Recently, I just rented a small studio for my creative space. A place where I can do my design quietly and take some photos for my products. The studio is small at 32 sqm. It comes with an ugly kitchen that supposed to be a functioning kitchen for the studio. But, as I don’t need stove in my creative area, I decided to turn the kitchen to a cute spot for me to make my coffee and tea.

As you can see, the kitchen only comes with a sink. The storage underneath has no cabinet doors and no storage on top. My first idea was to build a cabinet on top for more storage, but it would look heavy as this is a small studio. Especially because the kitchen is located next to the entrance and opposite to the bathroom. Okay, let’s do this DIY mini renovation!

First thing first, let’s measure the storage underneath to build the cabinet doors! I have a construction worker that helped me to build the complete doors for just Rp.1,800,000 (AUD$166) I know, I know, it sounds expensive but that’s the cheapest custom-made board I could get to make the cabinet doors.

Second step that I did was to spray painted the faucet. I was thinking to get a new brass gold look faucet in IKEA but it’s out of my budget! I don’t want to invest in a place that I rented, maybe one day when I have my own place, I would definitely get it!

Here’s what you need:

• Gold spray

• Primer (could be spray or paint)

• Any unused paper for cover

• Coarse grit sandpaper

• Tape

• Clean dry cloth

Make sure to clean the faucet, cover the tiles at the back with unused paper, in this case I am using the used packaging I got from online shopping. Then use the coarse grit sandpaper to rub the surface. Once you have the right texture, spray paint with primer. Wait for 15 minutes, and then spray paint it with the gold spray, keep repeating every 15 minutes until you get the right colour and shine! I only sprayed twice as and it looks good enough.

Instead of storage cabinet unit, I decided to use floating shelf / wall shelf that I got from a local store here in Jakarta. I chose 2 white wall shelf, they are only come in 3 sizes (80 cm, 100 cm and 180 cm) So, I used the 80 cm wall shelf because the wall is only 98 cm in length (damn right).

I bought the paint from ACE hardware and chose the colour code “Lovely Pink” to create the cute feminine pantry that i visioned. After I finished painting the wall and installing the wall shelf, then I let the construction worker to drill the wall to install the custom-made cabinet doors. I chose the high glossy white finish for the cabinets to match my wall shelf.

I still feel like the tiles really bugs me. The tiles are actually nice and clean but I want to create more dramatic look. Hence, I used my own product to replace the visible tiles. I used White Marble Look Vinyl Roll, the size is 45 cm x 2 meter and I needed at least 2 and a half roll for this kitchen size. It is very easy to apply, but you will need another person to help you with it. The Vinyl roll is a sticker that you can peel off once you are done with the rental place or when you are bored with the look. It is water resistant and easy to peel with no marks behind.

Voila! The look is done!

Total cost of all of these are:

• Custom-made 3 cabinet doors for underneath storage Rp.1,800,000 (AUD$166)

• Spray paint, primer, sandpaper Rp.210,000 (AUD$19)

• 1 litre of pink paint, 1 small brush and 1 large brush Rp.350,000 (AUD$32)

• 3 White Marble Rolls Rp.750,000 (AUD$69)

• 2 White Wall Shelf Rp.250,000 ($23)

This mini renovation only costs Rp. 3,360,000 or roughly AUD$309. Then I added some gold accessories and glass ornaments to create the whole look together! Featuring Harriet’s Brass Tube Vase, Harriet’s Gold Frame, and Harriet’s Gold Salad Server.