If your kitchen looks a bit tired you don’t have to spend a fortune to give it a fresh new look. There are on budget and effective ways to transform your existing kitchen without breaking the bank.
One of my latest interior design projects in Reading, Berkshire, was a kitchen revamp. The scope of this project was to give a fresh feel to the kitchen and make the long narrow space feel wider. The image below shows the kitchen as it was before starting the makeover.
Kitchen - Before makeover
As one of the requirements was to keep the existing wall and floor tiles, we have started the project by putting together a colour scheme which could work well with those tiles. Once agreed on the colour palette, the work has started and we have followed these steps.
Step 1 – Update Walls
To start with, the walls have been decorated. To make the space look bigger and lighter we have painted the walls in the same colour as the top cabinets, Pale Powder from Farrow and Ball.
https://www.farrow-ball.com/paint-colours/pale-powder
Painting the wall indeed, is a quick way to give the kitchen a fresh new look without spending much and in this case, it only took one day of work.
Walls and top cabinets in Pale Powder paint
Step 2 – Paint Cabinets
This is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to create a new look in your kitchen. We have chosen two of the newest colours available in the Farrow and Ball range. For the top cabinets we have used the Modern Eggshell Pale Powder paint and for the bottom ones Vardo, a vibrant teal colour.
Before painting the cabinets, they have been washed with sugar soap then primed. I would recommend you always opt for a high-quality primer and paint to ensure a durable finish. The skilful Laia Ventura has helped me on this project and particularly with this task. You can follow Laia on Instagram clicking the following link:
https://www.instagram.com/laia.ventura/
Step 3 – New handles
As the basic structure of the kitchen was in really good conditions, we have only replaced the existing cabinets’ handles with a thinner and curvier metal option to give the kitchen a slightly more modern touch.
Kitchen Handles
Step 4 - New accessories
New accessories can instantly give a new lift to your kitchen and liven up the whole scheme. You can choose a colour or theme to bring the look together. In this kitchen for example, we have added open shelving to create a dedicated area for the home pet, a cheeky dog. We have mixed colourful jars - useful for storing dog’s treats - with a couple of plants and a border collie print.
Kitchen shelves
Kitchen dog corner
As general advise, considering that kitchens are often a very busy area, keeping the worktops clear and tidy is a must and won’t cost you anything at all, except from a little of your time. If you want to create more usable space, you can put up hanging rails and extra shelves to store cooking books for example.
Kitchen worktop
Kitchen - Book shelves
Consider updating soft furnishing, accessories, artwork and finishing touches as they are easy to replace and can give your kitchen a total new look without spending a lot of money.
If you are looking for quirky or vintage items visit antiques and charity shops as they are a great and cheap source.
Least but not last, don’t forget to visit your parents’ or granny’s house as I am sure you will find little treasures there to take home for free.
Kitchen - After makeover