Tuesday 4 June 2019

Kitchen updates for every budget (from just £50)

How to update and renovate your kitchen according to every budget - from £50 to £1000. You can change your tiles and backsplash, worktops, sink, taps, shelving, flooring, bar stools and lighting for a small budget. Kitchen updates for small budgets.

It seems most people either absolutely love their kitchen, or completely HATE it. Unfortunately I fall into the latter camp. Mine is outdated, too small, not to my taste, and in dire need of a revamp. But if you don't have a pot of money to invest, it can feel like you're stuck with somewhere that's the bane of your home rather than the heart of it. Well I'm here to tell you that as always there's improvements that can be made, even if you've only got a few pound to spare. So here's my first post in a new series called '£50 room revamps', with some ideas of how you can update your kitchen space, whatever your budget.

Please note: I have priced up these items according to my rather modest-sized 5m x 2.5m galley kitchen, so bear that in mind if you're blessed with a bigger one! I've also not included labour costs in any of these items, as they can vary greatly according to where you are in the country.

Kitchen budget: £50
How to update and renovate your kitchen according to every budget - from £50 to £1000. You can change your tiles and backsplash, worktops, sink, taps, shelving, flooring, bar stools and lighting for a small budget. Kitchen updates for small budgets.

A budget of just £50 might not seem a lot, but there's still loads you can do to get your kitchen looking a bit better - this is basically the exact mini-makeover I've recently completed in mine.

Start with scrubbing everywhere - I know this might sound a bit patronising, or really obvious, but it always surprises me how much better everything looks after a deep clean. Whilst you're there organise the inside of your cupboards and chuck out anything you don't need. If you follow me on Instagram you'll know I've been tackling one kitchen cupboard every week (I'll write an in-depth blog post when I'm all done), but having everything looking nice (on the inside of the cupboards at least) has worked wonders for how I feel about this room.

If you've got a blank wall, or something you want to hide like an ugly boiler, why not pop up some pretty open shelves? A lot of timber yards will have old scaffold boards you can buy for very little and look great on the walls, however if you want to DIY your own I stained some pine to create some rustic looking shelves, which all in with brackets cost me £25. Shop your own home to find some nice accessories to style on them without shelling out.

This one will make a world of difference I promise - paint your kitchen tiles. I lived with the most hideous peach 1990's monstrosities for five years before I finally plucked up the courage to slap some paint over them earlier this year, worrying about 'ruining them', but its transformed the room. I used £7.99 paint from Aldi, and got two coats out of the one tin. I'd recommend using a mini roller to apply though, as its very thick and a paintbrush would likely leave visible brush strokes.

Finally add some greenery with some plants from a local garden centre. Homebase are currently running a four for the price of three offer, so you'd be able to pick yourself up some pretty new green friends for the remaining £13.

Kitchen budget: £250
How to update and renovate your kitchen according to every budget - from £50 to £1000. You can change your tiles and backsplash, worktops, sink, taps, shelving, flooring, bar stools and lighting for a small budget. Kitchen updates for small budgets.
Image details: Paint (Farrow & Ball) / Handles (Dowsing & Reynolds) / Pendant lights (Garden Trading) / Tiles (Walls & Floors Ltd) 

If you've got a little more money to play with why not replace your cupboard handles to something a bit more to your taste? This is next on my list, as I'm hoping switching our worn chrome uglies to some pretty brass pulls will work to improve the cupboards ever so slightly. The cost of this will obviously totally depend on the number of cupboards you have, and the handles you go for, however I've costed this with some brushed brass handles I found on eBay, and my own kitchen, which has 12 cupboards and 4 drawers.

If you're going to make an improvement to your cupboards why not go the whole hog and paint them too? This is something I'd love to do, however more research is needed as our cupboards are covered with a rather attractive plastic wrap. However, if you've got lovely wooden doors, or even laminate ones, painting them will be a doddle. The cheapest way to do it is with a 'one coat' cupboard paint, from a brand such as Ronseal, however if you want to have more control over the colour I would recommend priming with a 'difficult surfaces' primer, and then painting with an interior eggshell (I've priced this using my favourites Decorating Centre Online who colour match to all big brands and will save you a small fortune). Again use a mini-roller for a better finish.

If you're quite handy (or know someone who is!) why not have a go at tiling? You can pick up some tiles quite cheaply online - depending on the style you're looking for, and the space you've got obviously. I've priced this up using ever-popular Metro tiles from Walls & Floors Ltd, and my own kitchen, for which I'd need 7 metres square of tiles.

With the rest of the money you could add some beautiful glass pendant lights to hang over a breakfast bar or table, if you've got the space.


Kitchen budget: £500 


How to update and renovate your kitchen according to every budget - from £50 to £1000. You can change your tiles and backsplash, worktops, sink, taps, shelving, flooring, bar stools and lighting for a small budget. Kitchen updates for small budgets.
Image credits: Worktop (IKEA) / Bar stools (Cult Furniture) / Flooring (Carpet Right)

If you can spare £500, why not replace your flooring with some tile-effect vinyl? I've got some in my downstairs loo and absolutely love it. If tiles aren't your thing, why not try some wooden parquet-effect vinyl instead? I've priced this using vinyl from Carpet Right, and with fitting ourselves.

With the rest of the money some bar stools will create a more social feel to your kitchen, and you could even look into replacing your worktop - if fitting yourself is something you'd be happy to have a go at! This is measured up using a laminate worktop from IKEA, and my 5m x 2.5m kitchen with breakfast bar at end.



Kitchen budget: £1,000 
How to update and renovate your kitchen according to every budget - from £50 to £1000. You can change your tiles and backsplash, worktops, sink, taps, shelving, flooring, bar stools and lighting for a small budget. Kitchen updates for small budgets.
Image credits: Sink (IKEA) / Taps (IKEA) / Cupboard doors (IKEA) / Rug (Homesense) / Shelf & brackets (Garden trading) / Kettle (Garden trading) / Trailing fern (Audenza) / Basket (IKEA) / Cake stand (Homesense) / Chopping board (Sainsbury's)

And finally, if you've got a grand to play with, there's so many things you'll be able to change. Swapping your cupboard doors for some new ones will completely transform the overall look - somewhere like IKEA is a great place to start as they have lots of different styles at great budget prices. I've priced these shaker-style doors up for my kitchen, so bear in mind that the price will vary depending on how many units you've got, and what size they are.

If you're short on space why not remove one or more of your upper wall cupboards to replace with some beautiful open shelving? Not only will it create the illusion of space, its also somewhere to display some pretty accessories and give your kitchen a bit of character. Bear in mind though that depending on how easily your cupboards can be removed, you may need to re-plaster the wall - which will obviously add to the budget too.

Adding some beautiful plantation style shutters from somewhere like DIY Shutters will transform your window area (I've priced this according to my kitchen window which is 104cm wide x 101cm high), and a pop of colour through a rug will finish your brand new kitchen off perfectly - also a great idea if new flooring isn't in your budget.

And look at that - there's even a little left in the pot to treat yourself to a takeaway and some bubbly to celebrate all your hard work!

So there you have it: proof that you can make big changes to your kitchen, with even the smallest budget.

What would you like to do to your kitchen to make it more to your taste?

Thanks for reading,
Sam Xx
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