Funky Kitchen Makeover

You can only go for so long until you have to paint your boring white IKEA kitchen if you are an artist obsessed with color. So that’s exactly what I did. Welcome to the makeover of my kitchen!

Before

I honestly never thought I would live in this apartment as long as I do. I always thought this would just be a stop along the way, but the way turned out to be a couple of years longer than I expected. This is totally fine, it’s got a lot of character but will ultimately become too small. It’s fine to outgrow things, right? But this is not the time to move, it’s the time to make the space feel more like the current version of myself.

It’s my very first apartment, I rented it solo and was amazed by how much space I had everyday I came home. Before I always had roommates and no budget or motivation to renovate or change the space I lived in. And I’m pretty sure my roommates would not have agreed with my sense of color.

So ever since I moved into my own apartment, there were lots of things I wanted to change - but couldn’t at the time. Either I didn’t have a good idea what to change and how or I was too afraid to change to much and regret it later, as it’s a rented flat.

But after a few years of living in a space with only white walls - excuse me, what the heck? - I’m finally ready to make this space way more colorful and inspiring. Let’s worry about the pain of repainting everything when I’m moving out. You only live once, right?

I’m living in a top floor apartment. This means amazing natural light and a wonderfully bright space. But this also means that some rooms are a bit smaller than they usually would be. That’s why I have a tiny tiny kitchen which is always a mess. No matter how much you organize it, it’s always a mess.

Also: what was I thinking buying a white IKEA kitchen? Yes, my sense of color wasn’t what it is now when I bought it, but seriously. A white kitchen. That’s never a good idea. At least if you are a human that likes tomato sauce and spills (raise your hand if you feel me!)

So all in all, it was definitely time for a change.

My painting mess.

My kitchen is right next to a small dining area. I painted the wall next to the kitchen pink a couple of months ago and felt very inspired by its immediate effect. The space looked so much more joyous and energizing.

So staring into a bright white kitchen, that has seen its fare share of flaws over the years, it didn't make sense. I wanted my kitchen to feel as bright as that pink wall did.

When it came to choosing colors I looked through my numerous books on color combinations, but I didn’t have to search for long. Pink and yellow is such a classic combination, I knew I wanted a yellow kitchen. This way, the color combination of the entire apartment would be a great match and look harmonious.

I went for a warm, 70s inspired yellow to match the intensity of my pink wall. To add more interest, I knew I wanted blue accents, but wasn’t sure where they would look best.

When it came to the painting process, I wasn’t sure how to best handle the IKEA cabinets. Sand or prime them? I went with a mixture. I applied universal primer and sanded it off a bit to make the paint stick more smoothly. This seemed to work out quite well, as the paint slipped right of the cabinets when I did a little test painting.

So after painting all the cabinets I felt things were looking pretty good - but something was missing.

After 01

Simply painting the entire kitchen yellow might have been a bit of an overkill. So I went with blue accents to create an interesting color combination and make it look more modern and fresh.

I upcycled the existing knobs using blue spray paint from Montana Cans - the very best spray paint out there in my opinion - and was so thrilled with result! Completely fresh knobs and all it cost me was about 4€ for spray paint.

All good, the cabinets are looking good. But a funky retro inspired kitchen needs something a little more interesting than white tiles right?

I couldn’t paint the tiles, this would be such a pain to remove later on, so I needed a renter-friendly option. I discovered some sticky tiles on Amazon and went for a pale blue to contrast the blue on the knobs. I love this 50s inspired blue, it has such a nice retro flair to it without overpowering the color of the cabinets.

Sticky tiles in action

Adding the baby blue sticky tiles truly made the whole thing come together and I love how my tiny kitchen turned out! I tried to make it as cost-effective as possible and I needed about two days of work to finish the entire makeover. I feel like color can completely transform a space, it’s an entirely different experience entering this tiny kitchen now.

Thank you so much for reading!

xx Anna