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Advice needed for Kitchen makeover on a tight budget

2 months ago

I’ve grown tired of my plain kitchen. We can’t afford new countertops/cabinets/floors so we are looking at options to change the look (paint/stain cabinets, backsplash, walls, etc). What would you do? What color combinations do you see working with existing items? Side note I REALLY dislike the colors of my countertop , closeup in second picture, but again can’t afford new so here we are 🙃

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Comments (5)

herbflavor
2 months ago
last modified: 2 months ago
looks like the 4 in strip can be removed. I'd get a backsplash. maybe a very dark brown or near black ceramic tile. I'd get a good looking kitchen workcart for all that floorspace. I'd add metal rods/rings and get swooshy sheer curtains at least. I'd paint the lime green wall below the chair molding on the dinette side. fix the drawer that's missing and add black hardware to your cabs. Very sunny space / dark tile blacksplash could be a good bet . the room scene you show makes the counter look more gray/black whereas your close up has a brown appearance hard to tell which shade is really dominant in counter...... but here are some darks below......or maybe a folk pattern w simple light/dark . Older oak kitchens that are giving you storage /w lots of work counter and decent appliances for the time being can just be improved w details and keep you going for a time. Not sure of your overall plans. Could you afford a backsplash and a cart? seems that would be nice and provide detail.
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a cart that would look great once you get black hardware on cabs....not the cheapest of carts but provides some style and use.
ffpalms
2 months ago
You may want to experiment removing the doors from one of your cabinets to display some pretty dishes to break up the long expanse of wood. Think about an accent color that complements the adjoining space, and put in a rug that ties it all together. If you like the look of the open cabinet, you may want to prettty up the interior with beadboard or wallpaper.
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need light fixture ideas in my budget kitchen makeover
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We have a flushmount lamp that we fondly call it "the triangle" because of its shape. It is made by Bolivar and is available at several websites and your local lamp store can order it for you too. It's in our prep area and it is Title 24 compatible and gives lots of light to work by. There are lots of lights similar to to this style and near flush mount that might work for you. I looked at lots of different lighting sites... croft and little, ylighting, brodwax all have lights at reasonable (and more!) prices that might work for you. Have you also thought about doing a custom lampshade? Could be diy or artisan? Your kitchen has lots of great colors and shapes and a spot of color of up there would be neat, imo. Have fun!
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Help! Old tiny kitchen, what to change with tight budget
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Comments (23)
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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Update kitchen on a tight budget
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Comments (19)
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)
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Need advice on kitchen remodeling on a budget!
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Comments (35)
I just did a complete DIY kitchen reno in a rental home using Diamond cabs from Lowes. My first choice was Ikea, but timing demanded we look elsewhere. I've posted lots of photos on my reveal (linked). We chose maple slab doors in Storm, a dark gray. I'd have preferred cherry for the grain, but opted for maple for budget reasons. You might want to consider that, I think the maple is fine, but might look a bit too uniform in a more transitional kitchen. I was happy with the cabinets, given the price. The finish was well done, the hardware seemed to be of good quality, and the doors were all adjusted nearly perfectly. I hacked a broom closet using Ikea components, which my new tenants have been oooing and ahhing over. I wanted a symmetrical look, so opted for drawers on the island, and added aftermarket pullouts in the cabs to reduce costs, which installed readily. My chief complaint was the shelves. If I were to use these for my own home, and I might, I would select plywood shelves. The shelves would be lighter weight, and I did not like the unfinished sides of the shelves. Good luck! Diamond cabinet kitchen
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happyleg
2 months ago
There is a paint called Beyond for cabinets but there's prep work to be done it's on YouTube one other channels and you don't have to sand but there's like I said prep work and you can't skip that I painted cabinets once let me tell you it's no easy job but mine did look fantastic when I got done but that was the other house and some rug that has black in it or or charcoal would look nice by the sink your backsplash could be charcoal or black that would be a nice update there and you could pick the paint color Al basseter for the walls it's like a light shade of beige kind of like a linen color there is a linen color paint and if you take off a door off your cabinet put it like at the dishwasher or to the right of the dishwasher somewhere don't put it by the stove where grease is going to jump into the cupboard and get everything greasy and dirty or odors there
HU-918119203
2 months ago
I probably would not spend the time and money on painting or refinishing cabinets since I don't think you can get a good result on the type of budget you're describing. Unfortunately, you need to work with existing pallette which is very warm and orange-y. I'd try to tilt that scheme to reds and creams and blacks, which won't clash with what you have but may deemphasize them a bit.
- Paint walls a warm white/cream (agree to get rid of mint green in dining room)
- Rug - maybe an antique oriental (they can be surprisingly affordable) if not too busy, or an indoor/outdoor synthetic version of a natural fiber
- Iron/metal island/cart
- Dark bronze/iron cabinet hardware
- Cream tile backsplash - maybe a zellig tile or something with dimension/sheen/variability, but solid
Are those counters laminate? I'm not an expert, but there may be coatings you can use on them that will hold up decently.
roarah
2 months ago
Start with adding a prep table, cabinet hardware, fun lighting , a fun window treatmeant and rug and she if it helps update the space enough.

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