fabric panel curtains over the shelves and use clothes pins (or drapery clips) to hold them at the top of the wire rack. But I think you will like having the light to shine through from both sides.

I have done this in several small kitchens and I have to say, having the pantry right at hand and highly visible makes cooking easier and more enjoyable.

my husband and i have a rental with a kitchen that small --almost identical actually--or used to be. We did put some work on it and we love it.
here are some of the things we did:

1)
Changed the floor --which changed the whole feel of the kitchen.
We got a box of laminate flooring(laminate wood planks-walnut colored ) @ the home depot-about $ 40 and it looks gorgeous. it does not try to match exactly the wood floors of the apartment but it compliments it.

2)Painted all the cabinets white --and added cute knobs that i found at anthropologie.

3)Right above the cabinets i have the same exact structural beam that you have--we added a shelf from ikea--actually two that form and L-shaped display shelf, where i put all my white china. It looks really nice.

4)We painted 2 walls of the kitchen with a bright color (yellow actually) and all the rest white.

5)We added a stainless steel sheet (again from the home depot ) as a back splash behind the stove.

6)We also hanged all the wall hanging systems from ikea in the back splash--with most of the utensils since I dont have any drawers.

7) we hanged also in the ceiling some of the ikea bars which i ended up using as pot racks, i just hang them from there.

good luck

Most important, gotta keep it tidy. No hanging wires, open doors (and I also recommend keeping the doors on) stuff on the counter. I would be looking for a piece of furniture the height of your counter and stove that you can put next to the stove. This would extend your kitchen out into the next room, giving you more storage and counter space. A pegboard on the back wall is a great idea, you can paint it any color you want, and all your pots and pans should fit. The pots and pans on the wall would be enough clutter for such a small space, so keep everything else as simple as possible! Good luck! Can't wait to see the result

Do not put bookcases or any other paper holding type items next to the range! No fabric either. Unless you're trying to burn the place down. LOL! It looks like a gas range.

What you can do is consider wire shelving on casters next to the stove, much like this:
http://www.kitchensource.com/home-furnishings/me-m3-143025c.htm

Here is the company's main page showing various options:
http://www.metro.com/shelves-posts-accessories

It doesn't matter so much what category they have the products in, it matters how YOU can use them. There is a small "tv cart" in the home entertainment area. It would be perfect for your toaster oven or a chopping block.

Remember also that kitchen things don't need to be confined to the kitchen. You could use those kind of carts to put the chopping block on, and keep canned goods, just outside the kitchen proper.

A lot will depend on what you need, and how the rest of your space is set up. And I have NO idea how the rest of your living space is set up.

For the doors, there are oodles of contact papers to choose from:
http://www.designyourwall.com/store/Self-Adhesive-Shelf-Liner-Contact-paper-c-123.html

The wood I would leave as is. It looks nice, and the wood floor looks nice.

I would be painting it a the same color (maybe different tone) as the rest of the room it is attached to. As far as the tile? It looks like any 5X8 rug in the color you need will fill the space enough to hide the tile.

What an interesting challenge! Like everyone else, I have lots of ideas, so here's what I would do (mirroring some of the other ideas already mentioned here)

1. I agree with the first person who commented. Buy or make some kind of rolling kitchen island to keep next to the stove where that little wire contraption is now. Best bet, in my opinion, would be an enclosed cabinet with wheels (to store all the items you can't get into the other cabinets) and a good working surface, though, in my opinion, it would be best if it wasn't oversized for the space). You might consider getting a readymade kitchen cabinet whose dimensions fit your space requirements at the hardware/home improvement store, putting wheels on the bottom (or not, if keeping it stationary won't congest the entry) and making a good working surface on top by attaching a piece of butcher block, for example, or a board that you'll surface with ceramic tiles, and then painting the rest of the cabinet to match the kitchen walls. When I got my house, many years ago, I put some ready-made cabinets together, fixed a board to the top, tiled it with patterned Mexican tile, and ended up with a beautiful, large island that stands in the center of my kitchen, and is a storage area, work surface and sit-around table, all in one. Your space needs are different, but I can testify that the solution I propose has been done successfully in my case, and, if you tailor it to your space, could work for you.

2. As someone else has already mentioned, Ikea sells really nice hanging bars and hooks for the kitchen. I would suggest putting some over the sink/stove wall and hanging all cooking utensils, (large spoons, whisks, strainers etc.) and maybe some pots and pans too. It will look fine (in fact, appropriately decorative) and free up some of that tiny cabinet-storage area for other things.

3. If you removed the door of the floor-level cabinet that faces the side of the fridge (so that you could have access to the inside of that cabinet if that space the door swings out into was not available), you would be able to fit a small, low and narrow table in that space - to give you a little more surface space for things you need close by while you're working in the kitchen - and enough room underneath it to neatly and accessibly store your trash container.

4. Yeah, there seems to be storage space over the kitchen cabinet on the wall the fridge stands on. Maybe you could keep necessary, but less frequently used items up there in a series of square wicker storage baskets - just remember, that stuff up there could fall in an earthquake, so you'd need to find a way to keep it somewhat secured while being accessible.

6. You'll need a kitchen step stool to access the high storage, so find the skinniest one available - so it can be neatly squeezed into a space (around the fridge, maybe???)

5. Finally, an attractive kitchen rug for the floor. Something you could lift up and shake out. You might consider an attractive outdoor rug or mat, since it will be on a kitchen floor and will probably be dripped on.

7. Looking forward to seeing pictures of your updated kitchen after you have decided on your solutions and done them.

Elena,

If it makes you feel better, my kitchen is even smaller and less modern than yours!

Like you, I can't paint the cabinets (I have the EXACT same ones). Instead of trying to fit all of my kitchen stuff in the tiny cabinets, I moved all of my dishes and prettier servingware out onto a bookshelf in my living room. It seems like a weird decision, but it actually keeps everything quite neat and clears up space for my pots/pans/pantry.

I thought about doing vinyl decals or Tempaper on my cabinets, but I realized that in such a small space, simplicity is key.

I think for you, leaving the cabinets white (they really aren't that bad!) and making sure there's no clutter, could really give you a cute, functional, stress-free kitchen.

Wow! I'm amazed by the responses! Thank you all so much for your great suggestions. To clear things up:

- The color was actually a left over tub of random paint I found in my parents house. In my deeply rooted cheap-ness and boredom of the summer, I decided to try this color on a whim. I'm glad I went for it though since it looks nice with the wood of the cabinets.

- I LOVE the idea of finding a way to hang my pots and pans above my stove. I didn't even think of that.

- The cart in front of my ugly-ass stove eventually we're thinking of replacing with a lighter wooden cart from ikea with shelves.

- I also liked the idea of taking the doors off the cabinets. In this case, I'd probably end up doing the wallpaper thing and that sounds like a nice solution to the feeling of being closed in that tiny room.

- We actually were thinking of putting vinyl wooden planks over the existing laminate tiles (apparently this CAN be done, people) and hopefully that would help open up the space and become part of the rest of the house!

Since this is my first place, and I'm a big cook, this kitchen is like my baby so it's gotta turn out well!

The browser crapped out on me earlier, but here's something I was just looking at on Free-standing Cabinets...
http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/storage/installation/four-unfinished-storage-cabinet-makeovers/

You will find TONS of ideas to create a personalized space solution for whatever your current kitchen doesn't have.

I glanced at Craigslist Chicago to see what was available, here are a few:

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/bab/1312859786.html

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/fuo/1312456893.html

http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/fuo/1312448476.html

http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/fuo/1311528330.html

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/fuo/1310734175.html

They have so many, I kept the price under $150.00 for the above picks (the last is only $55.00)

You can refinish, repaint and modify them to your hearts content. You mentioned IKEA for a cart...IKEA also has all kinds of kitchen organizers that will work for an armoire project.

Another goodie I found while browsing, a kitchen work island:
http://tinyurl.com/lpnnp8

Here's it's description:

Always running out of counter space? The Cameron kitchen work island with stainless steel top provides mobile additional work space to any kitchen. It's crafted of solid hardwood with a cherry finish.

Features

* Cameron kitchen work island with stainless steel top

* Constructed of solid hardwood with cherry finish and a stainless steel top

* Features a stainless steel top, a three-slot knife block, towel rack, storage for 12 wine bottles, three (3) large pull-out drawers and two (2) cabinets with storage space

* Two adjustable shelves are inside the cabinet doors for easy organization

* Heavy-duty locking rubber wheels allow you to move the island wherever you need it

* Measures 54.75" wide x 21" deep x 34.25" high

* Drawers measure 12" wide x 18" deep x 10" high

* Assembly required

* Care instructions: Clean with mild detergent and damp cloth

* Imported

------

You can put in a couple screws on the side, to hold a surge protector extension cord with multiple outlets. That gives you the counter/prep space you don't have and you can plug in tools like blenders or mixers right on the cart.

In reading the reviews, it looks like you don't have to insert the wine rack either, if you don't use it. One of the reviewers uses that spot for their cutting boards.

The item does not have to go IN the kitchen, just outside the kitchen should be fine (depending on how your space is laid out.

I really don't like the bright white of the cabinets. I'd recommend taking the doors off, and putting a pretty design or solid color on the backs. The doors would be easy to put back on when you leave.

Oraganizing your dishes and other tools will also make a huge difference. Pretty piles and organization bins will declutter the space.

I'm a fan of clean open decluttered and bright spaces, and I would also replace the black wire shelf with a lighter colored wood shelf or island.

This is an example of why not all kitchens should be open concept.

Unless you spend a huge amount of time cooking or like to entertain in your kitchen, I suggest putting up pressure-sensitive divider walls. The kitchen is less of a horror if you don't have to see it from your sofa.