Stylish updates for a tiny college apartment kitchen

Recently, I finished a makeover of a college apartment living room shared by my daughter, Elizabeth, and her four roommates. I was a participant in the One Room Challenge and if you’d like to read about it here is the link to the reveal post:

High Style/Low Budget College Apartment Makeover Reveal

While the bulk of my energy and budget went into the living room, I couldn’t completely ignore the kitchen which was in plain view from the living area!

From a functional perspective, there was little room to move around because of the large dining table (actually two tables) which took up a chunk of space. From a visual perspective, the small kitchen was a sea of monotonous wood tones — from the golden oak cabinets, to the red oak table and chairs to the laminate dark wood floor.

When you enter the front door, the kitchen is on the right and the living room is on the left.

Let’s take a look at some before photos:

My first move was to split the two tables. The girls never all eat together so it made sense to do this. Not only did it open up the space, it also allowed us to create a separate workstation in the living room!

Next, my plan was to bring in some decorative baskets to hide the clutter, add some black accents to break up all the monotonous wood tones and finally incorporate a little of the boho style and colors from the living room so that the entire space would be cohesive.

I started with two thrifted baskets, one of which was a large rectangular basket I picked up at Good Will for $5. I placed it above the fridge — perfect for stashing cereal boxes, bread and snacks.

I used another small basket (spray painted black) on top of the microwave for corraling napkins and smalls like sugar packets, salt and pepper, etc.

In addition to the black basket, I brought in a few more black pieces that were both stylish and functional – a black paper towel holder, a black fruit bowl from Target, some black and white flower pots (scroll down) and a whimsical black and white dish towel.

I also took this thrifted cactus print and spray painted its frame black. Just these few black pieces went a long way to break up the wood tones. Incidentally I used 3m command strips to attach the print to the tile wall.

We lined up a few of the cacti that my daughter already had (she is a succulent addict) along the window ledge. As her plants have babies, she can fill this out a little more.

Elizabeth updated some simple clay pots with craft paints — pulling the colors from the living room.

I found this cute dishtowel on Etsy. I thought it was the perfect tie-in, especially since there is no dishwasher in this kitchen!

The makeshift table runner is actually the remaining pieces of the Five Below rug I used to make the two pillows in the living room! I did a blog post on how I made the pillows here. The table runner was a last minute idea and it isn’t even sewn together yet but it really helps visually tie the two spaces together.

Just a little tidying and organizing, along with a few black accents, made this kitchen more functional and a much prettier view from the living room!

My daughter is hosting a gathering tonite to launch her Arbonne business. I can’t wait to hear how it went in her new digs!
Debra