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Future tenants with less furniture might be very happy to have these built-ins for storage, so it is unlikely that your landlord will be OK with removing them. Definitely do not remove or change them without his permission.

Consider adding more lighting to the room to brighten it up, e.g. some lighting on top of the cabinets to brighten the ceiling in that area, and some lamps on the desk.

I recommend taking them down. In addition to being dark, their placement makes the room seem closed in.

Keep in mind that the rug may be permanently matted underneath those units (I assume that the rug continues underneath). That may be a liability for the landlord that effects future rentability.

I’d try to embrace them. The desk looking one on the left - fit a mini fridge where the chair would slide in and stock the shelves and counter like a bar. On the other side fill it with books or magazines or movies (although 20 year old probably download everything now). But you get the idea. Find a settee or loveseat to fit under the window, change the curtains to something floor length and lighter

Did you speak with your landlord yet ??? Anyhow , you are both 20 years old ...how long are you planning to stay in this place ? How much money are you prepared to spend on this place ..? And what would you buy to put in this space if you take those build ins out ??? Are you students who just need a temporary place to study ? Are you friends sharing a place because you work nearby Or are you a couple making a new home ? That all figures in , in how much you might want to invest .
BUT
First , I would open the curtains ...what is the view ? Do you have a view ? Why are the curtains closed ..? Wouldn't the room look better if you had light shining in ? I would buy some cheap white curtains and replace these . Don't throw them out because they might be the curtains of your landlord . Then I would buy a chair and actually use one as a desk you need to buy some lamps ...the other could be , as suggested a bar or entertaining area .. , I would like to see more photos of the room . Anyhow , if you are allowed to paint them ..paint them white ...but , again , ..THOSE DRAPES /CURTAINS have to go , or at least opened I am sure it all looks better with the sun shining in ?????

We are couple with a two year old and we are looking to live here well till we eventualy want to move on the landlord is very flexible so 5 years maybe more. If those units were gone I was looking to make that space my living area (tv) and the other half a dining area. replace them with a modern entertainment bar.

One of them can be the entertainment bar.

Could you explain how? Also everyone I took the glass of the units not sure who’s suggestion it was but kudos to you it’s makes it a tad bit bareable but still they are the bane of my life

When you buy your own place you can do whatever you want. In the meantime, it’s a rental. You might need to to make do with what is there. Or move if it bothers you that much. Me, I’d have them loaded with books, games and other stuff. There is never enough storage.

It is possible that the carpet doesn't go under the units, in which case the whole room would need to be re-carpeted. The wall would definitely need to be repainted, as well as a wall repair where they were fastened into the wall.

I think your landlord would probably not want to spend the money on this, especially since the next tenant might see this storage as a plus.

If you want more closed storage, you can cover the glass doors so you can't see through them. For example, frosted film, paint, vinyl film such as Mac-Tac. You can also make the unit look lighter by covering the back of the bookshelf areas with cardboard or thin foam that has been covered with a light colored paper or fabric. Or use removeable wallpaper.

Is it wood or laminate? Maybe he would let you paint it. But it is a big job, especially with a 2 year old in the house.

Well - did the landlord respond to your email?

Yeah - those curtains are butt ugly. Go to Target and buy some lighter curtains and lamps to help lighten things up.

ask the landlord if you can paint them in a Oatmeal or Cream color.. It will make a world of difference. It will lighten the space up tremendously..

I think the bigger issue in this room isn't the built ins but the lighting. You need a lot more, and more light and lights more spread out. Look for warmer bulbs too. You probably need about 3-4 other lights in this room, hanging plug-in pennants, table lamps or standing lamps. Think about creating inviting pools of light wherever you want attention- the sofa, the desk you plan to use, etc.

Now, for the built ins themselves, you could remove them, or paint them white (be sure to scuff the finish well with sandpaper and prime if you paint. That kind of laminate can and will peel if you aren't careful.) Assuming you can't get permission and must live with them, you could cut sheets of poster board or foam board to match the backs of the shelves and cover those with attractive wrapping paper or wall paper. Stick it to the back of the shelves for some fast and removable color. Also think about cheap, bright and light colored decor- painted branches or pinecones, books, origami, etc. on the shelves to lighten things up.

Another thing I notice is the confusion about the use of space here. These things say " this area is an office", which is at odds with the "this is a hang out space" message of the couch and TV. Could you divide the room visually into two spaces? I can't tell much about the of the room, but could you place the tv or a small bookshelf or even a hanging curtain at a right angle to the wall between the sofa and end of the room with the built ins to divide up the space a little?

Finally, you may not be able to do anything about the built ins, but you can change the curtains. Try white ones to lighten up the end of the room a bit.

As a landlord, I would probably veto the painting idea. Once it has been painted it will need to be redone on a regular basis. Unlike the current finish. Paint just isn’t as durable as other finishes.

Turns out landlord has handed property over to a housing association and has moved over to India indefinitely.

You won’t know if you would be allowed to paint or remove them until you talk to the landlord. So talk to the landlord. Those things were there when you signed the rental agreement, right? Volunteer to cover the costs of removal, repairing walls if needed, and painting the room. It’ll be good experience for you and maybe the landlord already knows they are dark and ugly.

When you contact the housing association included the pictures because they probably don’t know what your apartment looks like inside.

Examples of using removable wallpaper to refresh furniture... Echo the previous suggestions of replacing the current drapes with light full-length drapes. Would also use the built-in desk as a desk and remove/store the black desk currently under the window. Put a nice, tall plant there instead.

Would also consider a light, airy lampshade to cover the bare bulb of your LR pendant...

Daniel - Inquiring minds want to know. What are you going to do? You've been given loads of advice.

All of the above ....AND ..what did the landlord tell you ???? Without his approval you are stuck with what you have ..or move and check the new place out if it works first . You are young ...just enjoy your life ..then figure out your needs a little later !

I don't understand ....the landlord left to India and now your apartment is in the hands of another company ? So , I would take the cabinets out , if they haven't come to inspect it ...then nobody knows what is in the apartment... Unless they are listed ...but you can Store them someplace ..with your parents or with a friend in a basement and then do what you want with the apartment . I am pretty sure nobody cares , what you do as long as you replace them when you leave . If you need too .....?

silviakunst - You never know if someone is going to inspect the apartment, or if the landlord provided pictures to the housing association. I would not advise you Daniel to take the cabinets out without permission. When I was a landlord, if anyone did anything without my permission - there would have been 'hell to pay'.

Hi to the last post, spoken to the housing association pleading that we would assist with the repairs of taking cabinet , an was like look we are young family we have had 7 homes in the space of 3 years all were unsuitable, environmental health took away a number of those property for excess cold and for not following fire regulations etc. so we got referred to this private landlord who then passed his property on. We are not looking to move again or for the next foreseeable future, we want to start a nest here, get my son into nursery as we had to change nursery because we are to far now to move to an area that is mostly Jewish and wouldn’t accept us on the grounds of not being Jewish but we have finally today found a non Jewish nursery who accepts everyone from every walk of life, we want to settle and be here for years to come. They said they will have a think about it.

In the meantime, I would have a really close look at it, it may not be glued to the wall, if the shelves are removable, look for screws behind the shelf that may attach it to the wall. It might be painted caulking that runs down the side of the wall. Ask if there is a storage room it can be put in. Was there anything in writing about this on your lease?

Hi, unit has quite a lot of screw fixing at the base cupboards which attach to the wall from what I can see it’s glued to the edges and screwed to wall

Top of unit

Daniel, when they installed this, it probably wasn’t sitting flat against the wall because walls are not perfectly flat. They most likely ran a bead of caulking to seal that joint and painted over it.
Try poking a pin or pencil on a spot that is thick, it may still be soft, if it’s an oil based caulking and it’s been there a long time it may have dried up. if it’s silicone it might still be pliable. Caulking can be removed carefully on the wall side. Know anybody who is a bit handy?

You need toy storage and a bar. Why not look at these with fresh eyes as toy storage and a bar?

Tread lightly. I always included in my lease that I had the right to inspect the property at least once a year.....and - yes, I did!

If you did not - then - send a picturee(or take it to them) of what you posted here to the housing association letting them know that you will contact them later in the week for a decision. In the meantime, think about Plan B(if they say leave them as they are).

A bar? The legal drinking age in the United States is 21. I think this is in the majority of the states.

As a plan b a bar could work (legal age of drinking is 18 in uk), toy storage honestly guys if you see the amount of storage cupboards in here

Last cupboard

Bette pokes it a bit it’s soft, seems to be something behind of the units, if I screwed in all places and all shelves out, someone could remove it from the wall but I do have a handy person but I’m not sure if he has started his all around world trip as he just turns 60 if not I would have to find someone who could do it could u point me in the right direction as to who could do it?

Nice storage.........Ok....did not realize you were in the UK.

See what I mean tho we have more than enough storage than anyone would need if you see the storage in the bedroom it’s goes around the bed built in looking thing beautiful and are over 10 small cupboards and 2 wardrobe section attached, so I don’t see why anyone one should need that big ugly disgraceful thing that’s parked it my otherwise lovely living room which is quite big for a 2 bed in London. It’s the only thing in here stopping it reaching its full potential, the place before it got redone it looks as if it was property from the 60s wallpaper was horrible but for some reason the landlord made a choice to make his property look more Morden and that he did he got rid of the brown doors and painted everything white, put decent appliances in kitchen add a video intercom but could take out them ugly things? The amount of work he done on this property was basically a refurbishment out with the old and in with the slight new. It actually degrades the whole property cause you come in and your like wow it’s big most flats in London are shrinking in size then you walk into living room and your like woah people can’t hide the reaction on their face it’s bloody obvious and I don’t blame them it’s a massive shocker

Here’s hoping your new landlord agrees. Do they know you intend to stay for a longer period of time? Maybe suggest extending your lease an extra year or two if they will agree you can remove them.

If the landlord says you can’t remove them you could try a solution I once found. I had sheets of gift paper that looks like birch bark, which I love. It’s on trend and lighter and I installed it on the back of a cabinet with blue tack. I liked the way it lightened the cabinet so much I actually bought more and removed the shelves and wrapped them too and reinstalled. The whole thing lit up. You have to measure and cut the paper very carefully to reduce bulk but you can use sticky tape on the underside. You’d have to look very closely to notice it was a wrap job.

Another thought - Maybe they will allow you to remove 1 of them. Then you'd use the other to put your TV and your couch across from it.

Shirl defo a great ideas if they would even remove one I would be so happy

Daniel, do you have a parent, friend, co-worker, shop owner, pub owner, painter etc who does a bit of work on their own home or business, is there a maintenance person for the building? If you get permission for removal, it’s not a big task, you just need someone to have a look at it and you can assist. If the owner wants to keep it, that person needs to be very careful to not damage the wood when removing the caulking. They might need a metal or plastic putty knife, maybe a utility knife or razor blade knife, and the appropriate screwdrivers. I’d be surprised if glue was used. When it’s gone, fill, sand, prime and paint any holes in the drywall or plaster.
I’m a sixty-plus female, I’d tackle it myself if I had someone else for the muscle work, but I won’t be in the UK any time soon!

All good bette but just need to work out where it can be stored if the landlord wants it? Hoping he don’t anymore and let me break it down

Hi all had a contracted around who works for housing association he said technically those units should have been removed 2 leases ago as landlord has to update or replace furnitures and fixing in the property at the end of the lease. He said remove one but we will have to decorate which I don’t mind, just need to find someone to remove the caulking.

Woo-hoo!

That’s encouraging...so... both can’t be removed!?

I’m not entirely sure, but he said u could knick one, there maybe a way around all of this, just had a 3.5kw storage heater installed as the previous outdated, small and inefficient one wasn’t heating the room at all, now we have this new heater which still is able to mantain or heat room to a comfortable temperature so we are going to need another possible 3.5kw in a another location in living room and from what it looks like those units are in the way of a spot