Rented Homes: How to Add Character to Your Kitchen

You may not own the property, but you can stamp your personality on a rented kitchen with some pretty and practical styling ideas

Joanna Thornhill 15 July 2014

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The kitchen is not the most obvious room in the house to dress with accessories, and we often focus our styling ideas on the living room or bedroom instead. But in the kitchen of a rented property, where there are limitations around what else you can change, a touch of clever styling can be the perfect way to customise your room and take it from impersonal to bursting with character. Try some of these easy, clever tricks to make your cooking space feel more like your own.

Joanna Thornhill Interiors

Hide in plain sight
Rethink any elements of the space you simply don’t like the look of and try to devise a work-around option. You can’t really do anything about an unfortunately positioned boiler, for instance, but by turning it into a feature you can make a vast improvement to its appearance and the overall look of the space. Here, an offcut from a Cole & Son wallpaper has been stuck to the boiler’s front with washi tape, for a quick fix makeover.

Magnolia Homes

Spell it out
Old enamel signs instantly add character to any space and are particularly practical in a kitchen, as they can be easily wiped clean if they get greasy. Scour flea markets and eBay for something similar. If you don’t want to make hanging holes in your wall — or are forbidden from doing so by your rental contract — a long, skinny sign can be simply propped on top of wall units or a high shelf, keeping it out of the way of functional areas.

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Midcentury Kitchen Shabby Chic-inspirerad Kök

Style your storage
One easy and portable way to add instant personality to a rental kitchen is by building a collection of vintage tins. This kind of storage looks too good to be hidden inside a cupboard and creates a homely feel that is as practical as it is pretty. Use on open shelves or on worktops and if the vintage look is not your thing, opt for minimal glass Kilner jars instead, and decant dry foods into them.

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Chris Snook

Introduce window treatments
Soft furnishings can warm up the look of a kitchen space and are another way to add a touch of your own personality. If you love retro motifs, for example, adding a patterned blind can help make the room feel like your own. Take down your landlord’s linens and reuse his fixtures, then simply replace when the time comes to move on.

SchappacherWhite Architecture D.P.C.

Consider a chalkboard
If your rental contract allows you to paint the rooms, a chalkboard wall within a kitchen is both stylish and practical. It creates a space for handy notes and personal illustrations, creating a cool focal point and distracting from any less than desirable cabinetry. As an added bonus, a wall covered with blackboard paint is easy to wipe clean of cooking spills, too. If you are not permitted to paint, look out for large format removable chalkboard wall stickers instead.

Clark Collins - Collins Design & Development

Pick practical pieces
If your rental kitchen has awkward high cupboards and you need help to access them, choose carefully. A stepladder is great for reaching the highest units, but if there is nowhere to store it, go for something that is easier on the eye and can remain out on show, like this stool. As in other rooms, a rug can really help finish off a kitchen and tie it together, but go for a plastic design (usually intended for outdoor use) which is more practical and can be wiped down when hit with spills.

Alair Homes Decatur

Decorate with crockery
In a similar vein to the storage tins seen previously, try to build up a collection of statement crockery and glassware to act as decoration in its own right. Glass fronted cabinets or open shelving in particular can be brought alive by a well curated collection of pieces.

Hilda Grahnat

Bring in some green
House plants and succulents quite literally add life to any room, and in a kitchen, which can sometimes feel rather functional, they help to soften the edges of the space. If you have wide windowsills, use these for pots of herbs, too, or if surface space is limited, consider investing in a few hanging planters to add interest at the corners.

Andrew Snow Photography

Work in texture
Add character to a bland room with some textural vintage pieces. Fitting your own cupboard doors, as here, might not be an option, but keep an eye out for an old door in a skips or at salvage yard (they are not hard to come by) and simply lean one up against your wall. You can then use it as a makeshift noticeboard, or screw a few cup hooks into it and hang your pots and pans on it.

What are some ways you personalise your kitchen? Tell us your styling tips in the comments.