Rental agent Amaris Gonzalez (@amarisgonzalez_) calls the kitchen in her studio apartment “essentially its own nook” because it's enclosed on both sides. Amaris' goal was to make the kitchen feel cozy and warm, leaning into the nook feel.
“I grew up in a kitchen that was very busy and very warm,” she explains. “It's where we did our homework, unpacked our groceries, threw food to our siblings, and learned to cook the best meals. This theme has followed me into my late twenties. That means my current kitchen needs personality and warmth as soon as possible. Also, my number one hobby is cooking delicious food, so I needed it to stay in perfect working order.”
The “pre-move-in” condition did not matter. “When I first moved in, my kitchen was a hub of gray and white,” says Amaris. “The space felt neglected and cold. Yellowish vinyl on the floor was the only warmth in the kitchen.”
Peel-and-stick wallpaper adds presence to the back wall.
“The first thing I knew I needed to work on was adding some color to the space,” says Amaris. “Rather than base it on a gray theme, I felt like replacing it with a color scheme of my own choosing.”
Amaris is attracted to rich yellows, rust colors, and deep greens. Walls are a great place to add color in a renter-friendly way, she says. Her lease prohibited painting, so she covered the largest wall in the space with peel-and-stick wallpaper in a golden silhouette pattern.
Green tiles lengthen the kitchen.
Amaris also added a pop of green, her favorite color, to her kitchen using $40 stick-on tiles from Amazon. “The glossy finish was essential to me because it reflects overhead light and makes the kitchen feel brighter,” she says.
“We didn't have a cabinet above the stove, so we used that as a perfect canvas to add peel-and-stick tiles,” she added. “We extended it to wall height, which made the space seem taller and larger, which is essential in a small New York studio.”
This was actually Amaris' first DIY project in the kitchen. “After this first step, the space already started to feel alive,” she says.
Countertops and floors also received a peel and stick upgrade.
After adding the tile, Amaris used walnut contact paper to add warmth to the gray countertop. She says this creates a seamless look throughout the studio, which has a lot of wooden furniture.
Amaris also used peel and stick flooring. She chose black and white square stick-on tiles. “When ordering as many peel-and-stick products as I do, I had to do exact calculations on how much of each product I needed,” she says. “I realized how important it is to measure. I also learned about various resources to digitally view my favorite colors, textures, and patterns.”
The cabinet has been upgraded with hardware.
Amaris wasn't able to paint the cabinets, but she was able to upgrade them with new hardware. “Cabinet hardware is a very low-budget way to enhance any room or piece of furniture,” she says. By purchasing these in bulk, she was able to save money on the project instead of buying one knob at a time. This was important because I was lucky enough to have a kitchen that needed a lot of things. ”
Amaris says if she could change one thing about starting over, she would also replace the lights. It's going to be on her DIY to-do list in the future. But for now, she likes the new atmosphere she's created.
“I love how cozy it is. As soon as I walk in, I want to make a cup of tea and read a book or open a glass of wine and make some homemade vodka pasta,” she says. “It's very functional, but it also has a dreamy warmth to it. It's hard not to feel like the hero when you're chopping vegetables.”
