Home Improvement Kitchen Tips

Is your kitchen less than fabulous? Do you have outdated décor? Maybe you just moved in, and the previous owner had terrible taste! Or, maybe it's time to sell and you were the one with terrible taste and you need your kitchen a little more buyer friendly. If you need to spruce up your kitchen, read on. It's time to get excited because, whatever your reason may be, you can use home improvement kitchen tips to make your kitchen a joy to look at for little out of pocket expense!

Before you get started, there are a few things you need to think about. You must have a plan! Trying home improvement products without a plan is like trying to bake a cake without a recipe. With the recipe you get a beautiful, delicious product. Without the recipe you end up with a lump of undistinguishable material, in other words "crap".

The first thing to consider is what your current budget is, how much are you willing to spend? By determining your budget first, you can decide what you will be able to do with your kitchen.

After you have decided on your budget, you need to decide what is most important. Do you want a new floor? Do you want new cabinets / fixtures? Maybe you just need a fresh coat of paint and some decorations. You have many options. Decide what is most important to you, and then allocate your funds accordingly.

The next step to remodeling your kitchen is to come up with what you want to do with the room. Do you want to open it up and make it seem more spacious? Do you need to formalize your kitchen and double it as a dining room? Maybe you want to create a quant and cozy atmosphere. Whatever you want to accomplish, it is possible. All you need is perseverance and the right accessories!

Decide on your color palette and what items you will need to buy. If you are replacing the floor, I have found that it is easiest to pick the flooring that you like first and then to decide on a wall color. There are many different options when it comes to flooring. You can do hardwood flooring, ceramic tile, linoleum, or linoleum tiles. Some people even use carpet. It is just your personal preference, and again the mood you are trying to create.

If you really like the look of ceramic tiles, but they are out of your budget, there is now a large selection of linoleum flooring that looks very much like ceramic tile. I have even found attractive linoleum tiles for as little as 48 cents a square foot! Linoleum tiles are also very easy to put down. They have an adhesive backing that sticks to a prepared floor, and they are very easy to cut and fit your floor space.

After you have decided on your flooring, the next step is to pick your paint color. You have three options in paint types, flat, semi-gloss, and glossy. Glossy is the easiest to clean, so that, of course, is what I would recommend. If you like the look of flat paint better, I would go with a semi-gloss because that is still also relatively easy to clean. There are many decorative options you have with paint as well. You can experiment with fuax finishes and painted on boarders and wall scenes. Also try painting three walls a neutral color, and painting one wall with an accent.

Another option is wall paper, I would advise against it because it can be costly and it is hard to apply, and even more of a problem to take off. There are so many options with paint, I would stick to that.

After you have your flooring and wall covering picked out it is time to think about cabinets and fixtures. If you want to give a different look to your cabinets you can paint them or re-stain them. Painting is less work, but re-staining can add a very pretty touch. You can also remove some or all of the doors if you have dishware worth displaying. The choice is up to you.

Once you have your flooring, walls, cabinets, and fixtures the way you like them, it is time to add decorative accessories. A nice, large framed picture in a color palette matching your kitchen is a quick and easy way to cover wall space. But do not limit it to traditional framed pictures try out different materials. Flags and quilts make nice wall hangings as well as antique signs or old license plates. Try anything you can attach a hook to and hang on the wall. If you do not like it, take it down.

Candles and plants put the finishing touch on your kitchen!

Updating your kitchen can be a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to update the look of your house. For a quick change through out the year, just replace your curtains and dish towels and switch out your candles. This updates your kitchen quickly and inexpensively!