Budget Kitchen Updates That Make a Big Impact

When you are on a weight-loss journey that means spending more time in the kitchen preparing meals. As you get started with chopping, cooking, and everything else, you might find that your kitchen could use a little TLC to make the prep and cooking process more enjoyable. A full kitchen remodel can be expensive, but that doesn’t mean you have to forget about your dreams for a new kitchen. Real estate agents and interior designers talk about changes you can make with a small budget for a big impact. These are not only for the aesthetics — but to make your kitchen more functional to make storing and preparing food that you’ll love eating an easy process.

Update your cabinets

As you start cooking more, you might find that your cabinets need a serious overhaul to store everything you need. If you haven’t updated your cabinets recently, then it might be time for a refresh. Completely replacing your kitchen cabinets is a big job, but there is another solution that can give them a refresh, either repainting or refinishing the doors or by replacing the doors while leaving the rest of the cabinets intact. Other options are refacing by affixing a veneer onto the outside of cabinets. You can go for neutral or for an extra bold statement, hues in green, blue, or yellow.

Rethink your countertops

When you start preparing more food in your kitchen, your countertops are going to be in overdrive mode. Getting new countertops — similarly to refinishing, refacing, or replacing your cabinets — can transform the look of your kitchen without replacing every feature. The style you pick depends on how much durability you need, your budget, and the look you want for your space. A popular material that is durable and adds an element of design is going with natural stone like granite or marble. Another functional idea is to replace your countertops with butchers’ blocks which means that you’ll have a workspace for chopping without having to pull out the cutting board every time. New countertops can also come along with adding a new sink, like an on-trend and sleek undermount sink, or, a farmhouse-style sink which is a design element in its own right.

Opt for form and function

With any addition to your kitchen, you’ll want to think about how you can both make upgrades, and add details that are design elements. Beyond cabinets and countertops, you can even add design features like something as simple as a toaster in a bold color, playful kitchen towels, cabinet handles, knobs, or towel racks. If the functional elements of your home are also design details then you’ll be more excited about getting down to cooking. Even if you don’t want to go for big upgrades like updating countertops or cabinets, you can start small with a few changes and then go from there.

Add some color

Color can change the look and feel of a room and there are a lot of ways that you can make color work for you in the kitchen. Accent walls can be a great choice for kitchens, either with one wall or a couple of areas where you want to draw extra attention. Paint isn’t the only way to add accent walls, wallpaper can give a creative touch and can become an element that is used to tie together a kitchen with a distinctive color palette. Wallpapering a wall where you store items on a shelf, or on a hanging rack can work well to make storage areas more dynamic. Similar to an accent wall, you can add a tiled backsplash — even peel and stick styles — to add some extra appeal to your kitchen work areas.

Like any other room in your home, when you make your kitchen your own, it will be more pleasant to spend time there. You don’t necessarily need to go for a full kitchen remodel to have a kitchen that is functional and has some design appeal. If you aren’t sure where to begin, you can start with a small investment, like with an accent wall or refacing cabinets, and go from there. Small changes can lead to bigger ones in the future.