This Renter’s Bold Green Kitchen Makeover Breaks Every “Renter-Friendly” Rule
“Ironically, wallpapering one living room wall to create an atmosphere somehow morphed into ‘the entire kitchen needs to be updated,’” Audrey Morguess says about her apartment. She’d lived in the same rental for years but finally got tired of the kitchen’s “mash-up of outdated materials.”
“Nothing about the kitchen was appealing,” she adds. There was a lack of light (besides “some truly scary light fixtures”), dated flooring, and “the room felt dingy no matter how much I cleaned it,” Audrey explains. After years of working in real estate and “helping people create atmosphere in their homes,” Audrey’s learned that what makes the biggest difference is knowing what to change, what to leave alone, and how to do it all within your budget.
3 Things Inspired Her Redo, Including a 1940s TV Show Set
But when Audrey watched a show set in the 1940s and saw her exact countertops and backsplash, it inspired her to finally make a change — “that, a huge life change, and simply being fed up with the way the kitchen looked,” she explains.
She Prioritized Setting a Firm Budget and Adding Warmth in Her Redo
Since Audrey made updates in the rest of her home to reflect her style, she also wanted the kitchen to showcase her current state of mind — especially because she was constantly passing through the space to get to the back door.
Audrey wanted to look at her kitchen and feel admiration and warmth, which she didn’t feel in the original space. “I wanted to create an atmosphere I actually wanted to cook and spend time in,” Audrey shares.
The goal was to create a cozy, earthy, and warm kitchen without making everything brand-new. Plus, because Audrey was renting the apartment, she prioritized setting a firm budget, being realistic about what she was willing to spend, and focusing on making changes that would have the biggest visual impact rather than changing everything.
“I wasn’t going to replace or remove any key components,” Audrey says. “I wanted to keep the theme and charm of the room intact.”
She Color-Drenched the Space for an “Earthy Aesthetic”
But “just because I rent doesn’t mean I can’t turn it into the space I want to exist in, create in, and live in,” Audrey notes. “A rental is still your home, and it should feel like yours while you occupy it.” Because of this, she replaced the flooring with rich brown vinyl and then decided to color-drench the entire kitchen “to create a mood, an atmosphere, within the room.”
Audrey debated “hundreds of colors” and even considered painting it two-tone, but she ultimately selected Behr’s “Ecological” for the walls and ceiling. She skipped the sanding step and painted directly on the cabinetry to save money. After replacing the cabinets’ hardware and the sink faucet, Audrey also replaced the ceiling fixture to brighten the room. “It needed to be warm and inviting,” Audrey says. “No more dark and dingy.”
But the last step was reglazing the countertops and backsplash with Sherwin-Williams’ “Stone Lion” — it’s “perhaps the most transformational piece of the entire project,” Audrey says. However, Audrey realized she should’ve started with glazing and finished with the floor installation because the glaze residue ended up attaching to the brand-new sink, flooring, and even her dining room table. “It was a pain to remove it all,” and Audrey had to spend a few extra days getting rid of it all.
The Kitchen Now Has a Personality of Its Own
“What started out as a fed-up-with-this-room feeling turned into a labor of love for as long as I remain here,” Audrey shares. The new color scheme is one of her favorite parts because it has the right effect and fits the warm, natural aesthetic Audrey was going for.
After the transformation, Audrey discovered that she now enjoys spending time in the kitchen and that cooking is a joy once again because the room finally has its own personality. “It’s a mood all on its own,” Audrey adds.
While her changes weren’t exactly renter-friendly in her rental apartment, Audrey considered what she was willing to change and how it might affect her security deposit when she eventually moves out. For Audrey, the flooring, color-drenching, and countertop glazing were worth it for her to finally enjoy being in the kitchen.
“Of course, every renter needs to consider their own lease, landlord, and circumstances,” Audrey shares. “But there are so many ways to make a space speak to you, whatever your budget or circumstances.”
Inspired? Submit your own project here.
