Cheap Easy Home Improvements (Kitchen Part 1)

It won't be any good to spruce up your kitchen if the problem is that the cupboards are packed with stale food, plastic containers that you never use and paperwork that belongs somewhere else. 

There are countless television shows and magazine articles written about how just a good cleaning and re-organizing can change a look of a room. (Have you ever seen a magazine spread where the room has not been spotless?) So grab a bucket and start cleaning.

If you find this overwhelming because you kitchen really is out of control then just tackle one cupboard or drawer a day and depending on the size of your kitchen you will be done within two weeks. You might think that your biggest problem is that you don't have enough cupboard space but be very critical about what you keep in your cupboards. 

If you are storing seasonal items like bake ware that you only use at Christmas then put it in a plastic bin and store it somewhere else. Make  3 lists of what is in the bin and tape one to the outside of the bin, place one on the inside of the bin and tape one list to the inside cupboard door of where you use to keep the bake ware with a note of where you are storing the bin now.

Do you just have too much stuff? Do you need 14 mixing bowls? You might have thought that you need so many because when you bake you seem to need them all. 

The secret that most experienced  bakers know is try to have the minimum amount of bowl possible and wash them as you bake. That would mean that you would use them to make one set of cookies and then instead of pulling out another bowl to make cupcakes you would wash your bowls and then start on the next recipe. 

The best part of this other than cleaning up your cupboards? At the end of a marathon day of baking you will only have the one or two mixing bowls to clean that you have been using all day and washing instead of counters full of dirty bowls.

After you have re-organized your kitchen scrub it from ceiling to floor. This is when you will really start noticing minor fix ups that should be done. Make notes of what items need repairs or need to be replaced. 

If you have a stove tops that has drip pans under the burners you can buy new inexpensive drip pans at dollars stores or buy better quality ones at appliance serves stores. The same with the rings around the burners. Use the correct cleaners on stoves and other appliance in you kitchen, you don't want to scratch or damage them by using the wrong stuff. If you have chips or deep scratches on the body of your stove or anywhere on your refrigerator you can fix them with black , white or bisque appliance touch up paint.

This is also a great time to start your wish list of things you would like to replace in your kitchen,  cutting boards, serving dish, kitchen towels, toaster oven, coffee maker, what ever your heart desires but don't start buying them yet.


If one of your hearts desires is to replace your appliances when money is available then measure out the openings that your appliances are in right now to make sure that they are the standard sizes. 

You can go on line quickly to check the dimensions of new stoves, refrigerators and dishwashers. It's better to know now if you will have a problem fitting new appliances into an old space so you can start figuring things out. You'll also know when you spot an amazing deal that the appliance will actually fit in your space.

Nail down any baseboard that has come loose from the walls and fill in the nail holes. Patch any holes or dents in walls so you will have smooth surfaces. Remove any old and dirty caulking around the sink or back splash and replace.
 
If you are keeping your tile back splash then brighten up the white grout with Tile Grout Whitener. Wash your windows inside and out so all the natural light possible will come flooding into your kitchen.

If you have old style switches and outlets replace them with something modern. This is an easy fix that will instantly make the space look more up to date and a favourite trick of home stagers.

By the end of all this effort you will have a sparkling clean well organized kitchen to work with. Now you can decide on what type of look you would like for your kitchen and start working towards that. 

The options are endless, French Country, Casual, Modern, Eclectic, Traditional etc. or any variations on these themes. The easiest and least expensive styles would the Country, Casual and Traditional styles as they are built around painted furniture and rooms that have a warm, well loved, look to them. 

Since you probably be keeping your cabinets, counter top and flooring, keeps these in mind when choosing how you will decorate. No matter how hard you try you won't be able to make Melamine slab cabinet doors look good in a Traditional style kitchen.

The fastest way to change the look of any room is with paint. The easiest way to make a drab kitchen sparkle is not only to paint the walls to freshen them up but also paint the kitchen cabinets. For under $150 the ceiling, walls and cabinets were painted in this kitchen.

Look up at your ceiling. Has it yellowed from years of cooking? 

Kitchen ceiling use to be painted the same color as the walls as they were both painted with scrub-able glossy paint but there is no reason to do that anymore. You can paint it a traditional white, or a lighter shade than what you paint the walls with or a contrasting light color. 

Generally the ceilings are painted in a light color to reflect light and to make the ceiling seem higher.

While white or cream is a very traditional clean color for a kitchen cabinets don't feel like that is the only option. At the other end of the spectrum black would look stunning and any cheerful colors like yellow, red or blue would give a country feel and would be eye popping and memorable. Your upper and lower cabinets don't have to be the same color. You could paint the lower ones a darker shade than the upper ones to give a look of furniture.

The nice thing about painting your cabinets is that you can also paint any other furniture in your kitchen, like a chest of drawers or a book shelf, the same color to make it look like custom pieces. 

Make sure that you get the proper advise about the type of paint you need for your project and do all the prep work,  cleaning and sanding the surface before painting with a primer. It might save you a bit of time to skip some steps but in the long run you will have a less than professional looking paint job if you do.

Take a good look at the hardware on your cabinets and see if they need to be replaced. Home stagers will often update the look of a kitchen just by replacing cabinet handles. Not all cabinet and drawer pulls are the same size so measure yours before you merrily go out and buy 30 new ones. 

It is surprising how a handle can change the style of a kitchen so dramatically. The mood would be quite different on a white cabinet door if the handle has heavy wrought iron compared to a handle that was sleek aluminum. Handles can get very pricey. You might want to consider one type of handle on the upper cabinets and another type on the lower. You could also add a bit of whimsy with your handles by putting a special handle or knob on one or two cupboards or drawers. 

If you absolutely hate your kitchen ceramic tile back-splash you can remove it but be prepared that the wall board behind it might also have to be removed and new wall board will have to be put on and plastered. 

This can be a very dusty task and should be done by someone who has knowledge of plastering otherwise you might end up with a lumpy mess instead of a smooth clean back-splash.

There is no law that says you have to have a ceramic back-splash in a kitchen. Country style kitchens often have painted bead board. 

Stainless steel type sheeting is also popular for more modern kitchens or you could just leave your back-splash plain and paint it.  Black Chalkboard Paint would make your back-splash eye catching and you would be able to make list and drawings with chalk. Chalk board paint now comes in several colors other than black, you could go bold with red !  With a painted back splash you have the option to change it very easily.

If you just want to hide or decorate your back splash then consider hanging pictures on it. Any series of pictures or photos in identical frames would look great. Here there are framed antique postcards that get changed with each season and holiday.

It is possible to change your counter tops but it could be expensive. If you have a long straight section you could measure it out and find out if there are any pre-made counters at building supply centers that would fit and can be bought at a reasonable cost. There are paint products that will cover Formica counter tops but realistically they are not meant to be a long term solution and the counter top would eventually have to be replaced.

If there is only one section of the counter top that is in very bad shape consider buying an oversized Cutting Board that you would keep on that section to hide it. Not all the counters in your kitchen have to be made of the same material.

 If you have a small section of counter on a opposite wall you could try to find a marble remnant or a butcher block remnant that would fit it. While not exactly cheap it would be a statement and much less costly than having all the counters done in marble or butcher block. (If you have decided to remove both your ceramic back splash and your counter tops get professional advice on how to proceed and if you need any building permits in your area). 

If your floor is teeth gnashingly ugly for a quick fix you could top it with a throw rug but make sure that you have the proper Non Slip Rug Pad under the rug so it will not slide on the floor and be prepared to wash it constantly. 

While everyone dreams of pricey marble or hardwood floors in their kitchen vinyl on the roll is still a very practical and good looking choice. If your kitchen is small you might even be able to buy a vinyl remnant for a fraction of the cost. Check out Habitat for Humanity Re-Sale Stores, builders often donate the left over flooring from large jobs and there might be enough for you to do your kitchen at a fraction of the cost of full retail.

And how do those designers make even the simplest kitchens look magazine fabulous? It's all in the colors they use and accessories, in Kitchen Part 2.