For some, the kitchen is a creative hub where new dishes are dreamed up nightly. For others, it’s the same old space where we prepare the same meals on repeat.
Either way, giving your kitchen a facelift can boost your mood and make cooking more efficient.
Here are some simple, budget-friendly kitchen improvements you can tackle without spending a fortune.
Before You Do Anything Else: Declutter
Sometimes removing items from a room can transform the look as much as adding new elements.
“A good guideline is to have about 80% of your kitchen countertops free,” said Allison Marshall, a professional home organizer and founder of Simply Inspired Spaces.
“You can clear all the extras off the counter — not only the obvious junk mail and clutter, but also appliances and other items you’ve left out,” she said. “The only things that should remain are what you use every day.”
That means the toaster or the reliable George Foreman grill should be tucked into cabinets, even if you use them every few days.
But what if there’s no spare room in your cupboards or pantry?
“Clients often assume they need more storage, but once we sort through belongings and remove what they don’t need, there’s usually plenty of space,” Marshall said.
The first move to uncover more storage in a kitchen is to empty all the cabinets and drawers.
Then be realistic about what returns to those spots. You only require one muffin tin and one set of mixing bowls. If you later need another, borrow it.
Once you free up cabinet and drawer space, clear nearly everything from your countertops.
“Then you can add a single item that brings you joy,” Marshall said. “A candle or an orchid is nicer than that toaster.”
A Little Paint Goes a Long Way
Real estate agent Judy Anderson has plenty of experience with small updates that refresh a kitchen.
“I always tell folks that a touch of paint can make a huge difference,” said Anderson, who works with Re/Max Action First of Florida in St. Petersburg. “It’s an affordable way to completely alter the look and atmosphere of your kitchen.”
She recently listed a 1970s house with a partly modernized kitchen. The owners had installed marble countertops and replaced almost all appliances except the stove. They hadn’t updated the dark wood cabinets.
Anderson suggested painting the cabinets white and replacing the round plastic knobs with black wrought-iron handles and drawer pulls.
On the first day the house hit the market, Anderson recalled a prospective buyer saying, “I love that they renovated the kitchen but can’t understand why they left the oven.”
Get Creative
Anderson also had a client who needed to free up counter area in a compact kitchen, so they created a coffee station in a corner of the adjacent family room.
They purchased a coffee bar from Ikea for $60,and relocated the coffee maker, syrups, mugs and stirrers out of the kitchen. This opened up space in the kitchen and added a calm corner to the family room.
Let There Be Light (Shelves)
Sarah Shields, an interior designer at Intrepid Interior Design in Arizona, recommends light shelves installed in front of a window to increase space and create a pleasant vibe.
“I love the unconventional idea of a light shelf [which reflects light off the ceiling and into your room] with plants on it,” she said. “The added light can also boost your mood.”
A light shelf is also a handy spot for favorite cookbooks or spice jars.
Shields explains you can DIY a light shelf using ropes or leather straps. Attach hooks on each side of the top of the window frame and hang the ropes or straps in a loop to support a board cut to the window’s width.
She recommends measuring the window width, then buying a board slightly wider than the opening and asking Home Depot or Lowe’s to cut out a notch for the frame so it can be mounted on the exterior face of the window.
Adding a statement feature, more light and extra storage is a triple win.
Written by Katherine Snow Smith, a freelance editor and reporter based in St. Petersburg, FL., and author of Rules for the Southern Rulebreaker: Missteps & Lessons Learned.
