When buying real estate, playing the long game is a given. You buy your very first apartment or house and then you have years and years to live in it and enjoy everything it has to offer. The only trouble is that in time you may end up feeling less excited about it due to the sheer fact that you’ve grown used to it. Or that the furniture and finishings have become more lacklustre.
The kitchen is no exception and we definitely know what that means! It’s that space within your home where you spend so much time, so it’s important that it’s a pleasant space that’s spiffy and shiny and that is inviting when it comes to performing your daily cooking sessions. So how can you improve your kitchen and also maintain a firm grip on your budget?
1. Upcycle Your Furniture
Furniture is the single most obvious element of the kitchen. Whenever you enter any kitchen, the condition of the furniture will immediately send you flashes. If it’s new and well-kept, the entire kitchen will shine brighter. On the other hand, if it’s beaten down and fairly used, it will reflect on your perception of the kitchen. Fortunately, you don’t need to break the bank in order to spice things up again and reliven your kitchen furniture.
Any type of furniture can be reconditioned either through carefully followed and executed DIY projects or through the help of professionals. A coat of paint and a creative design can go a long way. You can either change the color of your furniture or apply subtle hints of color or decorative elements on top of your existing layers.
Alternatively, if you’re not interested in upcycling then you can also get budget friendly stylish kitchen furniture like kitchen counter stools online that look fantastic.
2. Replace Plumbing Fixtures
You would say that when it comes to improving the kitchen, it would be anything but the kitchen sink! However, it’s something as small as the sink and the faucet that can actually make a huge difference. Plumbing fixtures such as this brass kitchen tap are top-notch quality meaning you will save both time and money on maintenance and ensure long-term reliability and performance.
What’s more, choosing a different style for your kitchen tap might give you that feeling of freshness all over again. Getting a pull-out spray mixer tap, for example, will give your kitchen a different feel, while also optimizing the entire dishwashing process.
3. Harness the Power of Paint
Walls are a home’s biggest and most obvious canvases – they will typically show a home’s age, the activity that goes on within it and, well, the owner’s involvement in keeping it up to date.
Kitchen walls are particularly sensitive to absorbing and reflecting everything that’s going on around them. They will absorb vapors and will be the perfect untainted canvas for all sorts of stains. However this can quickly be turned around with a fresh coat of paint. Even when you’re just bored with the color of your walls, you can simply turn to a different hue – it will feel like a brand new kitchen and your mood will go up instantly.
4. Upgrade Your Lights
It’s true you can’t really do much about expanding your windows and getting more natural light in without serious efforts and costs. It’s just as true that you can change your kitchen lighting fixtures though and that won’t come at too big of a cost to your personal finances. Look at your existing lighting fixtures and imagine how else you’d like them to look.
Maybe you can switch from recessed lights to decorative pendant lights. Through the right lighting fixtures you can also emphasize your cabinets and meal prep areas or you can emphasize your eating area. There are so many options to choose from, it would really be a shame to simply stick to the tried and true, especially if you are looking to improve your kitchen and keep your budget protected still. Once you’re at it, you can choose LED lights, as they’re becoming more popular and affordable.
In the end, it’s always the small decisions that one by one give the greatest impact when choosing to change something in your environment or life. It goes the same for your kitchen and these are only four ideas that can help you improve this space of your home on a budget. The sky’s the limit – all you need is creative thinking, patience and perseverance.
