If you want to modernize your home but have a limited budget and want to make environmentally friendly choices, the kitchen is the best place to start.
The kitchen is the heart of the home, the space where loved ones gather. Where you can get inspired to prepare nutritious meals. And where practical design may make a significant difference in your daily life – and the value of your property.
But you don’t have to spend a fortune upgrading your kitchen, especially if the one you have is perfectly adequate but outdated or cramped. You simply need to be strategic and creative to make it both functional and inspirational.
This is what Innovative Kitchen & Bath suggest:
1. Modernize Your Lighting
This simple change can revamp the look and feel of your entire area. Look locally or online for modern but inexpensive light fixtures.
- Hang pendants above your island or peninsula.
- Add a gooseneck sconce or a striking pendant above the sink.
- Install puck lighting or a string of tiny white lights beneath your cabinets to light up your workspace and create ambiance.
2. Open Up Space Visually
Removing some of the upper cupboards in your kitchen can radically transform it. It will feel lighter, more modern, and possibly more functional. Open shelving is an excellent method to exhibit stacks of everyday dishes, as well as serving platters, cookbooks, and fresh herbs. It’s actually more convenient for taking out and putting away dishes.
You have two possible alternatives: remove the upper cabinets entirely and replace them with open floating shelves, or simply remove the doors and hardware from a couple of your original uppers.
3. Add a Backsplash
Adding a backsplash can do wonders for the charm of your kitchen. Create a modern feel just by adding white subway tile with aged oak cabinets. Choose patterned ceramic tiles for an even more colorful look, especially if you only have a limited space or one wall that may make a great impact. You may also use shiplap or wainscoting panels as an affordable yet attractive backsplash.
4. Replace Your Hardware
Upgrading your cabinet hardware and/or faucet has a tremendous impact with little time or money spent. Even if your appliances are stainless steel, you might go with black, sleek polished chrome, or a bold brass. It has a very mixed-metal modern vibe about it.
5. Make Changes to Your Island or Peninsula
Refreshing only your island or peninsula with shiplap on the back, painting it, or adding decorative brackets may give your kitchen new life and charm. Consider expanding an island that doesn’t presently have seating by acquiring a new countertop with an overhang (which can be different from the rest of your kitchen’s counter) and adding legs.
6. Introduce a Touch of Refinement and Interest
Forget about paint and tile. You might simply add exquisite or unexpected decorative accents to your current kitchen, such as an antique mirror, a piece of art, copper pots and pans, or a lamp on the counter.
7. Paint Your Cabinets
If you have perfectly acceptable wood cabinets but dislike the dated color, consider painting them rather than buying a new set. You may opt with a traditional white, a soft, light grey, or even a two-toned effect.
Why not come and chat with one of our team at Innovative Kitchen & Bath and get some ideas from the displays in our Kirkland showroom. And of course, we’re always ready to help if you want to tackle a bigger project, or if you need help on even these smaller tasks. Contact us today!