They say the kitchen is the heart of the home. But perhaps this is more than just a comfortable old saying. After all, the condition of your kitchen is directly related to the value of your home, much like our own hearts are integral to our overall health. Whether you are thinking about selling or just want to give your kitchen some open heart surgery, here are a few ways to easily improve this valuable space yourself without breaking the bank.
First – clean your kitchen well. Give it a complete scrub by washing the inside and outside of cabinets, cleaning your appliances (in, out and behind!), clean the floors, walls, windows and backsplash. Purge your cupboards at this point and put unused articles aside to donate or sell at a garage sale. Once the kitchen is clean and organized, your vision for the kitchen will be clearer.
Next - make a repair list. If anything needs to be repaired, such as leaking faucets, broken tiles or cupboard doors, these need to be your first priority. Assess each item and decide whether it can just be fixed or needs to be replaced.
Once the kitchen is clean and repairs have been made, then the fun begins. Make a list of what you like about your kitchen and what you dislike. Be specific – to say you dislike everything about your kitchen will not be helpful. Think about layout, colour, natural light, flow, traffic patterns, durability of surfaces, storage, appliances, needs, etc. Chances are by spending some time thinking about these things, you will be better equipped to prioritize the changes that will bring the most enjoyment to your life.
Cabinets
If you want, but cannot afford new cabinets, there are several ingenious ways to upgrade your existing ones. The most obvious way is to repaint them and most types of cabinets can be repainted quite beautifully with the proper preparation. The quality of the outcome is directly related to how much care and work you put into the preparation. Remove the hardware and doors and clean well with TSP to remove grease and grime. Use a good quality primer and two coats of good quality paint. Allow surfaces to dry properly between each coat for best coverage and durability. Although this can actually be a lot of work and somewhat time consuming, it is also extremely cost effective.
When thinking about colours for your cabinets, consider dark shades like chocolate brown, green, red or even black. These colours are easy to coordinate and can act as a sophisticating force for the kitchen. Black base cupboards and cream upper cabinets can give a nice French bistro appeal when combined with decorative elements like wood and steel. Faux finishes such as crackling and over-glazing work surprisingly well on old kitchen cabinetry.
Consider removing some of your cabinet doors and creating open shelves. Open shelves help achieve restaurant or country feels in a kitchen. Depending on your space, you can even go a step further and remove a section of upper cabinets and replace with stainless steel shelves. Another option to consider is to have some of your cabinet doors cut into a frame and replacing the centers with fabric, glass, tin or even chicken wire for a real rustic feel.
If you need more cabinet space and have the room in your kitchen, go to flea markets or auction sales and buy a unique piece of furniture to do this job.
The choices for cabinet hardware today are incredible and range drastically in price. It is easy to overlook the importance of cabinet hardware too. Try them out first at the store by grabbing them as you would once affixed to your cupboard doors. Are they easy to grab? How easy will they be to keep clean? Classic finishes like glass, chrome, brass or black are usually safe choices which will last the test of time. Also, a small detail often overlooked when redoing cabinets is the hinges. Replacing your old hinges with ones to complement the new hardware will have a huge impact!
Countertops and Backsplash
Countertops are one of the best investments for your kitchen. If you can afford to purchase new countertops, go for it. There are many choices and options too. Inexpensive options include ceramic tiles, laminate and wood. If you are working with a limited budget, you likely won't be able to consider granite or other solid surface products. However, depending on your kitchen habits, these are not always the best choice anyhow.
Ceramic tiled countertops are easy to install yourself and can be done relatively inexpensively. After removing the old countertops, install (or have installed) ¾ inch plywood, then you can cover it with ceramic tiles, as you would a floor or backsplash. An easy and economical way to completely change the look of your kitchen!
New laminate countertops can be installed easily as well. Depending on the size required, in many cases you can simply go and purchase the counters right from your building supply store. If they are not in-stock sizes, they can be custom ordered for very reasonable cost. Laminate countertops have several benefits. They are durable and come in the greatest selection of colours, patterns and textures.
Several retailers are now offering solid wood countertops at reasonable prices. While these require a little more ongoing maintenance, they can really add that extra character to any kitchen, modern and country alike.
Backsplashes are a wonderful finishing detail to any kitchen. As a do-it-yourself project, it is probably one of the easiest as well! Tile, beadboard, mirrors, stainless steel – the opportunities are endless. Since the function of a backsplash is largely aesthetic, have fun. It can be relatively inexpensive and inexpensive to update this from time to time to reflect your changing tastes.
Investing a little in the kitchen can really pay off when selling, both in terms of price and speed of sale. Once you organize your kitchen and your thoughts about the kitchen, it becomes easy to give it that much-needed triple bypass. All it takes is a little creativity and imagination to create a room that is the envy of your friends and neighbours.
other than that excellent help...thanks!