Before & After: How a Renter Brightened Bland Kitchen Cabinets (Without Paint) for $35

Picture it: You find your dream rental apartment and it checks every single box — except for the kitchen (which, admittedly, is a pretty big box). You’re probably already familiar with temporary ways to personalize your space — likepeel-and-stick wallpaperorstickered floor tiles— but what if your cabinet doors are the problem?

Most landlords won’t appreciate youpainting your cabinets, which is a more permanent update. If you’re scratching your head wondering how to make a substantial change without losing your security deposit, we’ve got you covered. Meet:contact paper.

自粘的纸是伟大的暂时联系changes, and is super easy to apply on flat cabinet doors. However,Katelyn Sailor, who rents thisglamorous New York City apartment, had to figure out how to use contact paper on her grooved kitchen cabinet doors, which presented a definite challenge. Here’s how she tackled the project.

The first step to transforming Sailor’s cherry-colored cabinets was taking inventory of what she was working with. “Mine had an indentation with decorative grooves on each one,” Sailor said. “This caused an issue because you couldn’t simply cover the entire thing with one piece of contact paper.”

Sailor wanted the space to feel brighter and “more like her,” so she opted for thiswhite-colored contact paperandtool set, and got to work, which ended up being something of a trial-and-error process. Here are the steps Sailor landed on.

1. Cover the grooves with strips and smaller pieces of contact paper cut with the X-Acto knife.
2. Cover the entire cabinet door with a sheet of contact paper.
3. Cut the top sheet of contact paper around the grooves where the first layer was applied.

Sailor reminds us that every cabinet door is totally different, so it’s important to find what works for your specific set. “My biggest tip for renters is to test part of your cabinet with a square of contact paper for a few weeks before doing the entire project,” she adds. “I did this to make sure it wouldn’t damage the cabinets by peeling off any finish.”

尽管这个项目花了一些巧妙的finessing, the transformation was worth it. “I loved being able to make renter-friendly upgrades and turn it into an entirely new space,” Sailor says. And now, you can, too! To see more of the apartment, visit thefull home tour on Apartment Therapy.

This post originally appeared on The Kitchn. See it there:Before & After: How This Renter Brightened Her Bland Kitchen Cabinets (Without Paint) for $35