30 Easy and Efficient Ways to Update Your Kitchen
Because your favorite room deserves a fabulous face-lift.
If you've been with your kitchen a long time, chances are, you've been through a lot together—experimenting with meals (both masterpieces and disasters), crafting last-minute school projects, and gossiping at parties galore—and things might be feeling a bit, well, stale. While you still love your kitchen, you're not currently in love with it. If you find yourself watching more and more HGTV, googling terms like "open floorplan" and "apron-front sinks," and have nightly dreams wherein you discuss the ins and outs of kitchen renovation while jogging with Chip Gaines, it's time to face facts: Your kitchen has lost its spark. Maybe you're open to a variety of kitchen upgrade ideas. Perhaps you're thinking about going with an all-white kitchen. Or you're tempted to kick things into action by knocking down all the kitchen walls. But before you break out the sledgehammer, take a breath. You might just be able to get the romance back without a full-blown kitchen remodel. You might be surprised to find how much of a transformation you can make with simple, won't-break-the-bank kitchen solutions like new hardware, a coat or two of paint, new bar stools, or even a new way to display an old collection. When you're done, you can celebrate the return of the kitchen romance with the ultimate sign of love—baking a delicious homemade cake.
Adorn an Oven Hood with a Collectible
A plain old oven hood can become a dramatic focal point in a kitchen with a simple addition—in this case a toleware tray tranforms the space. For a lot of extra bang for your buck, you can also quickly add heaps of charm to a kitchen with the addition of buffalo-checked window treatments.
Add Unusual Hardware
What could be a simpler kitchen update than replacing cabinet hardware—especially when you already have the one-of-a-kind solution on hand! Homeowner Jeanette Fristoe decided to stop hiding pieces of her antique silverware in drawers and used them on drawers instead.
Swap Glass for Chicken Wire
Any kitchen can go from formal to farmhouse with a few key elements. Try adding chicken wire to upper cabinets for a rustic touch that also allows collections to shine. Opt for galvanized fixtures for plenty of patina, bring in a hardworking teak island, and never underestimate how much farmhouse flair a dog can bring to a space!
Load Up on Lighting
Whether you swap in a bunch of monochromatic barn lights or go with a mix of vintage (here, an old lantern) and new (like these pendant lights), changing out the fixtures will have you—and everyone else—seeing your kitchen in a new light.
Hang Artwork on Kitchen Walls
While the kitchen isn't an obvious room to display an art collection, you should definitely take advantage of all that prime wall real estate. Carve out a "view" with vintage landscapes and seascapes, make a more-the-merrier atmosphere with antique portraits, or create the ultimate homage to the little ones for whom all chicken fingers are made with silhouettes.
Swap In a Furniture-Like Island
While no one can deny that kitchen islands are incredibly practical—it's a workspace, a storage area, a place to enjoy meals, and often the most popular place to stand around during a party—it doesn't have to look so practical. Swap in an antique piece for a super fast, super dramatic room transformation.
Paint the Cabinets
New cabinets are expensive—way more than a few gallons of paint. Green is really having a moment, and what better way to freshen up sad old cabinets than with an outdoorsy hue like Jasper by Sherwin-Williams.
Layer in Texture
Sure, you can warm up a white kitchen with butcher block countertops and poplar floors. But for a much less expensive solution, layer in baskets, hats, and market bags. Also consider hanging a piece of fabric to add softness and hide that essential-but-enormous coffee maker.
Hang a Pot Rail
There's nothing more country than having your treasured collections out on display—even the practical ones. Take a cue from homeowners Dr. Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell (cofounders of skin-and-body-care company Beekman 1802) who equipped their recently renovated farmhouse kitchen with a brass pot rack rail to keep their collection of often used copper pots within arm's reach and pretty on display.
Get the Look:
Brass Pot Rail: Brookside Rail System by Rejuvenation
RELATED: Take a full tour of Brent & Josh's renovated New York Farmhouse here.
Stick to One Splurge
To indulge the splurge on marble countertops, these homeowners saved elsewhere by keeping the original room layout and plumbing as is. Off-the-shelf cabinets and inexpensive tile also helped cut costs.
Show Off Collectibles
Free up cabinet space, and create a clever spot for collectibles, with above-window shelving. This kitchen gets additional warmth from cherry counters, an antique island, gingham-check wallpaper, and an apron sink.
Display Unexpected Items
Honed black granite countertops and black-painted oak cabinets offer a dramatic counterpoint to this kitchen's white plank walls. Plumbing-pipe fittings make for unexpected wall art.
Swap Out Hardware
Cabinets from the 1930s get an easy update with the addition of beadboard doors plus new, strap-style hinges and jadite knobs.
Replace Cabinet Doors With Glass-Paned Fronts
Upper cabinets can make a room feel a little claustrophobic, but the extra storage space is great—especially for collectors. To freshen up a kitchen, replace solid cabinet doors with glass-paned fronts, and everyone wins. You get all the storage, and your friends get to see all the cool stuff you have.
Give Dishes Room to Breathe
Instead of claustrophobia-inducing wall-to-wall cabinetry, this kitchen has two open upper storage units, including this plate rack. The lower cabinets, with solid doors, offer hidden storage.
Wallpaper a Refrigerator
While your appliance might last for years and years, tastes change. But it seems impractical to get rid of a refrigerator just because you've grown tired of its white finish. Take a note from homeowner Lauren Crouch and cover your appliance with wallpaper and seal with polyurethane for extra water resistance.
Indulge in Luxe Appliances
New appliances make a huge difference. This kitchen is home to some big splurges: a large industrial stove, and marble and steel countertops.
Experiment With Wood
A custom island, topped with sheet metal, echoes this home's barnwood beams. Why stop at the usual overheads? Additional sconces make any countertop an enlightened spot for prep work.
Add a Fresh Coat of White
Unify everything with white paint. Ditch laminate countertops for affordable oak. A silver-plated tray strikes a luxe note and serves as a spot for holding recipes: Just add magnets!
Be Creative with Lighting
Antique milk-glass pendant lamps illuminate the kitchen, which sports custom cabinetry. Give a kitchen living-room elegance with a wall of framed art.
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