This is an example of something that my brother did in my mothers kitchen, they are some simple changes that make a big difference in the room. He sanded off the paint only from the raised part of the doors and put some clear varnish on the area that he sanded of. He also changed the hardware on the cabinets. The room was painted in a butter colored yellow. Look at how much brighter that it look by just a few changes.
If you are needing a change in your kitchen and you have a small budget to work with. Sometimes the simplest things that you can change are the best things to start with. It can bring a new look into the room. Start with the simple things first.
2. Changing the paint color in the room. This you can get from any paint department. It gives you ideas on how colors will look together. Look at the choices in this complementary colors with the walls and the furnishings. ( Look to the left bellow)
3. If your cabinets are in good shape and the counter tops look like the have seen better days. These are some things that you can do to make them look better without breaking the bank. If like in the image to the right, you have an island put the high end product like granite on the island. When you go to buy the piece of granite ask about remnant's, they might have just the piece for you with less of a cost. On the rest of the counter tops use something less expensive. Choose colors that are close to what is in the granite for the rest of the counter tops. Your eye will go to that island, you will think high end and the rest of the kitchen will look high end without all of the cost of granite on all of the counter tops. Something that is fun is you have small children is paint the lower cabinets with chalkboard paint. You can have new decorations every day. Or paint just one end of the cabinet with the chalkboard paint for a message center for the family to use. Maybe somewhere close to the phone. (above on the right.)
4. Change what is on the floors if they are in need of being changed. Hardwood floor are something that a lot of people are looking for now.
5. The ceiling is the fifth wall, do not overlook it. There are so many things that can help you draw the eye up. Decorative medallions enhances a plain ceiling (above.) Ceiling tins also add interest to the ceiling. (The can also be placed on the wall, they make a nice back splash. ) ( To the right.) Crown molding is a beautiful way to add elegance to any room. (Bellow and to the left.)
If you are needing a change in your kitchen and you have a small budget to work with. Sometimes the simplest things that you can change are the best things to start with. It can bring a new look into the room. Start with the simple things first.
These are a few more simple things that you can do to stay in a small budget:
1. Change the hardware on the cabinets. These are some choices that you could use. ( This is copied from the book Van Dyke's Restorers, it can also be found at http://www.vandykes.com/ .)(Look to the right)
2. Changing the paint color in the room. This you can get from any paint department. It gives you ideas on how colors will look together. Look at the choices in this complementary colors with the walls and the furnishings. ( Look to the left bellow)
3. If your cabinets are in good shape and the counter tops look like the have seen better days. These are some things that you can do to make them look better without breaking the bank. If like in the image to the right, you have an island put the high end product like granite on the island. When you go to buy the piece of granite ask about remnant's, they might have just the piece for you with less of a cost. On the rest of the counter tops use something less expensive. Choose colors that are close to what is in the granite for the rest of the counter tops. Your eye will go to that island, you will think high end and the rest of the kitchen will look high end without all of the cost of granite on all of the counter tops. Something that is fun is you have small children is paint the lower cabinets with chalkboard paint. You can have new decorations every day. Or paint just one end of the cabinet with the chalkboard paint for a message center for the family to use. Maybe somewhere close to the phone. (above on the right.)
4. Change what is on the floors if they are in need of being changed. Hardwood floor are something that a lot of people are looking for now.
5. The ceiling is the fifth wall, do not overlook it. There are so many things that can help you draw the eye up. Decorative medallions enhances a plain ceiling (above.) Ceiling tins also add interest to the ceiling. (The can also be placed on the wall, they make a nice back splash. ) ( To the right.) Crown molding is a beautiful way to add elegance to any room. (Bellow and to the left.)
6. Lighting and electrical wiring are things that need to be planned in the beginning of your project. Because 
the walls or ceiling will need to be
damaged a little when adding new wiring and lighting. Above is task lighting for under the cabinets. To the right is a wall sconce. There are many styles and kinds of lighting. The kitchen is a place that the wiring really needs to be update. That is so that you do not trip the breakers all the time when you are trying to do what you need to do in the kitchen. You often have more than one thing on at one time. The kitchen is a place with a lot of power usage with big appliances. It is best to get an electrician to do this work. They know the building codes and the best place to put the lights, outlets and other electrical needs.
the walls or ceiling will need to bedamaged a little when adding new wiring and lighting. Above is task lighting for under the cabinets. To the right is a wall sconce. There are many styles and kinds of lighting. The kitchen is a place that the wiring really needs to be update. That is so that you do not trip the breakers all the time when you are trying to do what you need to do in the kitchen. You often have more than one thing on at one time. The kitchen is a place with a lot of power usage with big appliances. It is best to get an electrician to do this work. They know the building codes and the best place to put the lights, outlets and other electrical needs.
7. If your appliances are in good condition keep them until they need to be replaced. There are thing that you can do to make them look better in the room. There is paint that is made just for the painting of appliances. There is a material that looks like stainless steal. It has glue on one side of it, it sticks to the appliance and it looks like stainless steal without the cost of it.
8. Window treatment is another way to up date the look of the room. Other things that might have fabric on them are easy to change like the seat of the chairs and it instantly changes the look of the chair.
9. Stripping the paint or stain of the table and chair and changing the color of the stain or paint. They look just like new, with little cost.
10. Changing out the faucet or changing out the sink and the faucet. (If the sink is in good condition do not change it and just do the faucet.)
We would like to hear from you if you have used some of these things to make changes in your kitchen. Like in my mother's kitchen only a few things were done and what a difference it made to the kitchen. Not all of these things need to be done at one time. Start with electrical so that things can be patched and painted. Then go on to other things that you may choose to change. Have a plan of what the finished product will look like. That way it can be done in stages as you have the money to do it. That way you also stay out of debt. Have a great time redoing the kitchen. Most of the time the money that is spent in a kitchen or a bathroom you get most if not all of it back, if it is done right. The kitchen and the bathroom can make or break the sale of a home.
copyright 2009 Dan and Deanna Finlinson
"Marketing Unscrambled"
"Marketing Unscrambled"
