It’s well-known that a kitchen makeover can improve the value of your home. Whether you’re looking to advertise on the private market or sell your property to a trusted home buyer and don’t have the budget for a full kitchen makeover – don’t worry! Here are a few tips to help you spruce up your kitchen at low cost.
Add a touch of paint and some new hardware
It’s amazing how a fresh coat of paint and new door hardware can make transform the look of those old kitchen cabinets. You can get hold of good quality spray paint for very little money; doing this can save you a great deal. Use neutral tones for a cleaner look, or modern colours for a more vibrant feel.
If you’re not experienced at painting, using spray paint rather than a brush will help to avoid drips and blobs.
And don’t forget the ceiling! Ceilings get dirty and dingy over time due to exposure to dust, dirt, and smoke all present in your apartments. Even if you don’t really need (or have the funds) to update anything else, a new coat of white paint can really freshen up your kitchen ceiling.
Reface cabinet doors
Re-facing cabinet doors can be a very nice cost-saving alternative to full replacements. Please note: if you have an older kitchen, you may have to replace the hinges as well. This will help to prevent the sagging associated with old – and therefore weakened – cabinet doors.
Install energy-efficient lighting
Ceiling lighting can have a strong effect on the look and feel of any kitchen. We recommend that you avoid the halogen lighting that has become so popular in kitchen renovations. This is because it was never meant as ambient lighting. In fact, it has been suggested that halogen bulbs can even cause fatigue and glare.
Instead, we suggest that you use LED bulbs. While this will cost more initially, LED lighting is very energy-efficient, will last for many years and is cool to the touch. If your kitchen uses old-fashioned can-lighting, you can retrofit modern energy efficient examples with little or no need for repairs afterwards.
Let there be light!
On the subject of lighting, a lot of older kitchens don’t have enough. If you want to avoid hiring an electrician to save money, there are lower cost options out there. Add ‘rope’ lighting to overhead cabinets, or put in some plug-in strip lighting yourself.
