Before & After: A Rental Kitchen Gets A Slew of Style for $500

Written by

Jennifer Hunter
Jennifer Hunter
Jennifer spends her days writing and thinking about decor, food and fashion in NYC. Not too shabby.
published Sep 9, 2014
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Spacious kitchen with dark wood cabinets, white countertops, black stove, and a plant by the sink.
(Image credit: Lauren Koster)

This kitchen was almost a deal breaker for Lauren when she was searching for a new rental, but her landlord gave her permission to make a few updates so she signed that lease and did this.

(Image credit: Lauren Koster)

Wow! And we especially love how much change Lauren accomplished on such a tight budget. Talk about bang for your buck.

From Lauren:

Here’s a break down of what we did —

•painted the walls white, Polar Bear White by Behr
•added trim to the cabinet faces
•painted cabinets white, Decorator’s White
•spray painted the hinge hardware
•changed out the knobs and draw pulls
•took down the upper cabinets above the sink
•added open shelving
•changed out the shelving in the laundry area to increase the space and look more rustic
•updated the sconces
•made new door panels for the peninsula
•added a rug and lots of styling

I gave myself a $500 budget for this project and before some styling pieces, we were right on target.

Here is the cost break down:
Paint: $101
Paint Supplies: $41
Hardware: $53.50
Trim: $59
Shelving Lumber: $85
Brackets for shelving: $45
Stain: $26
Paneling: $49
Glue: $15
Sconce: $7
Miscellaneous: $25

Total: $507

See more at Undeclared Panache.

Thank you Lauren!