Quick Fix: Easy Kitchen Upgrades

Last week we talked about how to upgrade your bathroom. This week we’re tackling the kitchen. The kitchen often becomes a gathering place when company comes by. Food and drink tends to draw people in! Here are some ways to help keep the kitchen fresh.

1) Hardware Care. This one is pretty easy is to upgrade and can make a real difference. Replacing knobs, hinges and pulls is fairly inexpensive and can take an afternoon to do. Just a word of caution: make sure the new hardware matches the existing hole locations. A good polishing of existing hardware can also help to brighten the space.
2) Floor Fixers. If you’ve got great hardwood floors that have taken a beating, refinishing them will restore their former glory. For the quickest and easiest of all fixes, look into rugs that will add personality to room, while protecting floors.
3) Cabinet Creativity. There are lots of ways to make your cabinets look better. Of course refacing is great for a redo without completely ditching the old cabinets, but it might still be too time and money intensive. Consider instead repainting, changing only the doors or adding molding.
4) Exciting Lighting. Again, like with bathrooms, lighting makes a huge difference. If you’re fixtures are newer, an install of dimmers can also add to the ambiance for dinner guests. Even if you don’t upgrade, a good scrubbing can make a world of difference!
5) Backsplash Beauty. An easy way to get current is to focus on redoing the backsplash. The “in” styles for these change every few years if you are looking to stay modern, but backsplashes can also get grimy quickly so that’s another good reason to change! Subway tile has been all the rage and also has a classic look, but other options are ceramic or glass tile, beadboard or even stainless steel.
6) Fancier Faucets. There are some really amazing faucets out on the market right now. Ones that seem to do everything. A new faucet can go a long way in making dishes feel less like a chore.
7) Get Organized. Have items started to drift from their proper places? Has the utensil holder on the counter become a catchall? Get everything back in its proper place! This is especially a must in the kitchen as it will save you time when cooking or just looking for the bag of Oreos.

The Black Tamara Tower is perfect extra storage for the kitchen. Can also double as a bar and has a removable serving tray.

We also loved the very thorough list from Bon Apetit on “Fifty Instant Kitchen Upgrades.”

Don’t forget—Studio Chameleon’s design services also extend to kitchens and we’d be happy to help you figure out what upgrades would be best for your kitchen!