6 Cheap and Quick Kitchen Improvements | GreenWerks

6 Cheap and Quick Kitchen Improvements

If you?re looking to increase the value of your home, don?t think you have to dig in to your kid?s college funds just to do some home renovations. Focus on one of the most valuable rooms in the home?the kitchen. Making a few quick and inexpensive changes to the kitchen can result in a substantial jump in home value and benefits the environment by making use of existing features and materials.

1) Slap on Some Paint
Even if the paint in your kitchen is in decent shape, you can transform the room to really make it ?pop? just by adding some fresh color. Choose unique colors that will give a prospective home buyer something they won?t find in every other house they?re looking at. Or consider painting an accent wall to give the kitchen even more color. For instance, you could paint three walls in your kitchen a neutral color like tan, then paint one whole wall a country blue or vintage green. Paint is relatively inexpensive and this little renovation can have quite an impact on your home?s value.

2) Fix Your Fixtures
Get rid of old or outdated light fixtures in the kitchen and opt for more contemporary styles. Also, choose lighting that is energy-efficient to further increase the value. While you?re at it, strip the hardware from the cabinets and drawers and replace it with something new and bright to give the room a whole new feel.

3) Create New Cabinets
Cabinets are a big part of any kitchen and likely one of the first things people notice when they walk into the room. Give your cabinets a makeover to add value to your home. While it?s pretty expensive to rip out all the old cabinets and replace them with new, it?s not expensive just to refinish or resurface them, and it?s better for the environment. If you have wood cabinets in the kitchen, strip the finish off, sand them and apply a fresh coat. You could even paint the cabinets a color if you?d like. Alternatively, you could leave the cabinet boxes in place and just replace the doors and drawers with something new and chic. Often times, you can find closeout cabinet doors and drawers for a significantly lower price.

4) Create a Budget-Friendly Backsplash
Adding a backsplash to the kitchen can not only add value, but also charm to your home. Installing a backsplash is a quick do-it-yourself project that can be done for cheap. Again, look for closeout tiles to find something nice, but cheap. Then, all you need is premixed acrylic mastic to stick the tiles to the wall. You can even use peel and stick tiles, if you prefer. Get creative with the pattern and colors of the backsplash to really make that area of the kitchen stand out.

5) Throw Together an Island
Kitchen islands are quite popular these days. If your kitchen doesn?t have one, don?t worry. You don?t have to spend thousands of dollars on a professionally-installed island. Make one yourself on the cheap! Look around at yard sales and thrift stores to find a rectangular table or chest to use as the base of your island. Don?t worry if it looks a little worn?vintage is ?in.? You might need to sand and stain it if it?s wood, but that?s also a cheap fix. Then, head over to your local home improvement store and, once again, check out the closeouts/clearance in the counter top department. Find a piece of counter top that is the size you need to fit over your table or chest. Viola! An instant island. You can even attach wheels to the bottom of the chest or table to make it easy to move around. Don?t worry if it?s not the same pattern as the rest of your counter tops. The good thing about an island is that it stands alone in the room, so it doesn?t have to be exactly like what you have around the rest of the room. Just make sure it goes with the flow of the room to keep things looking neat.

6) Lay a New Floor
The floor is another big selling point in kitchens. If your floor is out dated or worn, consider replacing it to add value to your home. You might think this is a costly project, but it doesn?t have to be. Lay vinyl tiles in the kitchen, which are actually relatively inexpensive in price. Then, skip the labor?which accounts for more than half of the price when dealing with laying a new floor?and install it yourself. Buy inexpensive, peel-and-stick vinyl tiles, which are easy to install. A brand new floor, no matter what type, will surely add value to your home.

Minor and inexpensive kitchen renovations don?t have to break the bank to add value to your home, and can help the environment by making the most of existing materials. Remember, most of the work can be done yourself even if you?re a novice do-it-yourselfer. Browse around online and you?ll find how-to instructions on doing just about any home improvement project you can think. By saving money on labor, you?re also helping to increase your return.

Chris Dixon writes for the Long Eaton Appliance Company, UK based retailers of a fantastic range of Rangemaster range cookers and many other types of kitchen appliances.

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5. Green Lighting in a Kitchen

Source: http://www.greenwerkspro.com/6-cheap-and-quick-kitchen-improvements/

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