The question of how to make your kitchen look good has no definite answers. But what is for sure is that upgrading or redoing the entire kitchen at the same time can be expensive. However, your kitchen can still be refreshed without incurring a high expenditure by focussing on one thing at a time. Here we look at 10 useful ways to improve the look of your kitchen on a budget.
Kitchen Updates on a Budget
-
Paint the cabinets
Arguably the most inexpensive and simplest way to give your kitchen a new appearance, painting storage cabinets is something you can do on your own provided you have the requisite tools. A shade like cream or beige is more than capable of giving your kitchen a garden-fresh feel.
-
Replace the countertop
Replacing the countertop can bring a sea-change to your kitchen’s appearance. Since keeping costs in check is a priority, a laminate countertop strikes a good balance between cost and quality. If you’ve got more cash at hand, but not enough to spend on a better countertop material, consider getting heat rods to make for an inbuilt draining board.
-
Update the flooring
Although it sounds like an expensive thing to do, updating the kitchen flooring is not the same as replacing it. That’s because the new flooring can be run beneath the plinths rather than wall to wall, which reduces costs significantly. Also helping matters is that you can lay the new flooring over the old one. Low cost flooring options include engineered oak or cushioned vinyl.
-
Redesign storage
Before redesigning the kitchen storage, take some time out to reorganise your existing storage. An afternoon is enough to separate the useful from the unnecessary. Now you can focus on redesigning your storage with shelves, hanging rails, and pull-out drawers to make the best use of available space.
-
Revitalise the walls
After years of use, walls lose their vibrancy. One of the best cheap kitchen design ideas to restore their sheen is using wallpaper. Paste it all over the wall or reserve it for a feature wall, there is no limit to how you can use wallpapers. Just make sure the wallpaper you choose is meant for kitchens and offers heat/steam protection.
-
Replace the doors & handles
If your kitchen is well-maintained, even something minor like replacing door and handles can freshen things up. You can experiment by mixing up doors and handles of different colours and styles. For instance, white or brushed metal handles are good options if you want a modern look while low cost wooden or weathered doors are much sought-after for their country touch.
-
Upgrade the lighting
The effect lighting can have on the appearance of a kitchen is highly underrated. Apart from new lights for the ceiling, the countertop, and the cabinets, you can opt for a set of task lights for different areas of the kitchen. While at it, add overhead and ambient mood lighting for the dining area. Most kitchen lighting, bar a few decorative lights that use halogen bulbs, are LED-based. So you don’t have to worry about higher power consumption owing to the additional lighting.
-
Refresh the walls
On the lookout for cheap ways to update the kitchen? In terms of sheer impact, colouring the walls is among the most cost-effective ways of sprucing up the kitchen. A popular trend is to paint one or more feature walls with unique and eye-catching colours. With the right professional help, the entire thing can be wrapped up within a day. And if you are open to some offbeat stuff, do consider radical wall art as well.
-
Change the sink
The sink is a prominent part of any kitchen, so even a minor change in the former alters the look of the latter considerably. Go for a white butler sink if you want the country look or a stainless steel sink if contemporary is what you like. A less obvious option is a copper sink which nevertheless looks classy and ages beautifully.
-
Redo the splashback
An essential part of kitchens, splashbacks help protect its walls. And while stainless steel or glass are excellent options for splashbacks, they get expensive if you want to cover a larger area. Traditional tiles offer a good combination of variety and affordability, though one does need to clean the grouting regularly to prevent mildew and mould.
To sum it up, you don’t need a thousand pounds to make your kitchen look good. A creative bent of mind and a willingness to experiment more than suffices. And if you’d like some assistance in doing so, give us a shout. The finest kitchen fitters in Essex, Castle Point is a family-run business offering a variety of construction and ancillary services in Essex County. If you’d like to know more about our services, get in touch with us today and receive a ‘free’ quote.