Whether you’re trying to spruce up your kitchen for your own satisfaction, are planning on using it as a vacation rental, or some other purpose, we have you covered. There’s a common misconception that performing kitchen upgrades has to be expensive. That couldn’t be further from the truth! All you need to know is how to do them while maximizing your budget and making the most of what you have already in your space. We have the best tips on low-cost kitchen upgrades that make a big impact – let’s get started!
1. Add in a Food Dehydrator
If you’ve never used or owned a food dehydrator before, you’re in for a real treat! Dehydrating food is one of the best ways to preserve and store food, without eliminating essential nutrients our bodies need and crave! Make large batches all at once without having to worry about consuming them in time. This makes these appliances wonderful if you have a large family you cook for, or even if you are a frequent traveler. Dried meats and fruits are excellent cheap, healthy, and portable snacks. No more having to pay 10 bucks at the gas station for some dried jerky on road trips anymore!
Food dehydrators come in a wide array of different finishes, sizes, and drying space so you can pick a model that works well with your available counterspace, décor, and budget.
2. A Fresh Coat of Paint
Painting can be seen as a great stress-reliever and a wonderful way to relax your mind. However, adding a fresh splash of color to your kitchen can have even more positive benefits! If you’re still sporting the bland “white” or “beige” we highly recommend brightening things up. You don’t have to get overly complicated with it or worry about it jiving with the color of your cabinets either; right now monochrome is very “in”. You can probably get away with painting the walls and the cabinets all one color!
The great news is, is if in a few years you decide you need a change, you can simply select another shade and that’s it! There’s no need to spend a lot of money nor time on this step. If you’d like to go another route, you could even buy wall paneling and use that to not only change up the color but add texture and dimension to your walls!
Tip: If you feel your appliances could use a new shade too, or that they look outdated, you don’t have to go out and get a new one. You can actually recolor your appliances with vinyl now!
3. Change Hardware
This is a small idea in theory, but something that can have a big impact on how your kitchen looks at first glance! It’s been said that the average kitchen features something like 40 drawer pulls and knobs so if you can, try and score an inexpensive set of hardware. Many times, you’ll actually find that it’s more cost-effective to purchase more at one time.
4. Add in Storage
Extra storage can have a huge impact – not only in how uncluttered your kitchen looks, but how easy it is for you to navigate. No one wants to have to deal with shuttling around noisy pots and pans or a billion different coffee mugs to get what they need.
Storage doesn’t have to look generic or boring, either. You can add a bit of custom flair to your space by taking an empty wall and hanging new shelves, or adding hooks underneath your cabinet for said mugs to be displayed with pride. Your options really are endless here, so the budget will also vary depending on the size, type, and material you opt for.
Tip: To also aid in decluttering your kitchen, go through and do an inventory check. Be realistic about what you actually use and what you no longer need or want. Just about everyone has a drawer full of outdated or unusable utensils and appliances, so get them out of there!
5. Accents & Appliances
If your accents and/or appliances are a decade old or more, consider replacing them. This includes lighting, sinks, and faucets. You can also replace appliances if you’d like, though these are generally going to cost a significant bit more. Even just taking one light fixture and replacing it can have a huge affect on how modern your kitchen space looks.
Summary
Now that you’ve been able to read through the best budget friendly tips for upgrading your kitchen, which tip are you going to start with first? The great thing about these is that they’re all easy on the wallet and time, so you can easily pull all of them off if you wanted to! We hope that our guide has given you some inspiration for your space. Thanks for tuning in and happy upgrading!
