The kitchen is the home area where you prepare and serve meals, as well as a space to welcome guests and spend time with family and friends. If you’ve ever shared your kitchen with several people and each one of you was doing something different, such as chopping ingredients for dinner or finishing up homework while keeping up a conversation and laughing together, then you already know how soothing and relaxing this can be, and what a sense of community you can get out of it.
But since the kitchen gets a lot of wear and tear, you’ll also notice that it needs repair work more regularly. If your projects are more extensive, they will naturally require more resources, something that can truly affect your finances. Luckily, there’s a way to get the best of both worlds and complete remodelling projects without putting considerable strain on your wallet. Here’s how.
Cabinets
The cabinets are the centrepiece of any kitchen, the thing your eyes first land on when walking through the door. If yours have become shabby due to moisture, stains, chipped surfaces and dents, it’s time to start looking for replacements. If the cupboards themselves are still holding up well, you can just opt for replacement kitchen doors to freshen up the cabinets. There are several finishes and styles you can choose from, including textured, matt, gloss, painted wood and solid oak. The one that you choose should be able to fit right in with the rest of your kitchen design and the colour palette you choose for a more elegant look.
Vintage appeal
The allure of vintage pieces and antiques is impossible to deny. They transport you back to another time and make your room unique, creating a special atmosphere that even the fanciest newest items cannot replicate. But how do you bring this charm into your own home? Scouring markets for antique pieces is the most straightforward method, although the process will be painstaking and require a considerable amount of patience. However, if you remain persistent and keep searching, you’ll find some real gems, such as old chairs and furniture. Recycled materials like salvaged marble can also make for an amazing splashback.
Special items
If you don’t plan on altering your kitchen too much, you can always choose to integrate smaller, budget-friendly pieces that can transform the space. But what does that entail, and how do you know that you’ve found the right things? After all, nobody wants to fill every available surface with tiny trinkets that will do little else than accumulate dust. The special items will never become cluttered because they should serve a practical purpose. For instance, you can get some wall art that will make the space seem more welcoming, or you might find a collection of brass pots that can make you look like a sous chef the next time you’re making dinner.
Decluttering
Speaking of having too many items on every surface, your kitchen cannot look upscale and sophisticated if you don’t do a deep clean and declutter. This costs absolutely nothing, although it will likely take you a considerable amount of time to declutter your entire kitchen. Getting started will also be a pain, but after you get going, you’ll see that you’ll want to keep cleaning. In the aftermath, you’ll see that your kitchen will shine, and the place will feel more relaxing.
Decorative finishes
Although your kitchen serves a primarily practical purpose, that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t also look nice. Luckily, it doesn’t take a lot of money to add some decorative finishes that make your kitchen stand out. For instance, you can invest in some high-quality appliances you know you’ll use for a long time. Go for quality instead of quantity so that you will be able to use your gadgets for years on end and get the best value for your money. Other than that, you can look into brass pepper mills, ceramic bread bins and utensil pots, artisanal pots, linen tea towels, a stoneware butter dish, a cutting board made from mango wood or a glazed terracotta pitcher. All these accents will make your kitchen look put-together but also cosy, warm and like it’s a space that is lived in and used, the prerequisite characteristic of making a house feel like a home.
Kitchen island
If you have a kitchen island, there are probably a lot of activities that take place around it, and it might serve as a workstation for cooking and meal preparation, as well as a table where you serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. If your kitchen island needs some repairs, you’ll be glad to hear that you don’t have to redo it from scratch. All you need are some tiles to freshen up the surface, and you’re ready to go. Take careful measurements so that you’re not left with surplus material, and make sure to protect the surrounding areas from the adhesives and dust. To be more sustainable, you can look for second-hand tiles to minimise the impact of your shopping endeavour; they’re also more likely to be cheaper, and you might even be able to find some models for free.
Flooring
Changing the flooring is a bigger project, so you might think there’s no way to not pay a hefty amount for something like this. However, there are several inexpensive choices available to those who don’t want to exceed their budget:
- Vinyl flooring is the most obvious choice and the most cost-effective because it can often be installed directly over the existing subfloor. Despite its price, it is highly resilient and easy to clean, so you don’t have to spend a lot of time polishing the floors. However, it might not be for you if you’re prone to dropping things, as vinyl gets scratched easily.
- Laminate can mimic wood quite convincingly, as well as stone or ceramic tiles, but you need to remember to keep it safe from moisture
- Cork is perhaps the most comfortable for your feet, as well as very easy to install, but is not as durable as the other materials and can be easily damaged by different types of shoes, pet claws or children.
Creating an upscale kitchen on a budget can seem like an oxymoron, but it’s possible to achieve if you plan carefully. Don’t be in a rush, take your time to analyse your options and look for vintage or second-hand items for a spectacular effect.
