small dirty kitchen design ideas
hey guys, its key from east and lane, andif you've been following the blog, then you may know that my husband and i just movedinto a new rental. it's an adorable 1950's cape cod style home. we love the neighborhood and the exterior,but the interior needs some work. luckily, our landlord has agreed to give usa small budget to make some updates, and we're starting with the kitchen. so today i wanted to give you guys a littletour of what the space looks like now. lets go inside! so here she is. my dingy, dated, dark kitchen.
there's so many problems i have with thisspace, but my main issue are these counters. i mean aside from them being dated, they arejust not in good condition. no matter how much i clean them they justalways look dirty, so this is definitely something i want to address for the remodel. the floors are just as bad as the counters,if not worse! they are faux, brick, pattern beige linoleum. i don't even know how to describe them. they're just ugly! so i'm going to be looking for a solutionfor the floors as well.
now over here is where the washer and dryeris, and i hate having a washer and dryer in the kitchen. so i want to move the washer and dryer tothe basement, and if i can't do that then i'm going to have to figure out a way to concealit. and then the cabinets, they're all kind offunky. some of them don't have knobs. some of them have different knobs. some of them don't close all the way. now, this is a rental, so i'm not going toreplace the cabinets, but i do want to give them a little facelift.
i love that the kitchen has a nook, but wenever even sit over here because it's so dark. so the plan is to really just brighten upthis space and just make it more welcoming and inviting. and then my favorite part about this kitchenis this dutch door! i think it's just the epitome of charm andcharacter. but right now it's not in the best condition,so i want to restore it back to its original beauty. so basically the plan is to update everythingfrom the counters, to the floors, to the door, and just make this space look and feel somuch better. today i'm headed to a few stores to pricesome materials. i always like to source materials before istart designing, because i don't want to dream
up this amazing design and then realize ican't afford what i've envisioned. so this will give me a chance to see whatthings are going to cost, and figure out if i can even actually pull this off. there's three things i need to keep in mindwith this remodel. first, it needs to be budget friendly. we're working with a budget of around $1400,so by no means am i going to get my dream kitchen, but i can definitely make the spacefeel more updated. second, it needs to be diy friendly. which means no major demo or laboursome installs,the process needs to be simple, something
i can do myself, and that won't take a lotof time. and third, it needs to be rental friendly. so i'm going to be looking for products andmaterials that can be easily removed or replaced when we leave, if necessary. now that i've priced some materials, it'stime to start designing! today i'm working on the design plan for thekitchen, and one of the problems i've been having is trying to find a solution for thefloors. i absolutely love cement pattern tile, butit's just way too costly, and the installation is not something i can do myself.
but i came across a company called quadrostyle,and they make vinyl flooring that looks like pattern tile. i had them send me a few samples, and thereare so many style and pattern options to choose from. the installation is something i can do myself. i can lay it directly on top of my existingfloor. and the best part is, it's removable! so that makes it rental friendly. i think this is the perfect solution for thefloors. now, let me show you the plan for the restof the space.
so i've gathered some materials and thingsfrom around the house to create a mood board, and this will help you visualize the design. so here's the plan! because there are some dated features thatare no going to be replaced, like the cabinets, i'm going to stay true to the age of the home,but add some modern touches to make the space feel updated. the majority of the budget will go towardsbutcher block counters and tile backsplash. new hardware will give the cabinets the faceliftthey need, and a neutral color palette will keep things fresh and timeless.
then i'll add pattern and texture with textilesand decor. so now that the design plan is done, the nextstep is to order materials and then i can start renovating! i am going to share the whole process withyou guys. so i hope you'll follow along, and hopefullyget some design ideas for your own rental, or your home if you own. so stay tuned for the next episode, and formore behind the scenes and sneak peaks you can follow me on social media. bye!