Revamp your kitchen on a budget

Sometimes it’s worth stating the obvious: start by painting the walls and ceilings.  You may find that provides all the transformation you need.  If not, read on:

It’s a truism, but painting your kitchen cupboards and/or replacing the handles are probably the most cost-effective ways to dramatically improve the appearance of a tired kitchen. Make sure you buy paint designed specifically for the job (i.e. kitchen cupboard paint) and read customer reviews before purchasing, as the quality varies hugely.

There are even specialist companies who will spray paint all your kitchen units.  The finish is invariably superb. And, with prices starting from about £1,000, it’s far cheaper than installing a new kitchen.

If the doors are beyond repair, or the style is too dated, you can buy replacement doors for just a few pounds each. Kitchen cupboards come in standard sizes, so replacing the various shapes won’t pose too many problems. And, you should be able to reuse the hinges.

Don’t forget you will need to re-paint/replace the kickboards too. So check availability before purchasing anything else.

If you are looking for cupboard handles, online retailers offer by far the best value. I recently bought twenty brushed steel kitchen door handles for £22.95 online. A kitchen supplier was selling the identical handles for £5.99 each.

Kitchen wall tiles can be re-grouted and re-sealed with silicone. If they’re dated you could consider replacing them. However, they can be painted with good quality tile paint, which removes the pain and expense of replacing them.

Floor tiles pose more of a problem, as replacing them is messy and expensive.

I have been asked if you can fit wooden flooring on top of existing tiles. The short answer is no. However, if you are determined, you would need to score the tiles, add a self-leveling compound and then glue tongue and grove floorboards on top. Not a job for the faint hearted. Worse still, I would not recommend painting floor tiles in a high-wear area such as a kitchen. They will scuff/chip in no time at all.

The upshot is that, if you want to replace the floor, you will need to remove the existing flooring and start from scratch.

If you are looking for a budget friendly option then engineered wood flooring is worth considering when remodelling on a budget. You can find some great options at Engineered Wood Flooring

Kitchens are often dingy. Changing the lighting, the bulbs or the number of lights can rid this problem. LED lights use a fraction of the electricity (usually just 10 watts) of conventional down-lights, and generate almost no heat. If you decide to employ an electrician this could be the time to replace/add sockets. The latest versions come with USB slots, which, if nothing else, will impress your friends.

Other ways to breathe life into your kitchen include getting your oven/oven hood cleaned you can use special oven cleaner products or call in a profession (it’s like getting a new oven), refurbishing the kitchen counters, adding pan racks, replacing light shades, cleaning window blinds and installing freestanding shelving.

Assuming you don’t need to replace the floor, you should be able to dramatically transform your kitchen with a low budget.

Kitchen furniture can also be up-cycled to match your revamped room—consider stripping, varnishing, waxing, painting or reupholstering.

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