Update kitchen on a tight budget

9 years ago

Hello!
My kitchen is in need of a serious overhaul however we don't have the $$ to do anything major right now. I am certain we could make our kitchen look much better on a budget. Where I am stuck, is the cabinets. The cabinets are melamine (they used to be white, but are now yellowing). What are cost-effective ways of updating these cabinets? Can we paint over the melamine? If so with what kind of product?
As for the flooring it is a linoleum, a horrible, dirty gray color, that doesnt look clean no matter how hard you scrub. For the flooring I thought maybe a peel and stick tile could do the trick for the time being. I have even heard of the possibility of painting the flooring. Have any of you had any luck with either of these two options?
Thanks for your help and any other tips are welcome!

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Comments (19)

geoffrey_b
9 years ago
The good is that the cabinet doors are 'slabs'. You could remove them, wash with TSP, and sand lightly - then paint with a good semi-gloss acrylic enamel and a foam brush / roller.

New handles may make them look much better also.

If the floor is in good shape, I've heard about the flexible plank type flooring that clicks together.
Olychick
9 years ago
I haven't painted one, but have noticed quite a few painted vinyl floors on blogs. Here's a great collection with links to instructions. I think your kitchen will look great with the updates you have planned!

Here is a link that might be useful: Painted vinyl floors on Pinterest
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Agree that you can live with this for now. But I understand the feeling of being in someone else's kitchen unless you can pesonalize this. Curently the countertops are so strong a visual feature that no other feature can stand up to them. They have too much power so your task is to defuse that strength. Agree that a window valence will help--this could be first thing you would see when entering the space and it would draw eye away from the squares.. Don't choose anything that reinforces the grid of the countertop (no plaids, stripes, linear stuff)--choose a vaguely floral pattern or abstract blotches or a textured solid. The black appliances lack echoing blacks elsewhere and have to fight with so many whites; overcome this by integrating black and white with a lot of other colors in the valence. Look for a print that has some gentle splashes of black but also generous amounts of wood color, small doses of white, and plenty of the colors that are accents in your kitchen area (the colors of your dishes or tablecloths or canisters or whatever). Consider fabric that also has a warmer brown but also includes the existing brown. Repeat the fabric on chair seats or napkins or something else, to integrate kitchen and eating area. You don't need to be an ace seamstress--this is not difficult sewing and your work will be good enough for now. Consider paint as an accent color--to the right of the outside of the pass-through, around window, above refrig. Imagine brick-red... or mustard yellow... or celery green...or warm gray or.... Bring in some good happy colors in small items--textiles, houseplants, rug at the sink. Be sure to keep the scale of items small. No big prints or large items. Don't use "ancient" to describe these appliances--it colors your opinion unfairly and it's inaccurate. They aren't ancient. (You want ancient? These could be much older! When we moved into our kitchen the dishwasher was one of the oldest models made for household use. We stored cat food in it until we could afford our first remodel.) A new lighting product on ceiling would be good but I understand that the existing one works and might be a bit tough to replace. If it is inside a plain ceiling niche you could replace the light with something affordable yet mod and play up the niche as a feature; but if there are ugly or difficult features in the niche that you can't remove, live with the lighting for now. Undercab light is cheap and good--get some at Ikea or Home Depot or .... ! If you like severe & mod, consider multi-color blinds--bands of 3 or 4 consecutive slats followed by the next color (black + warm brown or tan + brown of the cabs + white that matches countertop). Otherwise get wood blinds that match the cabs. In time, if you can somehow integrate the color and/or texture of the fireplace stone in the kitchen, that would add to the kitchen aesthetic because the fireplace will always be a visual feature of the kitchen. If you are determined to remove the cabs over the pass-through consider open, backless shelves that will still define the separation of kitchen and adjacent spaces and will add colors of dishware on both sides. New cab knobs are sometimes a good way to banish the old owner. I congratulate you for restraining yourself, for living with functional existing stuff, for thinking harder and better and more ecological. Have fun!
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Comments (8)
Thank you, everyone! You've all given me some ideas to think about. After reading these posts and talking with my BFF, I am going to retract my statement that countertops MUST be first and go instead with flooring first -- for several reasons: 1.) It will require the biggest outlay of money. 2.) It's the one area I feel most decisive about -- i.e., though lovely -- not wood -- nor bamboo, nor cork, nor vinyl, nor granite nor marble (though thank you for thinking about my aching joints!) 3.) Past experience has taught me in order to do such projects-- time, money, and energy all have to come together at once. Right now we have all three and my husband and son are raring to go just as soon as I make the call -- that may not be the case six months from now. (Sigh. Such is the life of a carpenter's wife.) : / 4.) I think it better to lay flooring now before the cold weather sets in -- probably not a good idea to lay slate in the middle of winter. 5.) Once I see how the slate looks, then I can make a decision on the countertops. Yes! You've all helped me realize I am about 98% certain we'll go with slate. I actually have a slate floor in my current kitchen (will post pics later when I figure out photo bucket) and after 13 years I still love it. People thought I was crazy when I chose slate and that was when all sorts of lovely tile was the rage, but my thinking then was similar as now: I want timeless, durable, non-slippery, low-maintenance, practical for our purposes and to still looks nice no matter what the men drag in on their boots. ; ) Hmmm....I never even thought about painting the cabinets -- but I do like the idea, especially milk paint! I really do like the look of milk paint! And I like the fact that the painting could be done "later" -- maybe next summer. Thank you, too, for pointing out there might be too much wood going on if I go with wood countertops. That is definitely something to consider. Have already looked at a number of custom-metal countertop sites (copper, zinc, etc.) but I just can't envision the entire countertops being all one sheet of any kind of metal. Plus while I do like the aged patina look I don't like acid spill spots and scratches and all the dings and dents that come with soft metals. Hubby has actually done some lovely copper work (lamps and planters) and I know he'd do a great job, but you see he's from the Southwest and I'm afraid he'd go a little nuts and get too south-western adobe-ish if I just let him have at it. ; ) Maybe a natural (no stain) sealed cherry countertop with stamped or hammered or beveled copper edges might be a compromise. Then, too, if I go with wood countertops we could always tile over them 10 or 15 years down the road... But enough about countertops for now. I really feel the floor throughout the entire area should be slate. I agree, in part, with the notion of living in a house awhile to see what you want to do. But I thought slate flooring when I first walked into the house and every time I've looked at it online and every time I've been there since. (God willing, the cherry flooring will come later with the living room and bedrooms.) But first things first...I still have to finish packing! :o
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Paint the toe kick the same color as base cabinets so it disappears. If you change out the hardware, choose it before you paint. You may need to fill existing fastener holes and drill new ones. Always prepare new hardware locations prior to sanding and painting. There's also a few inexpensive under cabinet lights that will improve the work area. Look for plug & play extendable lighting. Look on Amazon.
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Do take it to the home decorating forum. We can't tell much from just these photos but it does look livable except for the purple paint and wallpaper. :) Those can go, and fast. It looks like inexpensive updating will take you a long way while you plan the real remodel. The honey oak isn't bad here! If the budget is really tight, don't do anything major until it grows a bit. Small projects tend up escalate and then something unrelated like the furnace might go out. http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/decor
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toolbelt68
9 years ago
Whatever you do to the floor make sure you don't block the dishwasher. One day you may have to remove it.....oops LOL
geoffrey_b
9 years ago
From my experience painted floors are real slippery when wet.
dahoov2
9 years ago
You could laminate the outsides and change out the doors and hardware. I know that still costs, but it'll be better than painting melamine. I think that unless a professional does it, it'll scrap off etc. JMHO.

Or better yet, paint the walls a brighter color, change the handles and put some new curtains up. For about 100 bucks it'll look better without all the hassle. In the meantime, save up for a better update later!
User
9 years ago
Define ''tight budget''. Define your DIY abilities.
Des737
Original Author
9 years ago
thanks dahoov2...Yes definitely needs new paint! Any suggestions what color to paint walls? Im not sure since if we do decide to just leave cabinets as is, they are a yellowing white...what wall color would look good with that? lol
Des737
Original Author
9 years ago
hollysprings thanks for your message.tight budget, under $750 ideally. DIY skills -havent had much experience remodeling but I am pretty handy in general, also I would have my mom and dad help -they are super handy at these types of projects.
Des737
Original Author
9 years ago
dahoov2 - also the backslpash is a salmon-beige color. not sure what wall color would go with that.
sloyder
9 years ago
$750 is not going to buy much. I would change out the door handles, and repaint the kitchen. You might want to look into the Rustoleum Cabinet transformations paint for the cabinets.

Here is a link that might be useful: cabinet paint
coll_123
9 years ago
Is the backsplash painted or some other surface? I have painted an Ikea melamine chest of drawers for a client and I scuffed it with sandpaper, thoroguhly cleaned it, followed by zinsser 123 primer and it bonded very well. I don't think I'd paint the floor- its neutral. I'm sure there are products you can use, but floors take a lot abuse, and when/ if the paint you put on top of it starts to fail, it ain't pretty.
dahoov2
9 years ago
If you keep the cabinets light, then the walls should be a midtone to contrast. Just my opinion. Greyed colors are in. So if you pick a blue or green say, make sure it's got a greyer tone to it. Yellow is pretty hot right now. Imagine a yellow with flowers on the counter to contrast.... You're kitchen is small so keep it lighter but dark enough for a more dramatic contrast. Hardware makes a world of difference. Also just counter dressing or a backsplash change makes a whole lot of difference. It's the small things.
dahoov2
9 years ago
Anything in the grey or cream family. Salmon is a tough color!!! I'd change the backsplash unless you love it. you could do like tin tiles? Those are inexpensive. They even have "press on" fake glass tiles at lowes which look pretty darn convincing! They're VINYL!!! They actually look pretty nice. Change that, your knobs and paint and voila!
jaynees
9 years ago
We did peel-n-stick tiles in our kitchen to hold us over until we decided what to do on a more permanent basis. They were GREAT and held up really well. It was also a cost-effective way to make the floors looks a LOT better than the original vinyl sheet floors.
ked1985
9 years ago
You could always look into butcher block counters... they are pretty affordable (although I'm judging by what IKEA stocks and not a custom cut/size). I'd buy some paint and do the cabinets and change out the hardware. Give the wall a fresh coat of paint (a neutral gray might be nice).
dahoov2
9 years ago
that's true; butcher block is about 200 for a 12' piece. All you do is sand it, stain it a different color ir you want or you can buy cherry or walnut for like 100 more or 200 more max (it goes as high as 400 for a 12' piece). You can just get a piece and oil it up and make it looks shiny.
mag77
9 years ago
If you've only got $750, clean up the cabinets, do a little painting and wait until you can afford to remodel. Money spent now on new flooring, or new counters, or new cabinet doors, etc, would be a waste.
kats737
9 years ago
You have gotten good suggestions. On the floors,have you tried a good scrub with a bucket if water with a dash of ammonia? I am amazed at how well that cleaned my 1960's flooring.
gmp3
9 years ago
I might consider finding an old similar cabinet for free or $10 on CL to practice.

I found the following thread on updating laminate cabinet, if you scroll waaaay down there is one picture where the owner attached lattice molding on the faces and painted them white. It looks amazing.

I would consider that, new pulls, vinyl planks or squares and and laminate counters.

Here is a link that might be useful: [Thread on updates[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/80s-laminate-cabinet-kitchen-update-advice-dsvw-vd~303456)

Update kitchen on a tight budget

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