I can’t help but think that my kitchen makeover is going to provide blog content for the rest of the year. I DO apologise in case it ever gets boring but I have so many questions to answer and tips to provide that I’m hoping lots of blog posts might eventually cover everything I could possibly think of.
This post is dedicated to showing how you can really make a few effective changes to your kitchens without investing in things like new sinks/work surfaces but still create a really wow-factor impact. I was extremely fortunate to work with Worktop Express, Kohler UK and Abode Designs who kindly gifted me new work surfaces, a sink and tap and in-built water filter respectively. But everything else I paid for and you really don’t need to spend the earth to complete a drab to fab makeover.
Here are my 5 top tips for budget kitchen improvements:
- Spray Those Knobs
For some reason as I was embarking on this project, I kept thinking to myself I’d have to order new knobs, knowing that I wanted gold ones to replace our existing nickel colour. And for such a small kitchen we have an awful lot of knobs so I feared it would be a pricey process. Thankfully I came to my senses and I realised that a can of Rustoleum spray paint would do just the job. I transformed the knobs with no more than 5 minutes work and cost £7.50 which worked for both the pink and navy cupboards. If you have wooden handles/knobs, you’ll need to prime first before you can spray but this is such a cost effective way of updating a small but important detail
- Declutter
My Mum and Stepdad came to visit at the weekend and they haven’t seen the house for a while. They kept saying ‘are you sure you haven’t added extra space?’ But simply decluttering has had one of the biggest impacts on creating a sense of space in our kitchen and improving the energy flow. Since we’re very limited on storage space we had things piled on top of the cupboards and crowding every work surface space. I went through all our cupboards and drawers, identifying anything we never reached for that could be donated to charity and made space for other items. The kitchen genuinely feels so much bigger and I can’t wait to get cooking again.
- Switch the sockets
As I neared the end of the project and was sharing progress updates on Instagram, someone said to me “You are going to change the sockets aren’t you?” and of course, this being me I was already one step ahead. As with most homes, we’re *blessed* with lovely white plastic sockets which are just meh. I hopped on to the Argos website and ordered some lovely black light switches and matching plug sockets and my goodness they look SO smart.
- Paint
Ok I get it. You may not want to spend time and effort painting kitchen cupboards. It’s no mean feat and you’ll need a good few coats to get a finish you’re happy with. But at least give any walls and woodwork a lick of fresh paint. If you have your heart set on a paint colour from a more expensive brand such as Farrow & Ball or Little Greene, why not use a paint matching service to cut the cost? Even if I hadn’t painted the cupboards, painting the walls and woodwork in our kitchen would have made a massive difference alone. We have a hard working space that gets dirtier than most of the other rooms because of the comings and goings of the animals and it really needed a freshen up.
- New Window Handles
Another trick we learned from our mini bathroom makeover is just how much new window handles can transform windows and views. Most upvc windows have ugly white plastic handles (are you sensing ugly white plastic is not my favourite) so we’ve opted to change ours into the brushed chrome which are available at Screwfix for about £15 a handle. They look so smart and make me happy to open the windows now whereas before I didn’t even want to touch them
I hope this has been a useful post, as always do let me know if you have any questions. You genuinely can make a difference without having to spend a fortune!
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We just moved into our new apartment and our kitchen really needs a makeover. We’re doing business with https://www.hackneykitchenrenovations.com I must say some of this can be done DIY if only I have the time. Thanks for sharing!