Sponsored by stone-synergy.co.uk
It’s the hub of the house, and the room where all the cool kids hang out in at parties – that’s right, I’m talking about the humble kitchen of course! If you’ve inherited a dated-looking kitchen, however, you might feel the need to hide this room from others until you can find ways of decorating a kitchen on a budget.
Despite fitted kitchens costing an absolute arm and a leg, there are a surprising amount of ways in which you can update a tired and shabby kitchen fairly inexpensively. Try one or more of these frugal tips to transform your kitchen without having to empty the bank.
Give it a lick of paint
This is sound advice for freshening up any room, not just the kitchen. Painting the walls is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to make a huge difference to your kitchen. Bored of your dark kitchen? Get some white on the walls. Sick of those sterile, white walls? Open a tin of bright-coloured paint!
Your kitchen furniture can use a bit of a makeover too. Paint your dining table and chairs to match your new walls or apply varnish to make them look new.
Change up your worktops
Worktops make up a surprisingly large amount of your kitchen. They’re also the one thing you’ll buy for your kitchen that you not only use the most, but see the most too. As such, a change to an old, battered worktop, can make a huge difference. Installing a kitchen sink workstation serving as a workspace for food preparation can significantly improve your kitchen efficiency.
Take a moment to choose your new worktop though. The reason your current worktop may look a little shopworn is probably down to the material it’s made from.
Steer clear of MDF with a veneered surface, and look towards more durable materials. Granite worktops have long been the de facto choice for those wanting a hard-wearing surface for their kitchen. Granite is resistant to chips and scratches, so should look great for years and years.
Granite is far from the only choice when it comes to tough and beautiful kitchen surfaces though, quartz worktops are just as durable, and highly resistant to staining too. Both are ideal choices for kitchen workspaces, with the deciding factor often coming down to aesthetic decisions. If you are specifically looking at stone sinks, you’ll find many durable and stylish options that complement various countertop materials well.
Update your cabinet doors and drawers
This is often overlooked as an option, as it seems as if you’d need to buy a brand new kitchen to achieve the difference that simply replacing doors can make. Replacing cabinet doors is surprisingly easy though, as most units are built to similar sizes. Measure up your old cupboards and drawers, and take a look in your local kitchen showroom. You’ll likely find a slew of different options at the same size.
If this still seems like too much cost and effort, then painting the units can achieve much the same effect. Have fun and go wild. If you end up making a mistake, it’s easy enough to remedy it with another coat of something different.
Even by replacing just the handles and knobs, you’ll create a massive change to your kitchen’s aesthetic. Replacements are readily available in most hardware stores, and if you’re lucky, you can even find interesting wrought iron examples in antique shops.
Replace your backsplash (or create one if you don’t have one)
The addition of a few tiles behind your sink has no right to be the kitchen game changer that it is. It’s a ridiculously simple job to do, and incredibly economic too.
Changing your backsplash can be especially important if you’ve already attempted any of the changes listed above. As a one-off feature in your kitchen, it’s fine for the backsplash to stand out, but on the other hand, it also offers an opportunity to tie together all of your other design elements.
When huge changes to your kitchen can be made as cheaply as those listed above, there’s really nothing stopping you from experimenting and going crazy. Make your kitchen one that you enjoy spending time in, and you’ll soon be wondering why you didn’t implement these easy upgrades sooner.