Giving your kitchen a makeover can be a simple, one-day endeavor or a complete, long-term transformation. It all depends on your budget, ideas, and the space you’re working with.
Keep reading to find out the top 5 updated kitchen ideas to breathe new life into the room.
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1. Switch out Your Appliances
Considering the fact that kitchens can give you the biggest return on investment, it’s worth it to think about getting new appliances.
It’s better to invest in high-quality, durable, and high-functioning appliances, like:
- Cooking appliances
- Dishwasher
- Freezer
- Refrigerator
- Sink
Search for tried and true brands like a Miele dishwasher, a Bosch refrigerator, or Blomberg appliances.
If you can’t upgrade everything at once, start by choosing one appliance at a time. It’s worth the money and will pay itself off in functionality and aesthetics.
2. Change the Mood With Lighting
Lighting can make or break any room in your house.
The same goes for the kitchen. If you have bright, abrasive lighting, it doesn’t matter what you change in the space; it won’t feel comfortable.
Consider adding various light sources underneath shelves, window seals, and surrounding wall art.
This may require some electrical work, as current lighting fixtures may not be in the right place for an upgrade. If that’s the case, consider having an electrician add new outlets that have USB ports, as well as standard three-pronged outlets.
Another option is to install light dimmers and LEDs. This allows you to adjust the light saturation and color. Plus, LED lights can use up to 75% less energy and last 25% longer.
3. Update Paint for Color, Contrast, and Texture
If you’re looking for a relatively inexpensive way to enhance your kitchen, paint is the way to go.
You’ll want to find paint that’s easy to clean, looks good, and is durable against moisture and grease. This includes high-gloss, semi-gloss, and eggshell paints.
A new coat on cabinets, walls, and even the ceiling can make the room feel brand new.
Keep in mind the colors, contrast, and textures when making your decisions. Do you want to utilize white paint so you can add color pops from other accents? Would it be a calming, trendy choice to paint light cabinets and use darker paint on the walls?
If you have old wood floors, you can also give them a new finish that looks good and protects them.
4. Remove the Unnecessaries
Perhaps one of the best ways to make a space feel fresh and open is to remove anything unessential.
By “unessential,” we mean unused objects, items you have multiples of, and things that could be tucked away into their own space. Creating an organized space takes some time, but it will make your kitchen feel like an entirely new space.
Tackling Clutter
Research shows that clutter can affect us by:
- Causing respiratory issues
- Causing safety issues
- Distracting us from our professional life
- Increasing stress
- Affecting our diet negatively
A part of tackling this problem is to address your kitchen organization. Take some time to clear space and give everything you use its own “home.” For you, this may mean having a drawer for tea, coffee, and mixed drink supplies.
Then, make an effort to keep the kitchen pristine. Refrain from leaving mail, cords, and unused items on the counters so that the space feels nice and open.
Removing Cabinets
A popular minimalist trend is to remove kitchen cabinets.
This can look a variety of ways. You can remove just the doors and replace them with glass so that your dishes become a part of the decor. If you want to keep function in mind, consider replacing hinges with sliding doors instead.
Alternatively, you can remove the shelves entirely and replace them with open shelving. This means using metal brackets and shelves so that everything on them becomes a part of a display.
Removing Walls
Depending on the layout of your home, you may notice that the kitchen feels closed off and secluded.
The best way to address this is to imagine the space without one of the dividing walls. Taking out a wall may allow you to combine your kitchen and dining room while adding a bar counter area for additional seating.
5. Add Finishing Touches
Sometimes, upgrading space calls for adding a few new or used things.
This is where you can get creative, even on a budget. Stand in your kitchen and look at all of the small details you can notice. This includes light switch plates, empty spaces on the walls, and even the hand soap container next to your sink.
The idea is to think of how you can enhance the big changes by supporting it with small ones. For example, if you get a stylish, new refrigerator, you don’t want to stick old magnets from the ’90s on it.
Hardware
Have you always had the same knobs and pulls in your kitchen? It might be time to trade them in.
Consider the color, texture, and shape of the hardware so that it ties in your other design elements.
An Island
If you like to entertain or spread out while you’re cooking, an island could be a life-changing investment.
It provides extra counter space and storage. If you have space, you can also put a couple of bar stools on one side so your guest or kitchen helper can sit by while you prepare food.
Plants
Who doesn’t love fresh herbs and growing plants at arm’s reach?
This addition is not only aesthetic and functional; plants can improve your life by:
- Offering clean air
- Adding comfort
- Boosting mental wellbeing
- Relieving stress
- Promoting healing
Start small by adding pots to a window seal. Once you’re confident in your plant care abilities, add a hanging planter near your sink for a simple upgrade.
Accessorize
Accessorizing isn’t a fashion-only thing.
Adding a magnetic knife strip, fruit trays, and a rug to your kitchen can tie together all of the other kitchen updates you accomplished.
Depending on your wall space, you may also want to add framed artwork that’s easy to clean.
Make These Updated Kitchen Ideas Your Own
With these updated kitchen ideas, you can plan your ideal space.
Decide the size of the investment you want to make and take action to make it happen. If you keep fashion and function in mind, you can’t go wrong.
Keep reading our blog for more ideas on how to make your home dreams a reality.
