12 ways to update your kitchen cheaply

Here are some ways to change your kitchen without breaking the bank. They don’t all have to be done at once which will help to spread the cost.

1/ Set up a mood board and get some colour ideas 

Cut out pictures of kitchens over a period of days and weeks that you have seen in magazines which suit the colour scheme that you are trying to achieve.

2/ Painting cabinets

Paint technology has advanced a lot over the past few years so there will be a paint system available to cover the paint of your existing doors. Surface preparation i.e. lightly scoring the existing finish with abrasive paper to provide a key for the next layer of paint is usually necessary to give the best results. 

3/ Change the door handles and drawer pulls

Handles can be picked up quite inexpensively on the internet and they will transform the doors quickly. One thing to consider; will the new handles fit perfectly i.e. will they use the same screw holes as the original ones. If not, as long as the distance between the mounting screws on the old handles is not too different to the new ones then if the new handle has quite a wide base around the mounting point it might well cover the existing screw holes anyway. In the worst case scenario some two part glue can be used to fill any remaining holes.

4/ Paint walls and ceilings

Good quality emulsion is available now with a sheen to it so it is now much easier to wipe down any possible cooking condensation without any ill-effects. Maybe just paint one wall a few shades darker to create an accent wall.

5/ Paint window sills

Again, use a gloss paint or a paint with a sheen so moisture can be easily removed. Painting a window sill can be very quick and cheap to do.

6/ Change lighting

This can be done by changing the ceiling lighting, the under cupboard lighting or by adding a couple strategically placed table lamps. LEDs are very versatile nowadays and can be warm white or cool white depending upon the look you are trying to achieve. LEDs last a long time and are inexpensive. Dimmers can be added along with Squirrel cage Edison screw bulbs; there are LED warm white or amber versions available depending on the look to be achieved. Plinth lights, also known as kickboard lights, can be added for dramatic effect.

7/ Coloured small appliances; kettles, toasters etc

Another quick and relatively cheap way of adding colour to a kitchen is to add coloured small appliances such as kettles and toasters or even a brightly coloured food mixer. Another benefit of these is that they are completely movable so if you get fed up with one colour you could swap it for another.

8/ Change old curtains for blinds

Most kitchen sinks are placed by the kitchen window so make sure that the blind isn’t too long to avoid splashes when washing up.

9/ Put a rug in front of the sink

Use a rug to cover up worn out flooring in front of sink or the cooker. This can make it more comfortable if you walk around without shoes. Make sure that the rug is washable so it can be easily machine washed in case of food spillages. This might not seem a particularly practical suggestion but this is all about adding colour and texture on a budget.

10/ Add splashbacks

Splashbacks, also known as backsplashes can be very economical compared with the cost of even cheap ceramic wall tiles when you consider the labour and materials needed to fit tiles. Splashbacks can be cut around any obstacles such as light switches and electrical outlets. They can vary in size and can cover between 2 and 4 square metres.

11/ Replace the worktop

The cheapest laminate worktops are 28mm or 30mm. Sometimes it is possible to pick up quality worktops for a lower price as they are about be discontinued from a manufacturers range. Worktop distributors often apply discounts to these worktops to make room in their warehouses for more popular, quicker selling worktops which are about to be added to their range. 22mm thick worktops surprisingly are more expensive than the thicker worktops as they have a laminate backing to prevent potential warping rather than the thicker worktops which use neutral coloured Kraft paper as a balancer so this thickness might not be the one to go for on a money-saving project like this.

12/ Drawer with phone and tablet charging points

Chargers can be built into a cupboard so that they are mounted just below a waist level drawer, then the cables can be let into the back of the drawer to make it convenient to charge up a few mobile phones at a time.