Cheap Ways To Update Kitchen Cabinets – Recently, one of my best friends from college bought her first house! She is a single teacher and is a very practical beginner. She didn’t like all the 90s oak and dated light fixtures, so I came to town to help her bring some personality to her new home. We completed a ton of affordable kitchen updates in one weekend!
As you can see, with just some paint and new fixtures, we were able to radically transform this kitchen! We used my cabinet painting tutorial to spray paint all the cabinets gray.
Cheap Ways To Update Kitchen Cabinets
We installed the faux shiplap on the peninsula and dividing wall the same way I did in this tutorial. To make the cabinets stand out, we simply painted the walls and backsplash white.
How To Paint Your Cabinets In A Weekend (without Sanding Them)
A can of spray paint was enough to transform all the hardware. Erin doesn’t use a microwave and prefers the look of a hood rather than an over-the-stove microwave. Unfortunately the exhaust fan did not arrive in time to appear in the photos. We also replaced all electrical appliances and cover plates with new and shiny ones.
We discovered that Walmart has a great selection of modern, affordable lighting fixtures and ended up installing them throughout the house! A few weeks ago I collected a bunch of chandeliers, all under $200, we ended up choosing this one, but we were afraid it would be a little too big. If she decides to replace it with something smaller, I’ll try to get an updated photo with the new chandelier!
Erin hasn’t moved into her new house yet, but she has SO many beautiful LIVE plants that we collected some from her rental to use in preparing for photos! We removed the bistro table from her patio, but she will use a larger wooden table here once she moves.
In three days, we completely transformed this kitchen, as well as the two bathrooms! If you’re not a fan of your kitchen, here’s a list of the simplest changes that will totally transform it:
How To Update A Kitchen In 15 Simple Ways (without Remodeling)
For complete transparency, I decided to share a budget breakdown! Many of these items have also been used in bathrooms, making these upgrades even more affordable!
I hope you like these affordable kitchen updates in one weekend! My friend is SO much happier with the way her house looks now and can’t wait to move into this space! We also completely transformed his bathrooms… all in three days, here is the post with these details! Needless to say, we didn’t get much sleep during those three days! Want to give your outdated or factory cabinets a designer look without the high price tag? Before you spend a fortune tearing them down and replacing them, try some of these tips to achieve a sophisticated, custom look on a DIYer’s budget. Most of them can be solved in a long weekend!
We are currently building our Hacienda Hideaway kitchen and I have spent the last year gathering all of my dream inspiration to take my design to the next level. I thought it would be fun to share with you the best ideas I’ve come across – almost all of which I’m incorporating into my future projects.
No spoilers here – a fresh coat of paint is always the best bang for your buck. Most cabinet surfaces can be repainted with a high-quality primer and specialty paint. I’ve had great results with Benjamin Moore Advance and Sherwin Williams Urethane Enamel, both designed for cabinets and highly recommended by professionals and DIYers alike.
My Diy Nyc Rental Kitchen Makeover No Paint, No Reno
If you don’t want to commit to a color makeover, try painting just the upper, lower, or island cabinets. Introducing a second color will add visual interest and help prevent the space from appearing too one-dimensional. Even going a few shades lighter or darker than your existing cabinets will give your kitchen a more personalized feel.
Check out my detailed guide to painting cabinets like a pro and paint roller test results. The power of paint cannot be emphasized enough!
A quick fix that can go a long way in updating the look of your cabinets. Hardware is the “jewel” of your kitchen, so you can add a little personality!
Today, there are endless options at every price point, suitable for every design style. This is one area where you don’t need to splurge to find something that looks sophisticated. Sites like Amazon, Lowe’s and Home Depot, and even Etsy have a wide selection of affordable cabinet hardware (these are my top budget picks).
Five Inexpensive Ways To Update Your Kitchen (ideas I’ve Used In My Kitchen Remodels/makeovers)
Options 1 and 3 are the simplest, but they limit your replacement options. Option 2 requires additional work. You can also opt for a solid bar strap style like this, which will cover the old holes.
Pro Tip: Use a cabinet jig to drill perfect holes and save time! We are using it for our next hardware installation:
This is the biggest investment (in time and money) on this list, but you may find it necessary to have the biggest impact. If you’re happy with the overall layout of your kitchen but your doors are old or damaged, it’s worth refinishing your cabinets.
There are several companies (local and online) that can create custom doors and drawer fronts to fit your existing cabinets. With a little extra modification, you can even turn your doors into drawers, which is generally a more efficient use of space.
How To Paint Laminate Cabinets
We are working with Nieu Cabinet Doors for our Hacienda kitchen remodel and so far the process has been very simple. Door installation starts this week – you can follow my Instagram stories!
If completely replacing your doors/drawer fronts isn’t an option, consider updating them with crown molding. This is one of my favorite easy DIY hacks for any size door (check out my easy DIY door upgrade tutorial).
This process is ideal for single slab or shaker style doors when you want to take them to the next level. We updated our shaker cabinet doors with slim molding to give it a custom, elevated look. The magic is in the details!
You can also try other types of molding, like fluted, like we did below with these DIY fluted Ikea cabinet doors:
Easy Ways To Give Your Rental Kitchen A Makeover
Another idea to consider: Add crown molding along the bottom edge of cabinet boxes for a neater look.
Cabinet ends are another (often overlooked) opportunity to personalize your kitchen. This can be a simple DIY using moldings or thin cladding panels such as strip boards.
Islands are the perfect place to add more details and help define the style of the room. In our Hacienda kitchen, we chose to cover both sides of the cabinets and the island in vertical shiplap:
You can also make a statement with a pattern on the back of an island using wallpaper or tiles:
How To Update Your Kitchen Without Painting Cabinets!
This custom detail was at the top of my wish list for our Hacienda Hideaway kitchen. After getting inspiration from Pinterest, we created a hoop skirt pattern and made it for our closets (full tutorial coming soon!)
Most people don’t even realize that there are other options than the standard toe kick, which is one of the reasons they make such a claim – they are very rare! You will identify them if you study the projects of the best interior designers. This kitchen from Warmington & North was a big inspiration for our awesome design:
In our kitchen we put individual legs at the bottom of the furniture, which is the easiest way to dress it up.
In our Riverside Retreat kitchen, we installed a flush trough, which only required a few additional 2×4″ blockings to extend the face of the trough, finished with a quarter round.
Top 4 Kitchen Cabinet Update Options
Each of these non-standard options will make your cabinets look like built-in furniture and create a feeling of thoughtful, intentional design.
If you have enough enclosed storage space and like the idea of displaying your favorite dishes or drinks, consider replacing one or more upper cabinets with open shelves.
We opted for an entire wall of open shelving in our own kitchen and love the ease of access to our everyday dishes. Although our kitchen isn’t huge and we could have used the extra hidden storage, the open shelves make the space feel larger and provide more character than a wall of cabinets.
I also took this route for the Riverside Retreat kitchen, replacing the old upper cabinets with two sets of shelves.
How’s That Project Holding Up
A simpler (and less permanent) alternative to open shelving would be to remove the upper cabinet doors to give an “open” feel. I love the idea of painting the boxes the same color as the wall so they blend in and look less like cabinets. You can have fun adding wallpaper or even peeling and sticking tiles to the back wall.
Here’s an alternative to removing upper cabinet doors: add glass inserts instead! This will still allow you to display your favorite dishes while keeping them dust-free. A local glass company