Replace Your Kitchen – 5 Ways to Make Your Kitchen Look Brand New
Replacing your kitchen can be one of the most expensive projects a homemaker can undertake. You can spend massive amounts of money if you wish on new fittings and appliances or on the other hand, if like me you have a limited budget maybe you would appreciate a few money saving tips.
1 – Keep the same basic layout – the more changes you make to your existing layout when replacing your units the more you will drive up the costs. This is because you have to adapt the space, move pipes and electric points to fit in with a new design. Chances are you will also have to replace the flooring and repair cracked and damage plaster on the walls.
2 – Just replace your doors and worktops only – Most mass produced kitchen cupboards now days are made the same way and in standard sizes. With this in mind it might be possible to just replace the doors and worktops. This is worth considering as it can literally make your kitchen look brand new for a minimal outlay.
3 – Use lighting – You can really improve the ambience in your kitchen with clever lighting. Take a trip to your local IKEA or other home furnishings store and you will be amazed at the range of simple lighting solutions and lamps available to you. Try and affix some under lights to your wall cupboards or maybe you could use halogen spot lights and see what effect that has. The possibilities with lighting are endless so give it a go.
4 – Manage your wall colours – Paint the ceiling white as this reflects light back into the space. Wall colours should be subtle and compliment the colour of your units. It is a good idea to use tiles adjacent to work surfaces and around the sink area. I bought mine cheaply from a local discount ceramic tile warehouse. When choosing paint select emulsions that can be wiped clean as kitchen walls do get build ups of grime and grease due to cooking.
5 – Flooring – last but not least is your kitchen floor. Most flooring tends to worn where people have stood the most such as next to the main food preparation and sink areas. It can be surprisingly cheap to replace kitchen flooring with either tiles or lino. I found it was just a case of shopping around and looking for end of ranges etc. I just did my whole kitchen floor with a lino cut off for less than $20.
There you go my 5 tips to give your kitchen a makeover on a shoe-string budget. I hope you will use some or all of the ideas and as a result end up with the kitchen of your dreams.