Want to make your kitchen look expensive without paying the expensive price tag? There are plenty of ways to spruce up the heart of your home without digging too far into your savings. Check out these 10 cheap kitchen makeover tips to add luxury to your space.
Paint Your Cabinets with an Antique Glaze
Antiqued kitchen cabinets are all the rage now. These cabinets are beautiful to look at because they have texture, dimension and class. Rather than having a flat, one-dimensional paint on them, these cabinets are topped with an antique glaze that makes them look rich and rustic. You can antique your existing cabinets for very little money, as long as you’re willing to spend some time doing it.
Note that if you’re looking up tutorials for how to antique kitchen cabinets, you could also look up this kitchen makeover tips, distressing kitchen cabinets. We try to stay away from the term ‘distressed’ because it tends to imply that the finish looks worn and chippy. In this case, the finish looks sleek and professional – a perfect fit for any home.
Add Corbels, Molding and Feet to Make Premade Cabinets Look Custom
If you want to give new life to premade cabinets, add some decorative trim to them. You could put crown molding along the top or add corbels underneath the upper cabinets. You can also add small feet in front of the kickboards to make the cabinets look unique. Add molding to the front of flat cabinet doors to make them look unique and personalized. Just paint or stain these trim pieces to match the rest of the cabinets, and you’re good to go!
Update Hardware to a Modern Finish
Do you still have those brass and white drawer pulls that were popular 30 years ago? It’s time for an upgrade. Change out your kitchen hardware for something with a more modern finish. Oil rubbed bronze and satin nickel are common colors nowadays, but matte gold is starting to be a trend. Choose a finish that matches the overall theme of your kitchen, and you’ll be amazed at the transformation.
Invest in Specialty Light Fixtures
You only have a few lights in your kitchen, so why not make them statement pieces? You may spend a little more for specialty lighting, but the results are astounding. If you don’t want to upgrade all of the lighting, focus on whatever pieces are most likely to be a focal point in the room. This will probably be above the bar or above the sink area. This is what’s going to make your kitchen look custom and high-end.
Replace Unused Upper Cabinets with Open Shelves
Many kitchen makeover tips talk about open shelving, and that is a good option in some circumstances. Open shelving provides a great place to display dinnerware, glasses, decorations, and more. It also adds visual interest to a wall. With that in mind, open shelving leaves little room for error. You cannot stack paper plates and plastic cups on the shelves and expect the kitchen to look expensive. If you have unused upper cabinets that you could logically replace with open shelves, go for it! If you’d rather keep your clutter hidden, consider other kitchen remodeling ideas.
Refinish Your Countertops to Look Like Stone
If you have laminate or tile countertops, you could refinish them to make them look like stone. Instead of spending thousands of dollars on granite, you can get refinished countertops for a fraction of the price. The stone coating goes over your existing counters, so there is no demolition or time-consuming installation process. Countertop refinishing can greatly extend the life of your existing counters, and it still transforms your kitchen for the better.
Install Under-Cabinet Lighting
Under-cabinet lighting serves several purposes and is a great kitchen makeover tips. It adds extra light to the kitchen, which makes the space feel bigger and makes it easier to see inside. It also helps illuminate the backsplash or any décor you may have on top of the counters. Most people associate under-cabinet lighting with expensive kitchen remodeling, but it is actually not expensive at all. In fact, many forms of under-cabinet lighting can be installed in a matter of minutes, all by yourself! This is a great way to make your kitchen look luxurious without spending too much money.
Spruce up the Backsplash
Your backsplash is one of the statement areas of your kitchen. You can change it out in many different ways. You could replace the tile with mosaic or add glass accent tile as a stripe or border. You could get your tile backsplash refinished to match the counters or contrast them. Whatever you do, just make sure that the backsplash material you choose is easy to clean. This is where most kitchen messes end up, and you want to be able to get rid of them quickly.
Change out Your Bar Stools
If you have bar seating in your kitchen, get some new bar stools. This is a fun opportunity to play with color, pattern, and texture without altering the core elements of your kitchen. If your bar stools look high-end, visitors will assume the rest of the kitchen has the same finishing touch. They don’t have to know you did everything on a budget.
Don’t Forget the Inside of Your Cabinets! Add Some Flair to the Back
We couldn’t bring up kitchen makeover tips without mentioning the back of the cabinets. Most people only think about the exterior of the cabinets because this is what most people notice. However, imagine how cool it would be to open the cabinets and see a beautiful print on the back wall. You could use wallpaper or contact paper to add that pattern to the back, or you could paint the inside of the cabinets with a pop of color. Rich teal, opulent purple or coastal blue – there is no limit to the number of colors you could use. Explore the many creative ways to make your kitchen look expensive on a budget, and you’ll love the space it comes to be.