Kitchen Renovation Ideas
Kitchen renovation ideas are not something you think about until you feel like your kitchen is looking old and tired. You’re here reading, so you must be thinking about how you can transform your kitchen.
While you may get a fantastic high perusing through glamorous magazines and online pics to get inspiration, it may also be a bit frustrating if your home doesn’t quite fall into the Architectural Digest category.
Face it. Not every kitchen remodel will be as large and spacious as depicted in glam makeovers, and not every homeowner can afford to hire a kitchen designer, knock out walls and sink huge sums of money into a kitchen remodel. Ready to come down to earth? Here are five budget-friendly and doable kitchen renovation ideas that are sure to whet your appetite.
1. A Fresh Coat of Paint
As a matter of course, your kitchen is the most high-traffic room in your home, and that often translates to an excess of finger or handprints on walls and especially your kitchen cabinets. No doubt you have cleaned these again and again, slowly wearing away the old paint so that they now may look dingy and dull. An occasional fresh coat may seem like a no-brainer if you want to maintain a clean appearance, but why not let paint give your cabinets the inexpensive facelift they are screaming for?
For a thoroughly modern kitchen, consider painting your walls white but going with a bright and bold splash of color for the cabinets–or just their faces. Vibrant blues, reds, pinks or purples matched with similarly-colored hand towels or colorful mugs on hooks can grab your attention like no other.
Too wild a choice for your modest senses? A neutral, two-tone approach with upper cabinets painted a slightly lighter shade than lower cabinets can create a sense of understated elegance. But don’t discount white either. An all-white kitchen never goes out of style.
Additionally, if you have dark wood floors and cabinets and feel the need to lighten things up, painting your cabinets a pure clean white can make a huge difference. Whatever your choice, here’s the takeaway: Unlike expensive appliances or investing in brand new cabinetry, a fresh coat of paint can work wonders on a budget. And if you don’t like the results, you can always paint over your mistakes.
2. Open Shelving
A home with old, outdated kitchen cabinets can really mire the look of an otherwise pleasant space. Replacing them with quality cabinetry, however, may not be a budget-friendly alternative. What to do?
Completely removing unattractive cabinetry and replacing it with open shelving is a simple way to create a contemporary kitchen look, and all you need is boards, brackets, and a bit of paint. Open shelves are both attractive and functional creating the ability to both store and display outsized items like cake stands and pretty serving trays alongside favorite plants and herbs or fun knick knacks.
Love your colorful set of Fiestaware? This option is a great way to show it off. While you’re at it, add a row of hooks to display your coffee mugs too.
3. Add a Low-Cost Kitchen Island
Every modern kitchen deserves a kitchen island. Kitchen islands are fantastic for food prep and if they come with storage area underneath, all the better. If you think kitchen islands are pricey, however, you’re only partially right. Certainly they can be, especially if you purchase one from a high-end store. But if you have a little bit of DIY-sense and/or a creative eye, you can come out ahead.
If you’re halfway good with a hammer and nails and have a fondness for the rustic look, you can easily find online plans to create islands of various styles and sizes from pallets, barnwood, or other scrap. Add some paint and a few hardware details like a towel bar or hooks for pot holders and you’re good to go.
On the other hand, if you don’t have satisfactory carpentry skills, you can still score a win by keeping an eye out at garage sales or your local transfer station swap shop for creative alternatives. Old bureaus with deep drawers are great for cookbooks and linens, and you can get them up to counter height by adding casters for easy mobility.
Other kitchen island ideas? How about upcycling a rolling industrial work table or repurposing a wine barrel by adding a round countertop. Just use your imagination!
4. Don’t Ignore Your Kitchen Flooring
All too often, kitchen remodeling ideas focus on appliances, cabinets and countertops but with all the foot traffic this favorite family room gets, your flooring should also be a priority. Fortunately, there are several options available that are affordable to purchase and easy to install by yourself. Just be sure to pick a material that is both durable and easy to clean.
Vinyl flooring in sheets or peel-and-stick tiles are probably the easiest to install, and most home improvement stores provide loads of attractive options. In most cases they can be installed directly over your subflooring. Laminate flooring is another attractive option for slightly more adept or braver souls, but this type of flooring is more prone to scratches and can sometimes buckle if water gets underneath.
Ceramic tiles are definitely tougher than vinyl or laminate and will hold up longer but may be a challenge for beginners to install. Whichever floor covering you settle on, you can add a bit of warmth and color by simply adding a scatter rug or two with an eye-catching design.
5. Creative Backsplashes
If the idea of installing a new backsplash has you covering your eyes and ears in an effort to make the whole thing go away, you can put your hands down now. Creative backsplashes don’t have to involve difficult-to-work-with, messy tiles.
Love floral designs? Geomtrics? Random splashes of color? Today’s home improvement stores offer a wide variety of inexpensive, peel and stick wallpaper or vinyl patterns that can be easily cut and applied to smooth, painted walls. And if you really want to get creative, try making your own faux-wallpaper by wiping your walls with liquid starch, then cutting and applying a favorite lightweight material smoothing as you go. What fun!
Are uneven walls a problem? A beadboard backsplash or one made from cut and sized plank and affixed with construction adhesive can be a perfect remedy.
These are some simple kitchen renovation ideas you can tackle on your own. But if you prefer to have a licensed, professional contractor take care of all the difficult details of renovating your kitchen, contact Halcyon Remodeling today to get a free consultation and estimate for your kitchen makeover.
Halcyon Remodeling is located in Alpharetta, GA and we service all of metro Atlanta. Take a look at our reviews on Google, then Contact us to discuss your kitchen remodeling plans.
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