apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

The cabinets look red to me.

Have you asked the landlord if you can paint? Since it looks like somebody already painted the doors green, the landlord might be fine with you painting them a more standard white.

You could always take the doors off and just use the shelves. You could put some kind of funky wallpaper in the back of the cabinets to give it an interesting look.

I agree with greenish - you should propose the re-painting to your landlord - if you're going white, it will be more appealing to future tennants. I would suggest white as you'll (a) probably be able to clear it with the owner and (b) accent the kichen with vibrant colours in accessories, if that is your taste.

I think you could totally make the green cabs work for you. Do a little updated fifties' houswife chic.

I would take the doors off the upper cabinets (keep them somewhere safe of course!) and display some bright white ceramic ware. Double stick up some pressed-tin ceiling tiles for a backsplash, do a really simple crisp linen roman instead of the cafe curtains and get a cool retro light fixture from schoolhouseelectric.com.

And a shiny chrome toaster on the counter!

I agree... talk to your landlord. I was able to get a new stainless steel fridge and oven from my landlord and took the cost off of my rent. In the long run, you're helping the landlord by making the apartment nicer. Plus I'm sure the landlord would appreciate the fact that you take care of the place and keep it in good condition which in turn limits the amount your landlord has to pay for repairs.

As long as you don't paint the cabinets purple, I'm sure your landlors won't mind you painting...
..just be sure to use a good enamel paint - regular latex paint has a way of chipping easily.

I could swear those cabinets are red. Meanwhile, since they look kind of new, I'd kind of doubt that your landlord would let you paint them. I think painting the wall would be easier to get an OK on.

I think that red is the tone of the wood.

My first suggestion: take down the lace valance. Get a Venetian blind with 2" slats for that window, if you need privacy.

I'm very happy for you. Good luck with the new apartment!

Remove the cabinet doors and treat yourself to a new set of all-white dishes to put in there. Get rid of the valance, add a few accents and you're done!

If you cant paint, wrap the closet doors in something funky, washable and cheap- maybe Mexican oilcloth - and decorate from there. Or remove the doors, install a ceiling track and hang light weight, flat panels in front of the cabinets, so you can slide them open.

use green,yellow and black accents...Good luck in your new apartment!

If you don't get to paint, stick with the green, and add other color, the suggested yellow is light and popular. Lighter green will not offset it and may make it worse. You kind of have to embrace it if you can't cover it up somehow. Covering it with some kind of contact paper that you like may be interesting if not totally tedious.

I think your landlord may agree the strong color is (want to say "hideous," but that's not universal) going to pose an obstacle unless you love it. Nothing really bad will happen if you ask permission except maybe a "no." A lot of tenants leave these kinds of problems for the management and they run out of time (or just don't care enough) to make it nice for you, especially if you already saw it and paid your deposit, and didn't ask them to repaint prior to your move-in.

It could be worse. I have built-in open shelving on one side of the kitchen and a built-in hutch across from it, someone put a set of cheap plastic shutters (I call them shudders) on them you could do nothing to, and I hated them a while and then one day just took them down and arranged all the foods. If you like open shelves, save all the hinges and screws in a plastic bag with your shelves, and rehang them when you vacate.