9 Budget Kitchen Refresh Ideas

New kitchens can be costly and unrealistic for many of us, they always seem to be just out of reach. However, there is a huge variety of ways to refresh your space, all while sticking to a smaller budget. We feel at our best and most house proud when the kitchen is looking good, often leading people to feel more motivated in having guests over to host! Here is our top budget kitchen refresh ideas, to motivate your inner DIYer.

1 – Install Floating Shelves

To easily create a whole new dynamic and level of storage across your kitchen, look into introducing floating shelves above worktops. These are cheap and easy to install yourself, and can be found in most DIY stores. They provide a spot for plates or cups, or act as a space for décor and accessories. We’ve introduced this smaller wooden floating shelf to our kitchen space, and used it to store recipe books, how clever! They’re within easy reach and act as their own piece of décor.

2 – Paint Your Cabinets

This is a fool proof way of ensuring a whole new look as it refreshes a large surface area. Your cabinets should do most of the talking in the kitchen, so if you’re looking for a loud and characterful space, bold colours with vibrant undertones are great, but if its something more subtle and paired back you want, consider beiges and more muted tones. We stock a selection of high-quality paints here on our website, so be sure to check them out to find your perfect shade. We’ve used our Rhythmic Red Woodwork and Metal paint to revitalise these cabinets, colour matching them to the grout to create this really textured and unique space.

3 – Replace the Cupboard Handles

To up the look and feel of your freshly painted cabinets, introduce new handles! This will bring the whole look together nicely. If you’re looking for a modern and contemporary feel, introduce metal hardware with a gold or chrome finish, with straight edges and harsh angles. If you’d like something more traditional and feminine, try looking at older, more vintage pieces with delicate designs and rounded edges. Try places like charity shops for a great bargain! We’ve changed the handles on these cabinets to compliment the tap seamlessly, resulting in a truly luxurious space.

4 – Hang Objects From the Wall

If you’re low on storage and looking for ways to resolve this that are cost effective and don’t require a whole new kitchen, wall racks and hangings can be the perfect solution. You can hang things on the wall in a variety of ways to make the most of your wall space. Hammer a few nails in the wall to hang utensils that feature a handy hanging hole, or look into rails to fit to the wall to add a level of sophistication. There are also pieces that allow you to mount the kitchen roll to the wall, so that’s one less thing to take up your counter space! We’ve introduced a wall-mounted rail here and hung it just above the splashback tiling, to continue the flow in this area and not take too much away from it.

5 – Introduce Foliage!

A sure fire way to liven your kitchen up is by adding plants and foliage to the area. It adds greenery and accessories to the area subtly and beautifully. Dependent on how much detail you’d like for plants to add, you can add as little or as many as you like, big or small! They add a sense of uniqueness to any room in the house, and are not just limited to the kitchen. We’ve gone subtle with the use of a plant on the worksurface and on the floating shelf above. This is just enough to add character without taking away from the rest of the space.

6 – Welcome Patterns and Textures

Patterns and textures are the fastest way to refresh a kitchen that lets your personality shine through. Adding your favourite pattern in your favourite colour scheme shows off a bit of you and your character, and is sure to look great in a kitchen you’ve designed! Textures can be introduced through things like tea towels and hardware, or the knick-knacks we collect over time. Our example shows off a variety of different patterns and textures, varying from the painted wall design, to the tiles on the floor, and the textures in between, being the tea towel, tap, plants etc. This creates quite a modern overall scheme, packed with charisma and style.

7 – Switch Up the Colour Scheme

Depending on how stark of a difference in colour scheme you’d like to introduce, this can be quite a quick and affordable way to completely transform the space. There are various ways of changing up the colour scheme, through painting the cabinets, changing all your tea towels, changing certain pieces of furniture, your plates etc. The more you decide to change the more you will be spending on the space. We’ve transformed this kitchen into a monochrome space while still making use of the original blue tiles, as these complement the black and white scheme beautifully.

8 – Give your Kitchen a Good Clean

This option may be the cheapest, as all it requires is soap and the motivation to scrub down. Kitchens get dirty over time, fact, and we tend to keep them clean enough for day to day jobs like making dinner and a cup of tea, but deep cleans often get pushed to the bottom of the to do list. Start with cupboards, declutter them and get rid of anything you don’t use or need. This will feel like a big accomplishment and get you motivated to finish cleaning the rest of the space. Wipe down the inside and outside surfaces of your cupboards. Now, wipe down your tiles, your work tops (making sure you get under the toaster and kettle!) and the sink, giving them a good scrub and getting in the nooks and crannies. Finish by mopping your floor and spraying a bit of air freshener!

9 – Introduce New Lighting

A simple switch up of your lighting can make a world of difference. Look into new lamp shades for your ceiling lights. Going a bit more quirky and modern can help to truly refresh a lifeless space. You can compliment the design, colour and texture of the shade to the rest of your design to create a cohesive space, while injecting a sense of character and originality. We’ve matched the metal of our chosen lamp shade to the gold tap, to tie the space together seamlessly, resulting in a sophisticated kitchen. If you’re feeling adventurous, try introducing lighting to go under your shelf that sits above the work top. This can be simple sticky spotlights, or strip LED’s for an ultra modern atmosphere. These act as task lighting, and give you a better idea of what you’re doing on your work top.

There you have our top 9 budget kitchen refresh ideas, to get you motivated to transform your very own kitchen! Be sure to tag us in any pictures of your refresh over on Instagram, @Wallsandfloors, we love seeing your designs!