Updating a tiny kitchen in a rental apartment (on a budget)

[Anonymous]

We are landlords for a rental apartment with a very tiny, very outdated kitchen. We are likely to have a tenant turnover soon, and I'm wondering if it might be time to put some money into beautifying it a bit. Any advice for a nice, inexpensive cabinets -- ideally in style that is as timeless as possible?

Here's a photo of what we're working with here...

[Anonymous]

I'd replace everything except the dishwasher. Cabinets, counters, and floor are awful.

[Anonymous]

You can get nice enough ready to assemble but given the space you may have to go more semi custom at HD or Lowes. Given you only need a few cabinets, it should not be that much. I'd get an 18 inch dishwasher and smaller fridge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd replace everything except the dishwasher. Cabinets, counters, and floor are awful.

OP here. Trust me, I know that... but I need specific advice for what might work. It's a very small space -- should I go with a white cabinet? Or is white too difficult to keep clean? What is timeless and sturdy and not to pricey?

[Anonymous]

I'd go with a classic white shaker style cabinet. Splurge on a granite or quartz counter tops - it's such a small space and not a lot of counter top that it won't be too costly and give you the biggest bang for your buck. Then you can get an under mount sink and a goose neck faucet. Replace the appliances with stainless. Do you have any extra width to get a reasonably priced cabinet depth refrigerator - 36"? That would help make the space feel larger. You can pick a fun back splash as well - again - shouldn't be too costly since it's such a small space. Nice modern neutral color tile floor. Your biggest cost in redoing the kitchen will probably be labor.

[Anonymous]

White cabinet and light colored stone countertops. Maybe a light gray with flecks in it. Get one of those petite fridges. I would lean towards white (except appliances) because it's a small windowless space

[Anonymous]

also get rid of that gross light by the sink

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm a tenant with a very similar kitchen. Here's what I would want you to change:

-basic white modern cabinets
-ANYTHING but laminate for the countertop
-cheap white subway tile backsplash (this is what my kitchen has and it's the lowest maintenance/easiest to keep clean of any kitchen I've had)
-update tap if needed
-don't downsize the fridge!

[Anonymous]

For the countertop you may be able to get a remnant from the "top shop"/counter place - we did that when remodeling our bathrooms based on advice from our cabinet person since we weren't wedded to a particular color/style.

I'd go with subway tiles, rather than a fancier backsplash, since it is a rental. Semi-custom cabinets shouldn't be too expensive for such a small space - either white (although that may look dated soon) or light cherry - Shaker or something similarly simple.

[Anonymous]

I'm confused by your picture. Are the cabinets blocked by the fridge? Where is the stove?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused by your picture. Are the cabinets blocked by the fridge? Where is the stove?

The kitchen is a very small square, but you can't really tell that from this photo. Next to the dishwasher is a 12" cabinet, then the corner and another cabinet and the stove on your left. (Stove is hidden in this photo by the wall.

[Anonymous]

I'm a landlord and my condo kitchen is similar.The cabinets were painted white though.
I'll do all white ikea kitchen cabinets and hope to find tall thin fridge. Everybody in Europe has one. Less bending down to get stuff. Fits just as much stuff as the ugly fat fridges. Not sure where to find one though, and they are not cheap.

[Anonymous]

OP here again. The rental unit is in DC, but we are about an hour and a half away. How feasible is it to hire a contractor for Home Depot or Lowes to take care of this for us -- given that we won't be on the ground to supervise? Also, any one care to offer a ballpark figure for how much it might cost to replace cabinets, sink, lighting and floor, and install granite countertops and a tile backsplash? (Leave appliances out of the equation, since the fit on the fridge might be tricky.)

[Anonymous]

Eyeballing the space, maybe 5-7k for appliances, cabs, and materials. More for custom cabs or pricy finishes or more upscale appliances. Labor cost can be all over the place depending on whether you go with HD, contractor, handyman, etc.

[Anonymous]

I would not go with white. I would go dark wood. Most renters will not take care of it.