5 Budget-Friendly Ways to Totally Transform a Kitchen

Happy New Year! I’m Rita Joy from Harbour Breeze Home, and I’m starting off a fresh new year by talking kitchens. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have visions of my dream kitchen ~ the layout, white marbly countertops, and laughter around a giant island.

It’s delightful that dreaming doesn’t cost a cent. ‘Cause in my real world, my tiny townhouse kitchen is a fair bit different than my “dream kitchen”. Can you identify?

Rather than grumble and complain about the features that weren’t so appealing, a few weeks ago I set out to totally transform our kitchen ~ without spending too many pennies! In the end, we have a kitchen that feels more welcoming and functions so much better. Are you interested in having a new look and feel in your kitchen, too?

Here are 5 budget- friendly ways to totally transform a kitchen:

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1. Rearrange it.

Since we moved a few months ago, the layout of our kitchen items still wasn’t working. Drawers were piled deep with utensils and strainers; cookbooks were hidden in baskets in the living room; and the art of contortionism was required to reach my favorite soup pot from the deep recesses of the corner cupboard.

Taking the time to pull things out and arrange them in areas that made sense, made the kitchen function so much better!

2. Remove upper cabinetry and add shelves

I’m a huge fan of open cupboards in the kitchen. Although we couldn’t remove too many in our current situation, just taking down one made a big difference.

After looking over the kitchen carefully, we decided to remove one upper cupboard in the corner.

^Before^

Once it was down, we patched the holes, primed, and painted.

^During^

Then, we installed two shelves we already had (from Ikea) in its place.

^After^

That one small change made such a huge difference in the feel of the space!

3. Paint it a color you love.

Our kitchen was of the builder beige variety. I didn’t realize how beige sucked the joy out of my soul until I tried to live with it. It just didn’t work with the long gray days of the Wet West Coast Winter where I live!

^Before / During^

Out came some leftover paint in a color I love (Benjamin Moore’s Gray Cashmere), and in only a few hours, it had a much brighter, cheerier look!

4. Upgrade the kitchen sink tap.

Although it’s easy to overlook, having a lovely kitchen sink tap makes a big difference in the whole appearance and function of a kitchen. We kept our eye out for sales on gooseneck taps and snatched this one up for 50% off (about a $99 investment).

5. Add a window covering and some personality.

^Before^

Placing a window covering above a window softens the space and can make it appear to be so much taller.

(You can find similar roman shade blinds at Home Depot.) Adding in decor that you love (like fake greenery, decor, mugs) gives the room your own stamp of personality.

We are still doing a little more kitchen dreaming (starting with disguising that oven vent!), but for now, these budget friendly tricks have completely transformed the space~ and made it feel more like “home”.

Budget friendly makeovers are my favorite! Below are some more ideas to get your creative juices going: (Just click on the link to see the dramatic before & after reveal posts.)

The $159 Kitchen Makeover

Basement Laundry & Craft Room 

Beach Cottage Master Bedroom Reveal

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Rita Joy is the creative behind the blog Harbour Breeze Home  ~ a faith based lifestyle blog that focuses on home decor, simple diy, fashion, & recipes. She’s enjoying settling into her family’s new townhouse, and loved the challenge of making other previous houses they’ve lived in feel like “home”. Other than rearranging furniture and painting rooms, she also loves watching HGTV, reading, and having coffee breaks at Starbucks.

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