Rental Kitchen Before & After: Drab to Fab with a Geometric Backsplash

We can undoubtedly say that this is one of our favorite DIY kitchen upgrades to ever hit our inboxes at The Kitchn. It’s such a simple makeover, but it makes a huge impact.

Robyn Andrea, of the blog Runaway Apricot, told us the kitchen is a big part of why she loves her Harlem studio apartment, but it felt a little boring. She wasn’t in a position to make permanent changes since it’s a rental, but we’d say her solution is perfect. Take a look!

Do you love it? Robyn Andrea was inspired by these Geode Tiles from Ann Sacks to create a hexagonal pattern on the backsplash; definitely a more cost-effective and renter-friendly solution.

We love that she chose to do a kind of tone-on-tone pattern, and that the lighter color is the background color. It makes the bold pattern fit with the space and not stand out like a sore thumb.

On her blog, she details how she measured and taped off the pattern and painted the space. The key to keeping everything even and correctly sized is to make a cardboard cutout that you can tape around. It saves time and frustration when your measurements don’t add up.

The best part of the whole project, though, is that it only cost $50 to complete! A couple rolls of painter’s tape and some quarts of paint, and you’re all set. Be sure to check out the full step-by-step post with more tips on Runaway Apricot.

Thanks so much for sharing your project with us, Robyn Andrea!

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