It looks like they started an open concept but walked away after removing the wall. Consider a large table you can use but won’t obstruct the stove vents. Do not randomly cover them with Sheetrock or any other material that covers those vents. And tell the landlord. He/She may not be aware of the situation and might be appalled. It’s definitely their responsibility to finish this.

My first apartment was worse. It had a wood shelf behind the range that would char if I used the back burner, and only a Hoosier cabinet for any storage. The staircase was rickety as heck, and led to the roof of the apartment below. Yes, you only entered the apartment door by climbing on the roof. And you entered the bedroom, not the living room. I had to create a hall to the living room with a folding screen. Among a zillion other oddities. I wouldn’t trade those memories of barely independence for anything!

$100. Take it with you when you go.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Kitchen-Work-Table-Metal-Stainless-Steel-Commercial-Resistent-Antirust-NSF-Scratch-Work-Table-With-Adjustable-Table-Toot-24-X-60-Inches/417533270?selected=true

wow. Your cheapo landlord simply removed wall to give your room a more open supposedly modern look. This is the funniest nuttiest thing I’ve ever seen. It is really very off putting. It does not look like an island, insist he put the wall back up behind the cabs and oven. And good venting. Honestly though, why are you renting this space? Perhaps there are better options in your neighborhood?

Jan Moyer nailed it - super simple and inexpensive. Your new place has a real kitchen (cabinets!) and great natural light, a real palace compared to what I had starting out. Congrats!.

I hope your rent is low!

It's a simple fix. Nothing horribly wrong with the rest of the kitchen that I can see, and I have seen a lot worse! Good grief, fix the appearance and enjoy. Try not to fry fish, or chicken : )

I’m curious if this situation is legal (local fire safety regulation?) to even rent out a unit with that exposure? Have you signed any lease documentation yet? Not that you can’t chose to occupy but before moving in, yes speak to landlord asking to secure that area as pre requisite to moving in.

hope we get an update from the op

commenting to follow. I could see how a renter might look past this weirdness if the apartment is otherwise great. I've definitely rented some strange spaces in my lifetime!

HU-608009871 -- I wonder if this is against code? if it is, then you might have more leverage to make the landlord fix on their dime.

Lol now I seen everything explanation point

Mine slides in to an island so I think aboard going across would look nice to cover it

Thank everyone for the ideas, keep them coming!

Here's one: Pick up the phone tomorrow, and tell you would like a FINISHED kitchen, or you will begin looking for another place to live. The idea I gave you would look great, solve the problem, and cost little. Make him PAY for it. Or her if that is the case.

You have UNFINISHED backs of cabinets meant to go against a wall, or have another set behind them!, or be finished with trim panels!. You range? It should have been a cook TOP. He/she can build the actual knee wall , in drywall just as easily . It is what he/she should have done,.

Whatever is done should meet local safety codes....non-flammable materials and proper venting if required for an electric range. I don’t believe that permits were obtained to do this work, nor was there any inspection by the building and safety department. You may want to consider asking the city building and safety department for a safety inspection...for your own safety. This group of cabinets could maybe be moved and installed against the far wall where the hutch stands....and you could bring in a small island or a dining set for the middle of the kitchen.

Well that’s a unique kitchen layout! Minus the obvious, it’s a beautiful space! I like the idea of either a counter height table, or covering the back of the cabinets with a contact paper you like and then a bakers rack or shelf/table of some kind against the back of the stove (but leave room for air circulation.)

I wouldn’t advise doing any real “work” and deducting the cost from your rent without consulting your landlord first. Because there is a chance the landlord disagrees and will demand the full rent amount, because you did XYZ without permission.

Regardless, you’ve got a lot of good options to make this a great (and finished) space!!

See what the LL plans to do. If nothing, then take this photo to the local building code office and see if you can get him in enough hot water to change his mind.

The landlord picked it up for free from salvage.

I think OP agreed to rent the place like this and just wants design ideas.

Better yet? The op IS the landlord?! Nothing shocks me anymore! We're probably all duped and clueless. At some point this isn't brain surgery. Maybe ?

Check out the brackets holding the cabinet in place. LOL. A 2x should have been screwed to the floor and then the cabinet attached to it. And installing end caps on the countertop would be of help, too.

I’m not sure why everyone is so concerned with putting a pony wall 42-45” behind the configuration causing a fire hazard from the stove being too close to the wall? Uh, that is what any slide in range is. The clearance needed behind it is built into the stove.

I don’t even know what to say..this made me sad.

That is not true it's not a fire has it the STOVES and they always go up against dry wall So that makes it SAFE The fire department was in my house When the Smoke alarms Sensed OS And they looked up my island It is safe

Build a wall and move ON. It IS that simple.

JAN MOYER working on it. Plans are rendered!

that was fast! is the landlord involved, or are you doing this on your own?

Fine! It need not "sit" on anything but the floor: ) Get some stools.

The owner will be having the work done before I move in. :)

Good news! Post the final product when you move in and it’s all fixed.

Amen sista! Good job, you will have an additional section (space/wall) (pony wall?) for furniture or decor or whatever to play with and will look fantastic!

I would go to town hall and do an OPRA to make sure work has been permitted. Owner will not know you pulled them btw just as a safety precaution

She is not the owner, she is the renter, and he is doing it before she moves in. She needs no permit.

I think what deb s is trying to say is that the renter might want to see the permit so she can feel secure the job is being planned correctly. I think it's a good idea. since the kitchen wasn't done correctly the first time, it wouldn't hurt to stay on top of this landlord.

I find the obsession with permits interesting. Yes in an ideal world everyone would get one. But it is actually quite common for people to take on a project without a permit. Yes it isn’t ideal and should be permitted but it’s so common where I live no one would ever find a rental or be able to buy a house of a permit was a deal breaker.

It is a STOVE. A very ordinary stove that plugs into an outlet and always backs up to a wall.. People live with far worse. It's not her "permit problem," and a smoke alarm is standard for ANY room. Ask for one if not already there. Better yet? The local fire dept is happy...make that COMPLETELY THRILLED., to come over and declare any environment safe or otherwise. Better than any "permit" for a place she doesn't even own. Tell the landlord the appointment is scheduled. : ) Right?

Permits are far too often a TAX rather than a major safety precaution. The follow up is often NIL.

Following

Looks like that problem is solved, but there is an equally odd setup near the windows: A laminate backsplash that backs up to nothing over some sort of corner unit on a leg (nonfunctional except for counter space because it’s next to the dishwasher). There was obviously NOT a wall removed from the room. It appears to me that the landlord has made a duplex out of a single family home and created a kitchen from some other sort of room. Putting the range against the wall where the hutch is would have been too far away, so he/she put it in the middle of the room. I would also ask the landlord to fix the odd configuration near the window while he/she is at it. Perhaps that base cabinet could be utilized elsewhere. This is a lovely, bright room and it would be nice to be able to put a small table/chairs by the window.

That is a Lazy Susan cabinet on leg levelers next to the dishwasher.

Thanks for pointing that out; I missed the Shaker trim on the door. Still an odd setup there, in my opinion. Nice to have the extra cabinet space but it kind of cuts up the room in a place where I would not do it. That, plus the built in backsplash. The landlord apparently got a deal on that!

JAN MOYER, of course she doesn’t need a permit as a renter. It was suggested that she check to see that there was one. But it’s doubtful one was pulled or even necessary here.

As a tenant, she has ZERO responsibility other than to leave the unit in the condition in which she signed on. A non issue as to anything else. Renters insurance is always a good idea, to cover her OWN contents. within the unit.

As to the cabinet under the window?

remove it and there will be another UNFINISHED cabinet side on the right, and you can count on that.

This is a RENTAL. Not some custom build. : ) His assumption is nobody will care, and he is out to make money. End story.

Of course she has no responsibility regarding the remodel. It had simply been a suggestion from a commenter if it would help her to feel confident that the project would, in fact, be completed. She obviously wants to rent the apartment and, even though some of us might wonder why when we look at the “improvements,” it’s really none of our business. Many of us were in her shoes at some point in our lives and I applaud her for wanting to improve what she could. To suggest that she might actually be the landlord looking for free advice was out of line.

You will need to deal with the raw edges of the cheap counter, too. The landlord should cover the cost of fixing this shabby installation. Even the tiny L brackets holding the “island” in place show.

Sure looks to me like we are seeing photos of a remodel in progress.

The bar code sticker is still on the end of the countertop, which looks factory clean. So do the backs of the cabinets--no dirt, grub, mop marks show on the cab backs, indicating there have been no tenants living there since the cabinets have been set in place.

And, the prospective tenant, the OP, has not moved in yet.

The landlord may be on a carpenter's Wait List. Or the LL could be DIY'ing it and just has not finished yet. But is showing the unit as is because the LL needs time to review prospective tenants, check references and have a tenant lined up to occupy as soon as the place is ready. Because of expenditures and to generate cash flow as soon as possible.

Whatever. The OP can either rent the place or move on to something else. Even as is, this is a bright, clean space with great natural light, a spacious kitchen with quite a lot of storage.

However, the OP came back & told us this: The owner will be having the work done before I move in.

is that a doorway on the left in the corner? also is the cabinet counter that's half under the window really covering the windowsill?

what a nice sized lovely natural light room with a horrendous layout 🤔

Is there a venting hood with fan?
Will this meet the requirements for fire safety?

Usually if you check to see if this is up to code, these questions will get brought up.

Our stove has a venting hood built into that backing wall.

Our stove has no built in backsplash but is flat up to the backsplash where the fan would be built into the backing wall.

Maybe the venting hood hangs from the ceiling and is unseen in the photo. If it’s not there, some redesign may be warranted.

Vent hoods are not usually a code requirement and are not related to fire safety. They remove grease, steam and cooking odors from the kitchen.

Omg just stop with the codes and fire safety BS.

you know what is required for residential fire safety? A smoke detector and a fire extinguisher.

Thanks sue don, these houzzers are paranoid babies. Always looking for “what scares them”. “Call the authority and code enforcers“. The landlord would just say next and the OP would be looking for a new place.