On Your Wishlist: For Your Kitchen
On Your Wishlist: For Your Kitchen
On Your Wishlist: For Your Kitchen
Rental kitchens, all of them leave something to be desired—style, space, or storage—and sometimes it is all three. I remember my days of apartment living; no counter space, old appliances, minimal storage, and that is just the functionality of it! I’m confident that every renter would like to change at least one thing about their kitchen—what is on your kitchen wish list? Is it one of the items we have included below?
A Pantry
I never realized how much value was in a pantry. Apartments don’t often offer a lot of storage options in general, the same holds true for the kitchen. With a limited amount of cabinet space, stocking up on anything isn’t an option; alas buying in bulk becomes a luxury (who knew?). But its more than stocking up when your favorite pasta sauce is on sale, a pantry becomes a spot to store big bags of pet food, extra paper towels (because buying single paper towel rolls feels silly), or even a place to keep the blender that only gets used during frozen margarita season! Ah yes, a pantry quickly became one of my favorite features of my kitchen!
New Appliances
When I say new appliances, I just mean ones that aren’t twenty years old. When I think back to my experience with home shopping versus apartment hunting the differences are remarkable. When apartment hunting, I came across an oven that was barely wide enough to cook a full-size frozen pizza but when home shopping we were discussing if we needed to have a water dispenser in our refrigerator. It is quite a different conversation surrounding appliances in the purchase of a home—homeowners know to sell a home they will need to meet the desires of future homebuyers by offering newer models. In a rental, that is just not the case; the goal is to address the basic needs of the tenants.
Countertops
Additional countertop space is a woe many people face. This is especially true with the invention of the many small appliances that we love—toasters, coffee makers, microwaves, and pressure cookers. If all these items remained on the counters, would you even have space to make a sandwich? Lack of counter space isn’t limited to rental properties, but it is certainly easier for a homeowner to amend.
Better Lighting
It is uncommon to find an apartment that offers natural light in the kitchen and even more unlikely that they will offer lighting under the cabinets. Often renters are left with a single overhead fluorescent light fixture. The lack of good lighting doesn’t just affect your latest food photo but can make your kitchen uninviting. I know that for me, I wasn’t motivated to cook large meals or try new recipes until I moved into my house and had a larger kitchen with lots of natural light. This could be related simply to my stage in life, but I will say that cooking in a space that is inviting makes it a much more enjoyable experience.