Simple Ways To Upgrade Your Kitchen on a Budget

I’m so happy to have Tina here doing a guest post for me today!  I thought it might be fun to talk about another aspect of our kitchens other than just recipes 🙂  Tina’s got some great ideas on how to give your kitchen some freshening up without emptying out your pocket book!!

 

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The kitchen is one of the most expensive rooms to refurbish within a home. After all, replacing cabinetry and large appliances can really add up. However, there are easy and economically responsible ways to improve the looks of your kitchen.

 

These tips offer a variety of ways to update and improve the look of your kitchen without having to spend a fortune.

Painting is by far the easiest and least expensive upgrade when looking for a drastic change for around the house. Choosing bright, sunny colors can create a warm and cheerful kitchen that welcomes you in the morning like the rising sun.

If you are uncertain what color you want, small paint samples offered at most home improvement stores are great ways to experiment with the vast array of options until you find one that is a perfect fit. For an even more inspiring makeover try painting the kitchen cabinets to give them a refreshing new look as well.

Organizational products are another inexpensive way to improve the looks of your kitchen because, well let’s face it; a well-organized kitchen is more attractive than a cluttered one right? Moreover, kitchen organizers and storage products are available in almost every store. Using them to organize your cabinets, drawers and counter-tops can easily transform your kitchen from dull and boring to modern and innovative.

It is amazing how a little item like cabinet hardware can have so much effect on the overall appearance of a kitchen. Nevertheless, cabinet hardware can date a kitchen and leave it stuck in a time gone by. If retro is not what you have in mind with your makeover, you definitely want to consider changing your kitchen hardware for a more modern look.

Nowadays, kitchen flooring options are vast and affordable. For example, vinyl flooring tiles are easy to install, relatively inexpensive and are now available as a floating floor. A floating floor means there is no adhesive needed as the tiles lay directly on the floor atop the prepared floor. Options are available for less than $2 a square foot and there are even types of floors that mimic real wood for a more elegant look.

 

Another suggestion for a vast improvement to your kitchen with minimal investment is replacing your kitchen fixtures. A new faucet easily changes the whole ambiance of a kitchen. For an even greater effect, consider replacing the whole sink. This does require some investment, but considering the cost of a complete kitchen renovation, it is minimal.

For long-term savings, you may also want to consider investing in new appliances that require less energy to operate. For example, my husband and I installed a reverse osmosis water filter in our home this past summer to save on our electric bills by improving the efficiency of energy guzzling appliances like our water heater, dishwasher and washing machine. It also filters our faucet water to bottle-quality so we ended up buying less bottled water. Even though the investment up front wasn’t originally part of our plan, the long-term savings we’ve gained means it will eventually pay for itself and the federal tax credits for energy efficiency only sweetened the deal!