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Turn a rental apartment's small kitchen into the heart of the home

Is decorating a kitchenette or a compact kitchen giving you a headache? No worries! With these tips, you can transform even the smallest kitchenette in a rental apartment into a functional and beautiful heart of the home!

Bringing functionality and coziness to a typically neutral-colored rental home is a fun little interior design task. You can create a personal and practical kitchen nook by taking the time to thoughtfully organize your items and invest in creative storage and decor solutions that suit your style.

Add a little storage space

Is there just not enough space in your small kitchen cabinets? Instead of hiding your most-used items, why not put them proudly on display?

Use a serving cart that you can easily move around as needed.

Some serving carts come with a wooden top, which you can use as a cutting board or extra counter space when cooking, or even set up your breakfast the night before.

When filling the cart, store food items in matching containers: hunt for matching transparent storage jars at thrift shops or choose budget-friendly options from a store, and place your breakfast items in them. This way, your open cart won’t look cluttered, everything will be easy to find, and the look remains stylish while keeping your items fresh under proper lids!

The image shows a small, light-colored kitchen. On the left, there is a white stove and sink. On the right, there is a small white dining table with two wooden chairs. There are black-and-white cups and books on the table. The wall has two shelves with decorative items and a plant. At the back wall, there is a white fridge, a picture, and a countertop with a plant and kitchen utensils.

You can also free up cabinet space by collecting recyclables in separate floor-standing containers. There are many types: some can be stacked, making it easy to sort items like cans, while others have compartments for different recyclables under a single lid.

You can find beautiful kitchen tools and pots at a bargain price at a recycling center if you’re willing to browse a bit. Store utensils in an old flowerpot or another container that matches your style, and keep them easily accessible on the counter.

If there isn’t space for a regular dining table, or if you occasionally need extra counter space, consider a drop-leaf table.

There are both wall-mounted and freestanding models available.

Do you own cookbooks? Display them on a shelf mounted on the wall or hung in front of a window alongside houseplants. When drilling into walls, remember to check your rental agreement or its attachments to see which walls can be drilled into. For example, in the floor plans of new SATOhomes, you cannot drill walls marked in red.

Add color to your kitchen with plants, containers, and textiles

What could be an easier and more practical way to add color to a neutral kitchenette than with edible plants? Get a base for growing salads or plant store-bought herbs in cute pots. Ensure your plants get enough light, and you can enjoy self-grown fresh greens all year round.

The image shows a white, compact kitchen with modern furnishings and light surfaces. On the left, there is a refrigerator and a dishwasher, in the middle, a countertop with a sink, and on the right, a stove and oven. The kitchen features many light tones, enhanced with colorful details, such as a green striped rug and houseplants placed on shelves and countertops. The kitchen is bright and fresh.

You can liven up the kitchen’s appearance with colorful vintage tin containers found at thrift stores. These beautiful containers look great left out in the open and are convenient for storing e.g. coffee grounds or capsules. Just make sure no moisture gets under them, as old tins can rust and leave hard-to-remove stains on your countertops.

Textiles are an easy way to create coziness. Hang curtains that match the colors of your chosen containers and other decorations, and add a coordinating kitchen towel or a small, easily washable rug underfoot.

If you can’t hang a towel on your kitchen cabinet handles or attach a hook, get a suction cup hook for the cabinet door or the side of the kitchen unit.

Many DIY tips suggest adding a new look to surfaces with adhesive decor stickers. However, using decorative tapes is not allowed in SATOhomes due to hygiene and fire safety reasons.

Keep the look neat

Especially in newer rental homes, the kitchen is often part of an open-plan living area. If you ever feel like hiding the kitchen, you can do so with a lightweight screen that matches your space and style. The same screen can also be used to hide the sleeping area when guests arrive. A kitchenette can be concealed behind curtains hung in the doorway.

The image shows a modern, light-toned open kitchen with white cabinets, a wooden dining table, and four chairs. On the living room side, there is a low coffee table and a round footstool. The room features large windows that let in plenty of natural light, with light curtains and houseplants. A black-and-white patterned rug is placed on the floor in front of the kitchen area.

If you own beautiful dishes, they might be better suited to a glass-fronted cabinet or an old-fashioned wall-mounted cupboard, displayed alongside other mementos and decorative items. A well-placed cabinet creates storage space and adds character to even a small room. You can find various shapes and styles of display cabinets and wall cupboards at second-hand stores, recycling centers, and even IKEA.

Do you have multiple cutting boards, spice jars, and kitchen tools? Get a wooden storage basket to keep them neatly in one place instead of scattered across countertops. Bread bags, on the other hand, can be stored in a good old-fashioned bread box.

Organize smartly and declutter

In a small kitchen, there isn’t space for everything, no matter how clever the storage solutions are.

So, do a thorough inventory if you feel like you’re running out of space. What do you really need in your daily life, and how many of each item?

Keep the most frequently used items within easy reach, and place less frequently used dishes and serving items higher up in the cabinets. And recycle anything unnecessary. Nature will thank you, and you’ll find the right items more easily among the fewer you have.

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