Making your old kitchen new again can be a challenge. There are so many considerations to make and things to take into account. If you don’t necessarily have the money to spend on brand new things, it can make this task that much more difficult. But that’s where this handy five-step guide comes in. We’ll give you some tips on making your money go farther in a new kitchen space.
Paint your old kitchen cabinets
Painting your kitchen is a relatively inexpensive way to breathe new life into it. Those old wooden kitchen cabinets that haven’t been touched in 30 years since you bought them new? Give them a new look with some white paint, if that’s the look you’re going for. Or, re-varnish and stain them, if you’d like to maintain the wood facade. Rather than spending a thousand or more on brand new kitchen cabinetry, simply paint the ones you already have.
Consider which color scheme you want to go with before you start. Brighter colors will obviously brighten the space up and make it seem larger and bigger than it did before. Darker colors will minimize the space and focus the attention. The latter option works well if you have a centerpiece in the kitchen, like an island.
If you’re looking to mix and match, navy blue and white are a good combination for upper and lower cabinets. Or, if you’re looking for a solid color, white and grey are good options.
Reimagine your benchtops
Benchtops are the sort of thing that goes in when the kitchen is installed, then doesn’t get looked at again for 10 years. All kinds of things get spilled on them, hit into them, break on top of them, and yet nobody gives them a second thought.
Well, if you’re on a budget, a great way to save money would be to simply repair your benchtops, rather than replacing them. What about a small-cost repair to your stonework or marble benchtop? If they’re not in need of repair, then perhaps a fresh coat of paint would work well, if the benchtops are made of suitable material. There’s plenty you can do, even a quick clean and re-arranging of appliances that sit atop them will do wonders for them.
Pay attention to detail
Small things often make a big difference in a space like a kitchen. If you want to save money, you have to pay attention to the small things and see what can be replaced at a low cost to give your kitchen a new look. Whether that’s replacing the door handles on cupboard doors to something a bit more modern, or perhaps replacing the light fixtures in certain areas to offer a new look. Regardless of how you choose to do it, the smaller details are where a good kitchen comes together and how you can best save money.
Putting up new shelves
This can be a relatively inexpensive way to free up some wall space for something else, replacing a small cabinet, for example, with an open shelf. This can be done by mounting brackets to the wall and securing wooden shelving, which can usually be found cheaply at any discount furniture or in your local hardware store’s clearance section. While the materials aren’t likely to be free, shelving in this fashion is a heck of a lot cheaper than putting up new cabinets.
Fix your own plumbing
Instead of playing a plumber to come in and do this work for you, you can easily fix your own leaky faucets. You’ll just need some plumber’s tape and some patience. Simply unscrew the leaky faucet head, take out the o-rings and washers (check your o-rings for corrosion as this is most likely to be the source of your leak), clean them over and clean the inserts where they came out of, then replace the fixings in reverse order. If you need a hand installing your kitchen sink, then get in touch with Tap This Plumbing today!
