Alyssa is a freelance writer, editor, and stylist living in New York. When she's not diving into the latest in food and home decor, she's restoring an 1820s farmhouse in the Hudson Valley alongside her husband and son.
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If you’re a renter, it’s pretty likely that you’ve had to sacrifice at least one or two “wish list” items when you moved into your place. Maybe it’s a few extra blocks from your favorite supermarket, lacks a pantry, or has a really ugly vintage kitchen.
While landlords can be tough — the majority of them are pretty reluctant to allow renters to make any major home improvements — you may be in luck if your cabinets have seen better days.
We interviewed a few-dozen landlords for this story, asking if they’d allow tenants to paint their kitchen cabinets. For the most part, it was a hard no — unless the cabinets were decently old and could use the refresh. Then, many of them were all about it.
3 Tips for Convincing Your Landlord to Let You Paint Your Kitchen Cabinets
1. Ask.
Before you take it upon yourself to do it, ask your landlord if he’s willing to let you paint your cabinets. Because it’s a smaller cosmetic change (i.e., not ripping out the cabinets or demo-ing tile), you stand — at least half — a chance at getting a “yes” out of the gate.
2. Come to the conversation prepared.
Go into the convo armed with specific information about your vision, like the paint color you’re hoping to select (neutrals like white, gray, or light blue are considered fairly renter-friendly) and any photos of past makeovers you’ve done to give your landlord an idea of the quality of your work.
3. Offer to hire a pro.
If necessary, be ready to offer to hire a painting professional to ensure the job gets done properly.
If the answer is still no after all your begging, you still have a few options for a quick aesthetic fix. Try covering the cabinet doors with removable contact paper — a marble pattern would be cool! Or go one step further and remove the cabinet doors entirely. At the very least, choose a funky set of hardware to swap with the existing stuff.
Have you had luck convincing your landlord to let you paint kitchen cabinets? How did you do it?
However, an even easier and more temporary option is to cover your old cabinets with vinyl or contact paper. This is an affordable, durable solution that can be removed when it's time to move out.
To cover chipped paint on your cabinets, apply the matching paint using a touch-up pen, paint brush or a foam brush. Dab the paint onto the surface lightly and allow it to dry before applying additional coats. You may need to apply a few coats to completely blend in the chipped paint.
Use contact paper or vinyl to create designs and patterns on your tired cabinets or make them look like a whole new different solid color with a larger piece of contact paper. Just make sure you'll be able to remove whatever product you use without damaging the cabinet material.
The national average cabinet repair cost is $317, with most projects ranging between $134 and $502. Refinishing or repainting can add between $1,000 and $4,100 to your final cost. Repair options like refacing or repainting can change the look of your cabinets without a total replacement.
If your goal is to update the look of your existing cabinets, the cheapest route is to simply reface them. This process involves either stripping the stain or paint from the existing cabinets and adding new stain, varnish or paint; in some cases, you might even want to refinish the cabinets with a stick-on veneer.
Financial Savings. DIY kitchen cabinet painting can lead to substantial financial savings, primarily by eliminating the cost of professional labor. This makes painting kitchen cabinets an appealing option for budget-conscious homeowners, where maximizing home improvement investments is key.
If you are looking for temporary cabinet covers to comply with your rental agreement, you might consider contact paper, wall decals or even open cabinets.
You should have asked for permission (in writing) to paint the cabinets before you did so. The landlord is certainly within his rights to keep your security deposit. Whether or not he can make you pay for all new cabinets would depend on what's in your lease.
Introduction: My name is Dean Jakubowski Ret, I am a enthusiastic, friendly, homely, handsome, zealous, brainy, elegant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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