June 10

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How to Make Your Kitchen Look Expensive on a Budget

By Brian McMonagle

June 10, 2019


The kitchen is the most important room in any home, as it is where the family converges and hangs out. There will rarely be a day in your life when you don't enter the kitchen. Whether if it’s for a quick glass of water or to prepare a potluck for guests, the kitchen is the heart of any home.

Any house is boiled down to its essentials to be considered a home. You need a bed and a place to eat, and we believe that the latter is more essential than the former.

If you have children the kitchen is the place to help them learn while spending quality time together. For these reasons and more everyone should put little bit extra love and attention into the room that bonds you and your loved ones together.

A poorly designed kitchen can bring the overall vibe of a house down. Life can get away from us sometimes and your kitchen can reflect this if not organised well. Things can pile up and you be looking at a lot of clutter which has slowly accumulated over the years.

Apart from a disorganised mess, it can also bring hazards. You may be overlooking potential accident-causing scenarios in your kitchen that can be easily mended by re-evaluating your space.

If you’ve been looking to give this important space a long-overdue makeover, then we’ve got you covered. If you’re looking to hire an interior designer or putting your DIY muscles to the test, it’s important that you have a good grasp of the changes you can make that will give off the best impact.

Now, we’re all about being wise with our spending. There are just too many responsibilities to be throwing a big lump-sum on the redecoration of your kitchen. The below tips and tricks will help you get the most bang for your buck.

We won’t tell you to model your kitchen after a Kardashian, but we’ll definitely help you get the same luxurious kitchen on a budget! Read on to find out how you can make your kitchen look expensive without spending your life’s savings:

Updating Your Kitchen Hardware (Handles & Knobs)

Updating your hardware is a long-term investment that will definitely be worth every penny you spend. Picking out classic and timeless pieces will immediately and effectively amp up the look of any kitchen.

Just don’t forget to be conscious when you shop! It’s very easy to overspend with hardware, as you’ll rationalise your purchase by thinking that it’s something that you really can’t live without. Nonetheless, you should keep your eye on how many you actually need, and how much you can buy that will still fall within your budget.

Do a quick evaluation of your kitchen and determine how many you need to buy, may it be knobs or pulls that look like they’ve been there for decades. There’s no need to blow your budget. Research your options as there are many online hardware options out there which are reasonably priced, yet beautiful to the eye. Variety is abundant for kitchen hardware. Just be sure to be patient. When it comes to online hardware shopping the key to getting the best pick is sorting through each option!


2. Kitchen Lighting

Lighting makes a huge difference, especially in enclosed spaces such as kitchens. A change in hue can make your space look dreary or beautiful. It’s all about finding the right light, and a stunning fixture to accentuate the room!

It goes without saying that a dimly-lit kitchen is unattractive and, in effect, won’t make food look appetising either. Not only that, but it can also make your kitchen look old and dated. Even if your kitchen is adorned with the most luxurious quartz countertops, bad lighting will dampen the glamour.

A quick fix that will make a huge difference is for you to swap out your lighting! Brighten the place up, and invest in focal lighting that will make the kitchen look more interesting. There are statement pieces for kitchens available, and the great thing about it is that you only need one to boost the look of your kitchen.

Consider this: you only need to invest in one good light fixture, and you’ll already be making a world of difference in your kitchen. Talk about value for money!

3. Organise

Here’s the truth: no matter how lavish and modern your hardware and fixtures are, if your kitchen is crawling with junk: it won’t matter. Having tons of clutter lying around will set back your whole redecorating project, so it’s best to start with a clean slate first.

Once you’ve rid your kitchen of unnecessary things, one way you can maintain its pristine condition is to make sure that everything is organised. What better way to do this than to get nifty, attractive shelves and drawers.

If you still have a few trinkets and kitchen equipment that just aren’t able to find themselves in drawers, it may be a great idea to purchase multi-purpose furniture. Pieces of furniture that can serve as a chair and double-purpose as storage. Talk to us today about granite countertops with hidden storage compartments.

These double-duty fixtures won’t just save you space, it will help the place look chicer by keeping eyesores away. A quick tip, though is that you can hang whisks, spatulas, and other accessories up on one wall to serve as an interesting wall piece.

Just make sure that you do so in an organised way, or else they’ll end up looking like they were just randomly stuck onto the wall.

4. Repainting Cabinets

If there’s anything those home renovation reality shows have taught us, it’s that repainting the shelves is such a small task that goes a long way as for the overall aesthetic of a kitchen.

A quick tip for this is to work on contrasts. For example, dark granite kitchen worktops will make light cabinets pop, and give your kitchen a clean, polished look. Now, if you opt for lighter granite countertops or maybe even white, it’s best to paint the cabinets with a dark colour such as a navy blue to offer contrast.

The best thing is that you don’t even need to hire a professional! Repainting cabinets can be a DIY activity that you can even do it with friends and family! A great bonding activity for any family as the before and after can be stunning and can offer children a great sense of making their own house a home.

If you do it as a friend activity, it can be nice for them as when they visit your house they see the cabinets they painted. It makes them feel like they’re a part of your home. If the kitchen is the heart of the home; what’s wrong with showing it a little love? 🙂

5. Clear the Clutter

This is the golden tip of this whole article. Even if you’re just saving up right now to redecorate your kitchen, this is one thing that will instantly make your kitchen look cleaner and better.

The tendency with kitchens is that once you’re done using something, you leave it behind or put it off until after the meal is over. However, the problem here is that sometimes, that “later” keeps getting postponed and you end up with a pile of clutter.

These neglected areas of the kitchen are an eyesore, and become worse the more you add to them. No matter how breathtaking your new quartz kitchen countertops are, clutter will serve as the elephant in the room.

Our days begin and end with the kitchen, and this vital place needs to be looked after just like every other part of the home. Your kitchen space should be a place where you look forward to going, and where your loved ones are excited to be a part of.

However, we often take it for granted and neglect it to overuse. This is why, every now and then, it’s important to look after one of the most important parts of every home. A quick redecoration project for your kitchen won’t just make that area of your house look good; The overall value and aesthetic of your place is instantly boosted as well.

Every penny counts when you’re designing a space, so it’s important to invest in items that will make the biggest impact. Follow our tips above to make sure that you’ll be making wise purchases that will help your kitchen look like it was straight out of a celebrity’s home!

By planning carefully and focusing on what’s important, you’ll definitely be able to spruce up your kitchen on a budget.

Need a little help with building the perfect, durable countertop that will complement the rest of your kitchen? McMonagle Marble & Granite is a family-run business that prides itself on 40 years of excellence and craftsmanship. Drop a message now to kickstart your renovation!

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Brian McMonagle

About the author

Brian took over McMonagle Marble & Granite from his father Cathal in 2009. A family run business McMonagles was originally a fireplace distributer. Brian’s innovative steps has now expanded the company to over 20 employees, International markets and into the leading marble and granite fabricator of the North West of Ireland.

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