good question! I'm in the same boat and I have no idea what to do!

I'm stuck in exactly the same place right now - the cupboards even look the same!

Help!

wallpapering??? Will he let you paint otherwise?

Take the doors off the top cabinets, and maybe your landlord would let you paint the insides a contrasting color? Then, if you can paint the walls... and put up some art, the bottom doors won't be as noticeable. Put something eye-catching on top of the refrigerator, and bring in an island/storage next to the range. Add some open shelving on the corner walls above the range.

That's what I would do :)

How about taking the doors off the cabinets so it can look like an open kitchen?

Short of that, find another place where you like the kitchen.

I think trying to wallpaper them will actually harm the wood finish when it comes time to remove. I would deal with what you've got and get some nice, same-size, replacement handles, and perhaps remove the doors from the upper cabinets? You could line the backs of the cabinets with removable covered board to add some pops of color without doing anything permanent. Add some fun art to the wall, get a fabric blind, buy a kitchen cart to serve as work space next to the stove, get a fun throw rug or pendant light. Once you get your things in there and spruce up a few details, it will seem less like mismatched wood - your eye will go to other things, and the base of the kitchen will just be neutral.

Instead of open shelving in the space near the stove, I would put a huge eye catching framed pic that would draw the attention from the cabinets and counter space to that space in the kitchen.

haha, homebody and I are on the exact same wavelength.

How about removing the doors and hardware, wrap the doors with fabric that you staple to the back of the door. Change the hardware to something more modern. I think it could look really cool.

how about some cute decals?you can get them in any color/design and they come right off when you want them to.

Did I miss the dishwasher?

Save your time, effort and money for a place with a better kitchen....
...and appreciate it for what it is: A place to get a start for living on your own.

I've used contact paper on kitchen cabinets before and it looked pretty good, or at least better than what was underneath. If you google around you can find online vendors that sell contact paper in huge quantities that would probably cover all your cabinets. Or go mondrian with a few different colors!

It's a rental. There's not much you can do aside from a deep cleaning. Sorry.

Do NOT contact paper them...you will regret it when you move out. The cabinets do not look so bad to me...just hang something interesting on the wall by the stove (a big print? maybe a rack for your pots and pans?) and don't worry about it. First places are like that sometimes....

I'm with Tampa, I like the idea of covering them with a cool fabric - and here's a nice little tutorial.

http://treschicveronique.blogspot.com/2008/05/kitchen-cabinet-project.html

Good luck in your new place!

Don't use fabric; it will get disgusting in no time at all, and then you'll have to undo all your work to wash it. Here's what I'd do... Maximize that back wall and put up some large scale art. Alternatively, choose small art pieces, but put up several of them. It's a large blank wall, and it's going to need something substantial or it will just look silly. Put up a cafe curtain (without the frilly top) in a great fabric. Unless absolutely necessary, don't bring any type of storage rack in for the wall facing the counter, otherwise it will feel way too cramped. Can you turn the stove so it's against the back wall? I see that it's gas, so it's doubtful, but if you could, it would improve the flow of the space tenfold. The way it is now would drive me nuts.

Considering it is a rental space and you can't paint them, I don't think they are that bad. I'd try to embrace them or ignore them. Covering them up might result in making them stand out and look worse.

Without knowing what your style and colours are, I'd suggest for bold, cool colours (something like kelly green and/or royal blue), some stainless steel and some black and white pattern (like Marimekko dishes) to overpower the woods.

You put a stainless steel kitchen cart or a black cafe table and 2 chairs beside the stove to draw the eye away from the cabinets. Maybe a black and white striped painted canvas rug to cover up the floor (again taking your eye away from the wood). A large cutting board could cover much of the counter and still be simple and functional.

Congrats on your solo space and I'd love to see more photos in the future - even in-progress shots. /enjoy!

I'd suggest covering the bottom drawers and doors with a fun vinyl 'oil cloth' in a colorful pattern. Cut to size and use a staple gun around the edges.. don't glue. You can remove staples quite easily. Get new hardware. Remove the cabinet doors above - if you really want to add some color inside, use the same oilcloth attached to a piece of foam core mounted to the inside of the cabinet. If not, the white cabinets will disappear into the corner. I could live with the counter. P.S. - If you can, move the refrigerator to the other side, or reverse the doors (it's not that hard). Good luck!

Many cities have resources that come and remove the front doors, refinish them or replace them. Good option if the actual cabinet is in good shape.

I know it is a tiny space (to me though, tiny = cute/cozy), so I don't know if this would overwhelm the kitchen, but what about installing some curtains under the counter, over the cabinets. Like this: http://www.countryliving.com/cm/countryliving/images/Undersink-Curtain-Laundry-Room-GTL0207-de.jpg

I know that might mean an extra step in accessing your contents, but it would certainly disguise something you can otherwise do little about.

Good luck!

A few years ago I covered my cabinet doors with maps of the city I was living in. It was super cheap & easy - I just took off the handles, took them off their hinges, wrapped them (like a present, even w/ scotch tape), then put the handles back on & re-hung them. It took, like, an afternoon & I think it cost me $20 or so. Maps tend to be pretty tough, so I wiped them down with a sponge without any problems.

3M removable adhesives are great.

I added contact paper to my old cabinets and changed the knobs. It worked really well.

If you don't want to risk the gooey mess of removing contact paper, I'd maybe paint foam core board or some other thin sturdy material and attach it to the doors with 3M adhesives.

It's really not that bad for a first place. Believe me, it could be worse. At least the place looks clean.

I agree that you should paint those walls and definitely hang some art on the back wall. Also switching out the hardware couldn't help and you could put the old stuff back up before you leave.

Have you considered painting the white in between the doors a shade of brown, one that actually goes with the doors?!? Or contact paper instead? To me it's not really the doors (new handles will work wonders!) but the contrast between them and the white surrounding.

I struggled with this. But ours were ancient, whereas your's are pretty new looking -- ours looked way, way shabbier. So to comfort you on that front, everyone always said that they didn't think they were that bad, it could be that it's not such a big problem (given that it's a rental). I also like some of the creative ideas here. I wouldn't do fabric - I cook to much; or sticky paper - it would have ruined the doors. But some other ideas are creative and certainly get one thinking. What we actually did is worked on our landlord for 2 years, including printing out before and after painted photos. None of this helped, on it's own. Unfortunately she thought the fact that they were 40 years old was a selling point -- like a museum. But eventually we must have worn her down because we painted them with her endorsement and we LOVE them, as does the landlord.

Yes, cover them - maybe not with fabric. Such a big change for very little money and effort.

Cause those things are horrible.

Assuming you can't paint, paper, or change anything in any permanent way, I'd definitely change the hardware. That would make a bigger difference than you can imagine.

Also, I'd add more natural wood and basket-y stuff - maybe a large basket on top of the fridge, a table or bookcase or something in natural pine next to the stove. And, certainly, a large piece of art on the far wall.

It needs some color, too. Choose a color you love that ties it to the rest of the apartment and pick it up in the art and in anything you need to leave on the counter or otherwise exposed.

I have the same exact problem as you! In my lease it states that you are not allowed to take the doors off. So I'm pretty much stuck with them.
Luckily for you though your cabinets are white. I would try covering them in temporary wallpaper. Sherwin Williams has a huge assortment. There is also tempaperdesigns.com
With the kitchen being so small I would try using a color that will blend well with the white. The GIO pattern in silver might do it.
http://storesense1.mysuperpageshosting.com/tempaperdesignscom_mysuper0736/Detail.bok?no=11

Best of luck

being a resident of the city, let me say welcome to long beach :) the shore is nice, even though parking over there is often a total nightmare.

i don't have anything to add, but there's definitely some good ideas above me to look into.

oh! i DO have an idea. how about putting something with a smallish footprint over there next to your stove? or maybe no footprint? i don't know how much kitchen stuff you have, but there isn't a whole lot of storage right now. you definitely have room for something on that wall.

Wrap the doors & drawer fronts using PVC coated fabric and a staple gun. Quick wipe down for clean up and easy removal/minimal damage upon removal. Fabric is reusable and easy to change as your style changes. A better range of prints & solids is now available (and prices). Check out Joann's or go for the great Marimekko options at places like Always Mod. Go 50's retro, bring in color with a solid or splurge on the 'mekko. I've seen this done with higher end disposable tablecloths also (definitely a better option if budget-challenged but still wipe down friendly).

Funny, because I just dealt with a similar dilemma in our rental apartment! Our kitchen featured the same type of wood against stark white walls. I considered applying contact paper to the cabinets, but my fear was that it would look great from afar but totally lame up close (and a weak attempt to hide the elephant in the room).

So in the end, the hands-down best solution ended up being finding the right color to paint the walls to compliment the cabinets -- and what a difference it made! Painting our kitchen a light gray-blue completely transformed the space, making it so much warmer and lighter, and the cabinet color seems to accent the space now - not overpower it.

The benefits of your space is that it seems to have much more natural light than our kitchen, *and* you have the option of switching out the hardware, which is something I would definitely do (I would check out Anthropologie's hardware).

Keeping your accents (your utensil crock, bread bin, etc.) the same color will help unify and colorize your space. Most of our accents are red and white, which contrast well with the gray-blue of our walls, for example.

Best of luck! And congratulations on your new abode!

dress them up with some decals and better cabinet pulls. And paint or otherwise decorate the walls and windows to draw your attention away from the cabinets.

They really don't seem toooo bad. Some new hardware might do the trick. Also, Long Beach has a ton (and I mean ton) of great apartments where either the landlords are much more lenient on decorating and such or that have great bones to start with. This being your first place, I'd recommend doing what you can, but taking a look at other apartments to get a good idea of what's out there. I've lived there for a few years now, and I love love love it. A good neighborhood to check out is Carrol Park. Good luck with the move and the new home!! :)

Have you actually asked if you could paint the wood or just assumed? Talk to your landlord and point out that paint would make the place look better and hence more rentable. Also easier for him to fix up when renters move out. Go to a premium paint store like Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams, get a bunch of neutral toned paint chips. Let the landlord pick out the colors and make it easy on him. Promise you'll do a good job. A light neutral tone for the fronts or a darker neutral for the cabinet bodies. I wouldn't take more than a gallon plus a gallon of primer (don't use KILLZ, it primes but hard to apply).

BTW nice looking hardware can be expensive; yes, it's an easy fix but all the good stuff is $7 per handle and up. It's unlikely that you can use it in your next place.

Those cabinets aren't too bad actually. I think you should concentrate on decorating the space before you spend money out of your own pocket to do something to the cabinets. I think some bright warm colors wold do well in that space.

Instead of trying to accent or cover up the cabinets, draw the eye away from them. If you really look at your photo (instead of the actual space) the wall that your cabinet and stove run into seem to be the focal to address. It appears that this is what you really see when approaching. DIY Crypton fabric or vinyl wall covering panels would look very nice. You can mimic the height of your cabinet doors and hang them side by side across that wall or if you want to bring the height of the space down, use the same height and a wide panel. Maybe hardware, drawer, shelf liners, a valance and under cabinet light to tie it all together.

We live in Belmont Shore also, and lucky us, our cabinets are the same color. I suggest just fix up the rest of the kitchen as you'd like it and make sure they're NOT the focal point of the kitchen. We went back and forth on what to do with ours and eventually just started ignoring them and focusing on everything else. Congratulations on the move... you'll love it down here!

I can understand the landlord not wanting you to paint the cabinets since they are worried about one doing a bad job painting and then if someone picks a funky color they will have to try to remove later on. If you can stand it, I'm in the group of just removing the cabinet doors and storing them. Using open shelving over the stove would continue the look.

Sherwin Williams Easy Change wallpaper uses a self-adhesive that is safe enough to use on painted walls. It is my savior in my new rental, and comes in a million different designs. It should be safe enough to use on your cabinets without damaging the wood and lacquer.

There's also that technique of mounting fabric with starch that is really easy and doesn't harm anything. Just peel it off and wipe it down when you're done with it. There are lots of tutorials online. I did it with some painted bookshelves (to keep stuff from sticking to it) and it worked great.

How about:
-get wood blinds in a stain similar to the door fronts, to make the difference look intentional
-get a large, minimal, modern print or other art for the wall above the stove. Maybe black, white and red with yellow. I like something from this page: http://www.art.com/gallery/id--c24099/abstractprints-prints.htm?ui=06ED3A1F5E77409D840B567409BDD523
- get a simple rug (probably from ikea) that ties in to the art, or in plain off white.

I would totally go with the vibe in here already. Change out the handles to something bright white to enhance the shabby contrast and paint that back wall an awesomely bold color and get nuts with the curtain fabric. Keep it simple and add to it continuously. Maybe display a collection of plates or images you have on the back wall that are different in size to play off the differently sized cabinet fronts. Have fun with it, but don't get to involved with the doors themselves, you may regret it later when you get pinned with the bill for staple holes or gooey stuff left on the fronts.
And get yourself a little kitchen cart for the right of that range, you need the surface area.

I actually am really digging the look of the cabinets. I'm a believer in letting the space dictate my design aesthetic. I'd add in a lot of blue and white accents - can you change any of the cabinets? Maybe take the top doors off, and switch over to something with see-through fronts? That way you can add in some similarly colored plates. To me, the whole place appears very beachy, so I'd play that off!

After I had read your 'blog/question', I stumbled across this post on how to change (not forever!) the look of your kitchen...

http://treschicveronique.blogspot.com/2008/05/kitchen-cabinet-project.html

To heck with the cabinets. I could live with them, but that refrigerator is turned the wrong way. The doors open the wrong direction. That would drive me crazy because I cook so much. also, you need something next to the stove to put platters and such on when you take food from the stove.

I know this is a bit late but I'm posting this for anyone still interested in this because i have the same problem. I'd like to first say i'm sorry for all the "They aren't that bad" and "Just deal with it" responses i dunno about the rest of you but they annoyed me. Noone should have to "settle" just because they are renting. That's what being creative is all about here's my idea it's not finished but it's an idea to get you started. Go to a hardware store get a thin wood that's going to be wide enough to cover your cabinets (they will cut wood for you at places like Lowes or HD usually up to 2-3 cut then they charge. Just ask an associate). Now I'm thinking you should be able to attach some small strong magnets to the 4 corners of the thin wood and the cabinet and add what ever hardware you like (of course unscrewing the old hardware and saving it for when you move. The only part I haven't perfected is what adhesive to use on the cabinet to not cause any damage. I have a small fixer kit for myself but the cabinets here are painted so i could match the paint and touch up if i ever leave and not have to worry about not getting my deposit back, So I just used super glue. But you can design the pieces of wood how ever you like then attach them with the magnets to have a strong hold. It's more of a hands on project but It was worth it for me. Also talking to your land lord about any modifications that could "damage" property and your willingness to fix the problem if it occurs helps. It's just an idea let your creative juices flow.....

also there are wallpapers like pickl_s and a few other mentioned that work great. I also mentioned talking to your landlord because I rented an apartment 2 years ago and the landlord let me and my partner paint and put up a chair rail. it actually looked really good and it upped the value of the place, but again me and my partner love doing stuff like that so it wasn't any problem for us and even when we moved my partners sister moved in. Best advice i can give you is keep an open mind, because then you'll get random ideas at random times on what to do. Just remember you don't have to keep it the same there is "always" a way.