As time passes, your kitchen suffers wear and tear and can become outdated, necessitating improvement. This is where a kitchen update comes in. Updating your kitchen boosts its look and feel. An updated kitchen can improve your home’s energy consumption, reducing utility costs. If your kitchen is outdated, upgrading it raises its resale value, which differs based on the projects done.
An update can also add to your kitchen’s style, making it more inviting. Considering the many home improvement ideas that can help upgrade your kitchen, selecting the best can be challenging. Discussed below are six ways to update your kitchen.
1. Replace the countertops
Kitchen countertops are among the most utilized spaces in a home. However, they start showing signs of damage, aging, or outdated style as time passes. Replacing your kitchen countertops not only breathes new life into your space but also enhances visual appeal and functionality. Some of the reasons for kitchen countertop replacement include:
- Visible wear and tear: Daily use, heat exposure, spills, and scratches can damage even the strongest countertop materials. If your countertop is cracked, chipped, discolored, or stained, consider replacing them to restore their appeal
- Difficulty in maintenance and cleaning: If the current countertops have high maintenance needs or require excessive sealing or scrubbing to keep them looking good, you can replace them to avoid dissatisfaction and frustration
- Outdated design or style: Since kitchen style trends are constantly evolving, what was considered modern and stylish a few years back may now seem obsolete or out of touch with the latest aesthetics. If your countertop design is outdated and no longer complements your taste or kitchen decor, it could be time to upgrade
When upgrading your kitchen, familiarize yourself with Granite Countertops and other materials and their pros and cons to find the most suitable countertop material for your space.
2. Repaint your kitchen walls
Repainting your kitchen walls is a simple way to add new life to your space. With the help of light or bright paint colors, you can make the kitchen seem brighter or as if there’s more light than there actually is. If your kitchen is small, using lighter paint colors on the walls can make the space feel bigger.
You can also paint vertical stripes to enlarge a vertically challenged kitchen. Over time, your kitchen wall paint may start peeling, chipping, or cracking. Applying a fresh coat of paint can make the walls look new and well cared for.
3. Install a kitchen backsplash
A backsplash is an excellent way to incorporate style into your kitchen design. The tiles come in numerous shapes, colors, and sizes, allowing you to customize your kitchen based on your preferences, instantly elevating the space’s appeal. Installing a backsplash also helps:
- Cover imperfections: If your kitchen walls have dents, cracks, or dings, a backsplash can cover these imperfections while preserving the walls
- Ensure easy maintenance: Tile maintenance is simpler than repairing stained or damaged walls. You only have to wipe the tiles and ensure the grout is always sealed and clean
Since a kitchen is a significant selling point when selling homes, installing a backsplash can help boost your resale value.
4. Update kitchen lighting
Alongside providing the visibility necessary to prepare and cook food, proper kitchen lighting sets the mood while enhancing the space’s overall aesthetic. Good lighting can also highlight outstanding features in your kitchen. When lighting your kitchen, consider adding:
- Task lighting: This is the bright, focused lighting over particular work areas, including sinks, islands, and food preparation areas. Installing under-cabinet lighting is an excellent way to add task lighting to your kitchen
- Accent lighting: This option is more decorative. It illuminates and highlights a specific feature in the kitchen
- Ambient lighting: It’s soft overhead lighting that provides general illumination. Ambient lighting positioning should ensure even kitchen lighting. You can place it over walkways or centrally to function well
Kitchen pendant lights, flush-mount fixtures, recessed lighting, and hanging pendant fixtures are other ideas for updating kitchen lighting.
5. Add a kitchen island
Kitchen islands are free-standing countertops or cabinets accessible from every side. Installing a kitchen island:
- Offers additional workspace, seating, and storage space, which makes them a functional and practical addition to any kitchen
- Improves your kitchen’s overall aesthetics: With the various materials, worktop colors, design options, and finishes available, you can pick an island that complements your kitchen’s existing style
In addition, you can use an island as a focal point in the kitchen, adding character and visual interest to your space. Since kitchen islands have various sizes and shapes, you can find one that resonates with your needs and available space.
6. Repaint existing kitchen cabinets
Repainting existing cabinets rather than buying new ones can cost-effectively update your kitchen, especially when working with a tight budget. Applying a fresh coat of paint to your cabinets allows you to customize them.
You can select from the expansive pallet of kitchen cabinet colors and finishes to create a space that perfectly matches your style preferences. Also, repainting cabinets isn’t as disruptive as installing new ones. A professional painter can transform your cabinets in a few days, letting you enjoy the freshly updated kitchen sooner.
Endnote
Your kitchen is among the most used spaces in the house, accelerating wear and tear. Fortunately, replacing countertops, repainting the walls, updating lighting, and installing a backsplash can help update your kitchen.
