The kitchen is one of the rooms in the house that gets the most wear-and-tear. Used multiple times a day and undergoing all the messy business that is cooking, it’s natural for it to have a shorter “shelf life” than the rest of the home. What with all the fumes from delicious meals, stains from prep, and the overall frequent usage of cabinets, shelves, and drawers, kitchens can end up looking older than they really are a bit faster.
Even if this isn’t the case and you just feel like your kitchen is a bit outdated and you’d like to introduce it to the new century, renovation is the way. There is no need for major projects, various handymen, and interior designers to spruce up a kitchen you feel might need a bit of an upgrade. You can actually renovate it on your own, without breaking the bank and without losing a ton of time!
Here are a few ideas on how you can breathe new life into your kitchen.
Replace the Cabinets
Probably the very element that makes a kitchen, installing new kitchen cabinets will immediately make this space look better. No matter if you’d like to change them because of the look they give your kitchen or because they’re old, replacing the cabinets doesn’t have to be a huge hassle. It can actually be easy as pie! The answer comes in the form of DIY kitchen cabinets! Instead of going for the traditional way and ordering custom-made, heavy cabinets that require professional installation, you can look into DIY flat pack kitchens.
The benefits of DIY flat pack kitchens are endless. For starters, they’ll save you a lot of money without compromising the look you’re going for. Usually quite simple, they can fit into any design-scheme you already have going on and can be spruced up in a number of ways.
Unlike traditional kitchen cabinets which usually take a while to be manufactured and delivered, and then an even longer while to be installed, DIY kitchens are ready for shipping the moment you order them! Kept ready-to-assemble in their boxes, they are going to arrive in your home within days of ordering and you can start installing them by yourself, no middleman required! Much like most IKEA products, DIY kitchen cupboards come with all the elements you need to assemble them on your own.
Though, there is something that’s not included. You’ll need are a drill, a hammer, and a screwdriver. Once you have these three, you just need to follow the instructions and assemble and install your new cabinets! This way, you’ll save yourself a lot of time.
Another great thing about these cabinets is that they are really diverse. From corner pieces and kickboards to specialised microwave, oven, and fridge cabinets, base pieces or ones that you install on walls, they come in every shape and size imaginable.
All of these benefits is what makes DIY kitchens on the rise, so naturally, there are a lot of retailers that stock them. Something you might want to pay attention to when choosing your cabinets is the materials used to make them. Opt for ones that are made from moisture-resistant materials or have a moisture-resistant coating. This is extremely important as the kitchen can be quite a humid space.
Also, pay attention to the hardware, like the closing system used and the type of hinges. You need something sturdy and durable that will protect your cabinets from constant use and won’t lose shape or functionality.
Repaint the Walls
As we said, the walls in the kitchen endure much more outside influence than the walls in any other room. That’s why a fresh coat of paint will do a world of difference when renovating! Easy enough for a DIY project, painting a room can be both fun and quick if you know what you’re doing! You don’t need a professional to come to your house for this task. All you really need to get started is enough paint to cover the walls you plan on painting, some tools, and proper prep.
Begin by deciding what colour paint you’d like to use. We’d recommend using something bright and fresh to enlarge the space and allow it to breathe. Keep in mind the colour of the cabinets you ordered when choosing the paint for the walls – they need to complement each other!
Next up, gather your tools. Aside from the regular paint roller, an extension for it, brushes, and a paint tray, it’s smart to get some painter’s tape as well. With its help, you’ll be able to get those crisp edges between walls and do the job like a pro.
Lastly, you’ll need to prep the room for painting. Old rags, plastic sheets, newspapers – it all works. Make sure to cover any surface that may get dripped on in the process to protect it. Cover the floor as well. When you get to painting, always wear old clothes and some old shoes as it can get messy.
Remember to ventilate the place well, especially between coats, and make sure your paint is completely dry before proceeding with the installation of any cabinets or decor pieces.
One tip we can give you about what kind of paint to use is to make sure to pick something moisture-resistant. Paints with satin or semi-gloss finishes look very nice while being moisture-resistant and easy to clean and scrub. This can prove very useful on the off chance something goes wrong in the kitchen and you get spots of sauce on the wall!
Get New Appliances and Décor
To finish up your kitchen renovation project, you’ll need to replace any outdated appliances, if your budget allows it. You might have some extra money leftover since you’ve already saved on your kitchen cabinets, so tap in that pile to fund your new appliances! Decide which large and small kitchen appliances are a priority and start from them. You’ll have plenty of time and opportunity to change the others later.
When it comes to decor, think in terms of new tablecloths, vases for flowers, any kitchen-appropriate artwork you can hang on your walls, a rug, new spices containers, and so on. Decor can also be a completely functional item in the kitchen!
We leave the decor completely to you as you know your taste best! Just make sure you get things that tie the room together and don’t stand out in a weird way. You already have your base set, so it won’t be hard to find things that will round everything up nicely.
To Sum Up
With a bit of time and a whole lot of imagination, you can easily turn your old kitchen into a completely different, refreshed space!
We hope our tips have inspired the DIY enthusiast in you to take a swing at this project! It might be a bit messy at first, but as soon as you get the hang of it, you’ll love it all the way to the very end! The finished product will definitely look sweeter when you know you’ve done it all by yourself!
Before you begin, create a general vision of what you’d like your updated kitchen to look like so you have some concrete direction to follow. Also, when everything is finally in place, make sure to take care of your new kitchen in the right way! You can find a lot of tips on keeping a spotless kitchen out there, so look around!
We hope you’ll enjoy your journey to your new kitchen and love the finished space!
