Kitchen Design on a Budget

5-15 hours • Beginner • 100-500 What You’ll Need 1-4 gallons of paint/stain 1-2 paint roller(s) 1 paintbrush Cleaning cloths Bucket Cardboard boxes Cabinet hardware Screwdriver (optional) 2-4 yards fabric Staple gun Level Hammer Drywall nails What You’ll Need 1-4 gallons of paint/stain 1-2 paint roller(s) 1 paintbrush Cleaning cloths Bucket Cardboard boxes Cabinet hardware Screwdriver (optional) 2-4 yards fabric Staple gun Level Hammer Drywall nails

Putting together a new kitchen design can be a lot of fun. If you want to freshen up your kitchen and complete your room redecoration and renovation on a budget, try getting creative with a little DIY. With some simple projects, you can create an entirely new kitchen space.

Clean and De-Clutter

That’s right—it’s time to get out the elbow grease and the empty cardboard boxes. Go through your kitchen, methodically working top to bottom, then left to right. With a rag and a bucket full of warm, soapy water, clean the inside and outside of all your cabinets, drawers, light fixtures, appliances, windows, walls, fixtures, and furniture. Clean the floors and countertops. Go through each item from your cabinets and drawers and throw out any broken items or stuff you are no longer using. Set aside another pile of items, electronics, or kitchen knickknacks that you can sell at a garage sale. Organize the things you plan to keep.

Refresh the Cabinets

Cabinets are one of the easier elements to change in your kitchen. Cabinets that are painted can be stripped and stained. A power sander can make pretty short work of removing paint and old stain from kitchen cabinets. From this point, cabinets can be stained or painted. You can even get super creative and do a two-tone stain or paint design. The hardware on cabinets can all be changed, too. Get rid of the old pulls or handles and replace them with something brand-new. Cabinet hardware is very affordable, and there is a wide variety of options available at any hardware store.

Another approach gaining increasing popularity is open-faced cabinet storage. You might want to consider skipping the doors entirely and showcasing your favorite kitchen wares in appealing, easy-to-access shelves.

Paint the Room

Paint is one of the most affordable upgrades you can buy. It’s also a pretty straightforward DIY that anyone can do. Pick a color you like, and you can typically complete the project in a single day. If you’re feeling extra creative, you can always make a pattern with two paint colors, like stripes.

Add More Lighting

Lighting goes a long way in making a kitchen design fresh, fun, and new. However, it can be pretty tricky to turn off breakers, run new wires, attach new fixtures, and so on. Purchase under-counter lighting that’s easy to install from any home improvement store and brighten up your kitchen in a few simple steps.

Replace Window Treatments

Add new blinds and/or curtains to your windows to very quickly give your kitchen a makeover. A new set of blinds can make a huge difference in how your kitchen looks. You may need a small screwdriver to remove curtain rods that are already in the room.

Reupholster

It seems daunting to reupholster chairs until you actually do it. This is really a simple DIY that you can complete in a few hours. Take the seat out of the chair (you may need a screwdriver) and rip off the old fabric and padding. Place new padding on the chair and then cover the top of the chair with the new fabric. Pull it tight and use a staple gun on the underside of the seat. Just like that, you’ve reupholstered your chair!

Install Shelves

If your kitchen is short on kitchen space, you can always add shelving. Hang two or three shelves together to create an open cabinet look. With a level, a hammer, and some nails, anyone can install new shelves.

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