Perhaps you've been living in a leased residence for a long time, or are just beginning to embark on such a journey. Maybe you would like to spruce things up just for the holidays, or are anticipating company and want your place to feel more comfortable and cozier. Whichever it is, these temporary kitchen decorating ideas will inspire you in your search to customize your home to your liking.
While everyone dreams about designer kitchens, you don't need to replace appliances or install granite countertops to update the room.
In talking about transforming a kitchen and fixing things you don't like, Joanna Gaines said this: “Find ways to work around replacing it, find ways to work with what you have … Go into it thinking, 'This is going to be a creative challenge — I can't wait to see what we can do.'"
With that advice in mind, keep reading for amazing temporary kitchen decorating ideas for your apartment.
One of the easiest things you can do to start making your rental kitchen cozier is to pick up a cute cushioned mat to place on the floor. Put it in front of your sink (if you spend a lot of time doing dishes) or in front of your stove (if you spend a lot of time cooking).
If your stove and sink are near each other and you can afford a larger, longer mat, then consider doing that. You can find mats nearly four feet long on Amazon. Anti-fatigue mats feel amazingly good under tired feet and are available in so many decorative styles.
In a lot of apartments, the kitchens don't face outdoors (as seen in the galley kitchen above). They're typically on an interior wall. If you really wish that you had a kitchen window to let in more light, there's another option for you.
No, don't cut out any walls (there are possibly plumbing pipes in there!). Go on a hunt for a window pane mirror. Add a metal handle at the bottom of the mirror for even more of an old-fashioned window look to your mirror.
If you can't find what you're looking for, consider making your own. There are many different ways to DIY this look. One way is to use an older, naturally distressed window that someone discarded and add mirrors to the back of it.
Perhaps the easiest way to create your own mirrored window is to add narrow strips of wood to the top of an existing mirror to mimic the gridlines of the pane. Once your Window Pane Mirror is ready, attach it to the wall using the recommended number of extra strong Command Picture Hanging Strips.
To go all out with the illusion of a window, try adding some small café curtains on the mirror sides. In fact, adding only curtains without a Window Pane Mirror would also give the impression of a window! Try putting just a large picture of an outdoor scene on the wall, and frame it with curtains.
Have you ever thought of decorating your kitchen stove? Burner covers serve a practical purpose, too. They keep extra crumbs out of the heating elements. A wooden burner cover can serve a double purpose as a cutting board. There are a lot of DIY ideas and instructions on how to make your own.
Metal burner covers are available in a wide variety of sizes and styles. Simple round ones will work for an electric or induction stove and can be plain colored or patterned. Deep, long covers would serve well for a stove with gas burners. Shallow rectangle covers function well for a stove with round or square burners.
If your newly acquired rental home came with a particularly ugly or old dishwasher, there are a few possibilities you can choose from. If the dishwasher is metal, a large magnet will cover up a lot of the imperfections.
But if your dishwasher is stainless steel, it won't hold a magnet, but you have some other options. You could choose some removable contact paper in a color and pattern that you like. Then cut it to size and stick it on to the front of the dishwasher.
For seasonal decorating, use masking tape (which is easily removable) to attach a giant greeting card or fun placemat to the front of the dishwasher. Roll the masking tape in a loop and attach it to the back of the card. Then put it on the dishwasher.
If you have a big wall and are unable to put any holes into it as a tenant, try this idea. Place two removable Command hooks on the wall some distance apart. Make a loop on each end of a piece of twine, string, or ribbon. Hang the looped ends on the two hooks. Use clothespins to hang placemats, pictures or posters.
Are you curious as to how you could customize your plain refrigerator to make your kitchen feel more inviting? Well, you could use some of the same ways that you would decorate a dishwasher (use a large magnet, placemat, removable sticker or large card). You could also make or purchase cloth refrigerator handle covers.
One of the easiest things you can do to upgrade your kitchen to suit your tastes is to temporarily replace the light switch cover. Hardware and home improvement stores have a lot of choices to select from.
Here's a tip: When you remove the plain or outdated light switch cover, keep the screws and the plate in a self-sealing bag. Write on it with a permanent marker which light switch it belongs to and keep it in a safe place. It's likely that your new outlet cover came with its own coordinating screws.
If you would rather DIY your own light switch covers, you can find fantastic ideas and instructions online for painting them or covering them.
You can replace outlet covers and save them in a clear self-sealing bag the same way that you do light switch covers. The fun thing about replacing both light switch and outlet covers at the same time is that often, you can purchase a coordinating set.
If you're making your own, you can fashion them to match or coordinate in whatever way you like.
If you've been looking for a way to cover or enhance your current kitchen cabinets with temporary inexpensive elements, try these four options:
Living in a rental has a lot of perks, but a super stylish, super personal kitchen is not one of them. But you don't have to live with boring builder-grade décor. With a few supplies and a lot of creativity, you can personalize your home with temporary kitchen decorating ideas that make it as pretty as a picture.