Getting a kitchen remake can be tough on your
bank account, but there are some ways that you can give your kitchen
a whole new look even if you are on a tight budget. These 5
decorating tips won’t break the bank but will have a lot of impact
on the way your kitchen looks.
Spruce It Up With Paint
Paint has the
biggest bang for the buck when redecorating any room and especially
for the kitchen. It’s fairly inexpensive and easy to use and can
change the whole look of the room in a day! You can use paint to
update worn out cabinets as well as adding a new look to your walls.
If you are adventurous, you can even try some faux painting to give
your walls the look of old world plaster or marble. Your local home
improvement store probably gives lessons in this for free.
New Hardware And Knobs
While this may
cost you a bit more than paint, replacing your cabinet hardware and
knobs can make a huge difference in the look of your kitchen.
There’s tons of different styles and colors to choose from -
everything from a 1930’s glass drawer pull to knobs styled like
modern aluminum kitchen utensils. If you are planning on
redecorating your kitchen, you might want to look at knobs first -
you might find a style or color that gives you the inspiration for
the whole room!
Put Up A Border
A wallpaper border is
easy work and can make a drastic change without putting much or a
dent in your kitchen decorating budget. Sometimes you can even find
a pleasing pattern in the discontinued bin for little money. Just
make sure there is enough to paper the area you want before you
bring it home! If you don’t like any of the paper borders, find a
stencil that you like and use that - the cost of paint for this will
be minimal. A traditional place for a border is a the top of the
wall next to the ceiling, but it can also look nice at chair rail
height and also as a backsplash above your kitchen countertops.
Go For A Molding
Want a new cabinet
look but new cabinets aren’t in your budget? You can buy moldings
for the sides, top and doors of your cabinet that will enhance and
change the look of any kitchen. You can even buy little bun feet to
put on the edges to give your kitchen a country look. While these
might cost a bit more than some of these other ideas it is well
worth it for the dramatic change it has on your cabinets. Fancy rope
trim, and fluted moldings can be glued on to your cabinets to give
them a little pizzaz. Decorative crown moldings can be added to the
top. If your doors are too plain, you can even buy moldings to add
interest to the door panels.
Vinyl Tiles
If your floor is outdated,
dirty and grungy then getting a new floor will make a huge
difference in the look of your kitchen. You may not even notice how
dingy the floor looks and may be reluctant to budget in any money
for a floor but try to take a fresh look at it and really notice
what it looks like. When I sold my house I thought my kitchen floor
was a little old but just fine – my realtor took one look and
convinced me that a new floor would help me get more for the house.
I put a new floor in and couldn’t believe the difference! You can
install vinyl tiles yourself for as little as 50 cents a square
foot, of course the more you pay the better quality floor you will
get and the longer it will last so a mid range price of $3.00 a
square foot is probably more realistic.
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About the author:
Lee Dobbins is the
owner and editor of A
Kitchen Decorating Idea Guide where you
can get ideas for dozens of kitchen decorating themes for
every budget.