These Budget DIYs Completely Transformed My Kitchen.

If you thought I was done with this kitchen, nope, I am just getting started. It is now time to put the fun in functional kitchen. That was such a lame joke. I just moved across the country, leaving behind my house and five years of projects. And now my husband and I are starting over in an apartment. With a baby on the way, I'm figuring out how to make the space feel like home, one project at a time. ♪ Life is a winding road. ♪ Hey guys, what's up? And welcome to my channel. This week I am putting the final touches on my very small, lackluster, non-functional kitchen. Well, actually she is feeling a little functional now because of all the DIYs I did last week, but she is still definitely missing some personality. So today we are gonna be fixing that by bringing in some more color and pattern, layering in some character and making this kitchen a small but mighty statement that feels like me. So with all of that being said, let's get into it and let's finish up this kitchen. So I realized based on the comments I kept getting in my last video, I never really took the time to fully explain what the heck I am going for in here. And because of my last video, there's a lot of new faces around here. Hi, welcome. Glad you joined the party. So I thought I'd take the time to just quickly explain what I'm going for. Better late than never. So once I saw this kitchen, a design aesthetic instantly popped into my head. I've used elements of this design aesthetic throughout most of my designs, but I've never fully committed to this design like I've wanted to try. And I thought this kitchen would be the perfect opportunity. So the design aesthetic I am talking about is clutter core. Now clutter core is a very new term, but the design aesthetic is not a new style whatsoever. It's basically a modern take on maximalism. But I still think that there are characteristics to clutter core that are a little different from maximalism. So some of the characteristics of clutter core. One of the things you're supposed to do is embrace the worn, rundown, imperfect things about a space. A little wabi-sabi, but wabi-sabi is more minimalism. The other thing you're supposed to do is mix a lot of old and new, which is something I do in almost every room design I've ever done. The big thing for clutter core is clutter. You're supposed to have your things out on display. Your everyday kitchen items, your collections, it's all supposed to be intentionally out and you're supposed to feel like you're just surrounded by things. The other thing that I think makes clutter core different from the other core designs, if you know what I'm talking about, is that you are supposed to layer color, pattern, and texture in a bold way. Basically, you're supposed to create a space that feels very lived in and very cozy. And at the same time, almost maybe a little chaotic, but in a very curated way. And for me, I actually love kitchens that capture this design aesthetic perfectly, probably even more than the perfectly renovated kitchens. So if you saw my last video, you can see how I clearly started to try to lean into this style through my open shelving, my gallery wall, adding pattern through a curtain pantry, and then even layering in a little bit of texture through a darker stained sink cover. The other way I want to embrace this style is by embracing some of the worn rundown parts of this kitchen. So what I am talking about is the countertops and the cabinets. I'm not gonna try to cleverly cover them up. I'm just going to embrace them and then add to the space how I can. So the one thing that I'm definitely missing from this kitchen is that punch of color, texture, and design. So the first thing I'm gonna be doing to add a little color and pattern is with peel and stick tile. And it has been a journey finding the right peel and stick tile for this kitchen. So let me go grab everything I have and let's start adding some color. So after nine different peel and stick options were ordered, these were the final two that it came down to. And as of four days ago, this was the option I was gonna go with. I liked the color of the green. I liked the quality of the peel and stick tile and the price was good. But there was just something about the green for me personally, that did not feel right for the backsplash. I think it would still look good had I gone with this option, but for me, it didn't feel right. So that's when I panic ordered this peel and stick tile and I was so excited when it arrived and that it was actually the burgundy color that is in the listing. I was afraid it was gonna arrive and be like a very bright red. And there's also something about the pattern that feels a little retro to me and feels like it's gonna fit the cabinetry. The other thing that made me wanna go with red is that I have a lot of green decor and I liked the idea of that decor actually popping off of the backsplash versus blending right in. So this is the winner. Now, because I panic ordered, I don't have all of the packs that I need currently. There's some arriving today and some arriving tomorrow, but I'm just gonna get started with what I have so that hopefully what I can do will help me determine what I wanna do for the next two projects that I have planned. So I already ran into my first issue. We always start off with an issue. So this countertop and this cabinet don't line up. So the question is, do I have the peel and stick tile line up with the upper cabinet or the lower cabinet and countertop? These are the questions that haunt me at night. I mean, either option isn't great, but okay. I'm gonna have this line up with the countertop. We peel and we stick. Level, perfect. Also, I did read reviews on this peel and stick tile that it does actually remove nicely and it didn't peel up the wall. So I am doing a little trick that I do when I typically panel a wall so that you figure out where you have to cut the panel to work around an outlet. I took the outlet cover off, I flipped it around and then I'm gonna stick the tile on and hopefully the outlet cover sticks to it, comes off and I know where to cut it. Stick, stick, peel this off and yeah, outlet cover is attached so I know where to cut this out. Like I said, I ordered nine different peel and stick options and I thought it might be helpful to go over the ones that didn't make the top cut because in my opinion, they look nothing like the listing on Amazon. When I first was looking, I thought light green might look really nice in this kitchen and match the cabinets. So the first one that I ordered, I like the size but the color is completely different from the listing. In person, this looks very gray and especially under my cabinets, all I could see was gray. This doesn't read as green whatsoever. Then I went ahead and ordered this one. This is very blue compared to the listing and also I didn't like the size. This doesn't feel like real tile size and it feels kind of comically big. That's when I pivoted to dark green and I first ordered these two. This one was okay but the print looks really fake compared to some of the other greens and then also the size was a lot different than the listing. This one, I really did like a lot but something I didn't pay attention to is that this was a five pack for $40 which means I would have had to spend like $450 on peel and stick tile. Then I went with this tile. This is actually the green version of the red tile I ended up going with but unfortunately, this green reads as black in my kitchen. It's so dark, it's so flat and especially under the cabinets, it looks black and throughout this whole process, I did play around with different colors. I ordered this orange one. It was okay and it looks a little bit like the listing but unfortunately, I couldn't get enough of this so it was a quick pass on this one and then this one, the size of the tile is completely different from the pictures listed online and also personally, I just ended up not liking the black grout. So I think the reason that this green and the red that I went with made the top cut is that they actually looked like the listing on Amazon. All of the other ones, either the size was different, the color was different or both. So I just used up my final piece from my first pack and actually, it's my lucky day. Two more packs arrived while I was working on this first section so I get to keep going. Yay, I did not think that was going to happen. So I think for this section because I have to work around the cabinet, I am going to line this up and mark this out where the cabinet is and then lift this up, line it up with the top, then mark out the bottom of the cabinet and then basically just have to connect these two dots. I just finished this bottom half of the cabinets. This was very quick and very easy and also this pattern is making it really easy to get nice cuts to work around all of the features. So I am actually carrying the backsplash up above the cabinets. I feel like this will just draw your eye up, it'll give some interest at the top and then I also plan on doing some decorating at the top of the cabinets. The one thing I'm also not doing is carrying the backsplash around to this half of the countertop. There wasn't really a good place to end it or make it look nice so I am just doing it across the back wall. I went ahead and pre-cut all of my top pieces so all I have to do is pop them up there and then I'll assess what I have left to potentially start working on the wall over here. Yay, all done, woo-hoo. Good morning, guys. It is really fun getting ready for the day when most of your clothes don't fit you and you have to wear compression socks so your feet don't swell. This is fun, I'm having fun. Anyway, I have some good news. I ended up getting the rest of my peel and stick tile early so I was able to complete this half of my kitchen last night. I thought I was gonna have to do that today and this half of the kitchen was just like this half of the kitchen except for the fact that there was even less to do over here but what made it a little harder or trickier is that there were more features to work around. So on one end it was easier, on the other end, a little harder. I also went ahead and did two other things really quickly. I, one, found a solution to this cabinet not lining up with this cabinet. I used some scrap peel and stick tile and I filled in that gap from the bottom to the top and I think that was at least the best solution that I could come up with and I think that just kind of completes the look. The other thing I did is also something I think is such a budget-friendly way of updating a space and it is also rental-friendly. I switched out all of the outlet covers for this kitchen. I don't think you have to go around switching every outlet cover in an apartment but I think if you're strategic about the ones that are by countertops in both kitchens and bathrooms, light switches to bedrooms, light switches to hallways, things like that, I think that can be such an easy way of adding just a little bit of character to your space. And then also I saved all of my old outlet covers. They're in a bag so when we move out, I'll just switch the old ones back in and take these ones with me. So now that the peel and stick tile is all done, I have two more projects to do that are budget-friendly slash rental-friendly ways of updating the look of your appliances and I am starting with the refrigerator and the dishwasher. So the first project up is a project I have seen a ton of people do. It can add color, it can add pattern. There's a ton of different options you could go with. So I am going to be adding peel and stick wallpaper to the front of the refrigerator and the front of the dishwasher. I've been tossing around two different options and now having the tile done, it's been a lot easier picking out what I wanna go with. So this is the first option that I was tossing around. It is kind of like a reddish brown striped floral pattern. I don't know how it looks in the camera, but this was supposed to be more of a tan background. It definitely looks more pink in person. I do like it, but I don't think it pops in the space like I wanted. So what I think I'm gonna do is actually use this on the dishwasher because I think it still goes nicely with the option I have for the refrigerator. And this is the option I chose for the refrigerator. The first reason that I like it is that the background is just like a nice warm background color and it's gonna warm up the refrigerator that is a very stark white currently. The other main reason that I liked it is because it has yellow in it. I have been looking for ways to bring yellow into this kitchen, but finding stuff that has yellow in it where I actually liked the yellow has been difficult. And I actually like this yellow and I think this just pops in a very nice way. So I'm just gonna get started. I don't think this is gonna be too complicated of a project, but let's just start and see how this goes. Gotta get everything off of my refrigerator, which isn't much, except my baby. And if peel and stick tile or peel and stick wallpaper scare you and you don't think they're super rental friendly, a way to make sure that they come off nicely is to use a blow dryer. It warms up that glue in the back and then it should peel off nicely. Okay, my first piece is complete. And if you've done any kind of upholstery, this feels very similar. It's just cutting and working around corners and little features. And I think to match this up nicely, I'm just gonna start by going fully down from the freezer to the refrigerator and then working my way across. Okay, I wasn't sure how I was gonna work around these handles, but it does look like there are some screws here. So I think if I remove those, I might be able to pop this handle off and then put it back on. Handle is off and I'll just pop that back on when I'm done. Final touch, my baby. Yay, it's complete. Guys, this was such a quick and easy project. I think in total, it took me 45 minutes to complete. And because this half of my refrigerator is exposed, I went ahead and added peel and stick wallpaper to this half. And while I had the fridge pulled out, I decided to just add a little sliver right here using scraps in case you can see the side of the fridge with the shelf. But yeah, I love it. It was so quick. So now that this is done, I'm gonna quickly do the dishwasher and then we can move on to the second appliance project I have planned for this kitchen. Okay guys, for this third and final kitchen project, I am going to be making something that I saw online. I thought it was really cute and thought it was also perfectly rental friendly for updating my oven. Now, I don't know what this is called. I think it's either called an oven apron or an oven skirt. I also think you can go ahead and just buy one of these. But of course, if you buy it, you are limited to the options that are available. Whereas if you make it, you can make it perfectly custom to whatever look you might want. So for my oven skirt, I am going to be using some scrap fabric because anytime I can use up scrap materials, I do. For the main panel, I am using this burnt orange upholstery fabric. So I'm gonna get this cut and hemmed to the right size and then we can go from there. Okay guys, so I have my main panel all hemmed. I hemmed three of the four sides and I left this fourth one unhemmed. I'll explain why once I get to that step. Now, for these next two steps to complete this oven skirt, I am using this red and blue gingham fabric. And I think for this next step, I'm gonna start with the thing that's gonna be the most annoying, at least I find it annoying, which is making a bunch of little ties for attaching this oven skirt to the oven handle. So I went ahead and cut out five long pieces of fabric that are two inches wide. And then I just went ahead and used my iron to fold them in half and press them out. So I'm gonna make one of them with you and then go ahead and quickly make the other four. I'm going to sew one end down and then I'm gonna flip it and just do one long stitch down the whole length. Sewing for my first strap is complete. So I have one end that is still open. I have one end sewn up and then the whole side is sewn up as well. I have a dowel and I'm going to try to push the end that is sewn up onto the dowel to turn this strap right side out. It's a little tricky at first, but then once you get it started, it should just flip right side out pretty easily. So it kind of just like slides down the dowel, it flips right side out. Yay. I don't know why, but I just really don't like making straps. Okay, now I just need to iron this little strap. So now I'm just gonna flip this end and sew it. This is the side that obviously hasn't been sewn yet. First strap is complete. I am gonna go ahead and make the other four and then I'm gonna go ahead and quickly get them attached to my main panel. Okay guys, so the final step for this oven skirt, whatever you wanna call it, I am going to be adding a little fluttery skirt to the bottom of this panel and I'm making it out of the same fabric that I made the ties so that it all connects and goes together. So I just cut a panel of fabric, I folded it in half, I sewed up the two ends and then I flipped it so that that salvaged edge or raw edge is on the inside. So now I'm going to do a gathering stitch along the top and then gather this up and attach it to the panel. So for a gathering stitch, you basically wanna lengthen and loosen all of the settings on your sewing machine. Gathering stitch complete and now I can just start pulling and gathering this fabric and getting it pinned to the panel. Good morning guys. It is time to put the final decorative touches on this kitchen. Now this part has been a little hard for me because I am not pulling from my normal decor storage that I am used to. Five years of thrifted decor just left behind except for a few pieces I was not willing to part with but I think for the most part, I am pretty happy with what I was able to piece together to put in this kitchen. I'm also gonna go through my cabinets one more time to see if there's anything else I might wanna put out but for the most part, the things that are in the cabinets are away for a reason because we wanna make sure we're putting the aesthetically pleasing things out and not the big ugly crock pot. Unless you have a pretty crock pot, then I'm jealous. But I'm gonna get to work, see what I can come up with and let's finish up this kitchen. That is it guys. I think there's only one way to sum up this project. I had fun. I had so much fun doing this makeover. It was also a lot of fun getting to transform a space through much easier projects than what I was used to and seeing what easier projects can do. I also, through the design, really just tried to let loose, have fun and not take this kitchen too seriously because this kitchen is never going to be the perfectly renovated kitchen that you want so why try to force it to be that? So I really just tried to add to the space how I could jam pack it full of color and personality and I'm really happy with the final result. And it was so much fun getting to really go after the clutter core aesthetic. Even though there are a lot of things that I did that are very much within my normal design aesthetic, I did try to push myself and make a few choices that are outside of my normal things that I would pick. And I'm really happy with how all of the color and patterns came together. Now, if you're new here, yes, the kitchen is done, but there is still some work I have to do in the dining room and the entryway since in this apartment, all three of those spaces are kind of jam packed into one small space. So the kitchen is done, but we still got some work to do. So I hope you guys liked this video and projects. And again, I hope this inspired you for how you can transform your space on a budget. As always, thanks so much for watching and I'll see you in the next one. Bye guys. ♪♪♪