You don’t always have to take on an expensive reno to give your kitchen an amazing makeover.
We’re sharing our tips on how to spruce up your kitchen on a small budget and low effort.
Ok, maybe one or two of them might require a little more than low effort. But these are all easy to do and they will push out any need for a reno by at least few years. Well, maybe.
We’ve organized these tips from lowest to highest effort and costs from our perspective.
You can do one or two or all of them to really create a whole new look for your kitchen.
1. Change Out the Cabinet Hardware
This one is super easy. There are lots of different options for cabinet hardware depending on how much you want to spend and what styles you like.
You can find fantastic options for knobs and pulls at your local big box store like Ikea or Home Depot. You can also find a lot of options online at places like Amazon and Wayfair.
Try a new finish or a shape to give your cabinets a whole new look.
When you’re thinking cabinet hardware, think about things like soft close hinges as well.
A makeover is not just about how your kitchen looks but it can also be about how it functions.
2. Style Your Counter Tops
One of my pet peeves is seeing a lot of clutter on counter tops. Find a home for all those items in a cabinet somewhere.
See some of the tips below like adding organizers to your cabinets or adding open shelving to a bare wall to create some storage to get the clutter off your counters.
Once all the clutter is off the counter, think about a few groupings of decor that would bring in style to your kitchen.
For example, a stylish coffee maker or a kettle or even a KitchenAid mixer can be a great starting point.
Display clear storage containers with dry food like cereal or pasta on your counter. Trick here is to find storage containers that look great and you can even create a design in whatever you decide to put inside the container, depending on the look you’re going for.
A bowl full of fruit is also a great decor add to a kitchen counter.
I like to style a kitchen cabinet by layering a couple of chopping boards leaning against the backsplash and a stylish little salt and paper grinders set in front.
None of these are really new ideas and if you search Pinterest you can get a ton more.
The trick to styling countertops successfully is to use only a few of these options and keep the counters free of clutter.
3. Organize the Cabinets for Improved Usage of Space
There are all sorts of organizers available to help you better use your cabinet space. Google cabinet organiers or look up on Pinterest to see a variety of options you can utilize to make the most of your cabinet space.
Did you know that you can free up a good amount of cabinet space by simply hanging your mugs off of a hook under the shelves?
4. Change Your Kitchen Faucet
Now that you’re on a roll with these small updates, why not match your faucet with your new cabinet hardware?
There are plenty of options and price points and you can find a great choice in a big box store or online.
5. Mix Up Your Lighting
This could be as easy as adding under cabinet lighting to your kitchen.
Ikea has some great options if you want to keep your budget tight but you can also hire someone to do a more professional job and really upgrade your kitchen.
You could also introduce some stylish pendent lighting over an island or a peninsula.
If you’ve already got pendent lights, consider switching them out for new pendents with a slightly different look.
If you have a kitchen eat-in area, this could be introducing a new chandelier over the dining table.
6. Add a Stylish Backspalsh
I’m always amazed at how many people still don’t have a backsplash in thier kitchen. This is one of the quickest and easiest ways to update your kitchen.
Why not add a backsplash that goes right up to the ceiling to create a bit of drama in your kitchen?
Since you’re tiling a small area, you maybe able to splurge a little to get something that creates a bit of WOW when someone walks into your kitchen.
Right now, I’m all about a patterned marble tiles with a touch of a gold as an accent.
If you don’t have big budget, consider peel and stick options. There are lots of patterns available that make it a great option with a low cost and effort.
7. Dress Up Bare Walls
We are big on accent walls and why should kitchens be any different?
Turn a bare wall into a feature by using paint or wallpaper.
If you are in need of extra storage, add some open shelves to this wall.
Organize and style the shelves and makesure you keep any open shelves organized and clutter free.
8. Get New Kitchen Furniture
Since you don’t have that much furniture in the kitchen, it’s not going to be a big expense to replace what you have.
Whether they are counter stools, a dining table or chairs for the eat-in kitchen, it might be a good time to try out a fresh new look.
9. Paint the Cabinets
With a paint can and a brush in hand, this is one of the easiest things you could do. You can find a YouTube video or two (or ten) that will walk you through the steps.
If you’re not into DIYing this , you can hire someone to paint the cabinets. It’s still less than doing a full reno and you will notice a big difference in how your kitchen looks.
10. Add a Kitchen Island
It seems like everyone has a kitchen island, right? So, if you’re not lucky enough to have kitchen island already, you can simply add one, all on your own.
There are lots of options available in the market to help you add extra surface space in the kitchen.
Very often these come with casters so you can move them out of the way when you need additional space.
This would really be helpful if you’re in one of the newer condos where galley kitchens seem to be only option we see these days.
You can also use a small dining table as your kitchen island if you have the room.
There you go. Those are our tips for updating your kitchen without having to go through a full reno.
Be warned, once you start with one thing, it may lead to more changes and eventually a full kitchen reno might not be that far off but we know that already, don’t we?
And don’t they also say you’re never quite done fixing things up around your home ever?
