5 Top Kitchen Design Ideas for Your Home

The kitchen is the heart of the home. It is the place of cooking and laughter, long conversations and new recipes. As you will spend countless hours in your kitchen, it is important that it be comfortable and designed how you choose.

If you feel that you would like your kitchen to have a new look, but don’t have the money necessary for a full renovation, there are still plenty of things you can do to update the design and feel. We have put together five kitchen design ideas that you can implement right now.

#1. Replace your countertops

One of the biggest things you can do to change the look of your kitchen is to replace the countertops. The counters are a huge piece of the kitchen design and they can quickly become outdated or not part of the scheme.

The first thing you will need to do is determine your budget for the project. By deciding on a budget, it can quickly narrow down the types of materials you can choose from as well as where you will buy them.

Take a tape measure and measure the entire length and width of each of your counters. Finding the area of each section and then determining its square footage will help you have a number in mind when you want to estimate and compare costs. This will also assist you in having a strong idea of what counters will fit in your budget.

The next thing you need to consider is what material do you want your new countertops to be? It is important to think about the aesthetics of the various materials, but mainly you must think about the maintenance required and what best fits your lifestyle.

Granite is virtually indestructible and each piece has unique veining, but it will periodically need to be resealed and polished. Its colors are limited, as it is a natural stone, so you will have less options as far as color schemes go.

Quartz is even more indestructible than granite and does not require any long-term maintenance, but it is more costly than granite or other materials. It is mainly man-made so the varieties of colors are endless, but it will not be as individual or unique. Other choices include marble, soapstone, wood, and concrete, and all of these have their own benefits and challenges.

#2. Add a backsplash

Something that is a little lighter on the workload, as well as the budget, but is equally as appealing to the kitchen design, is to add a backsplash. A kitchen backsplash is located between the counter and the cabinets, and can have many different shapes and sizes.

Most backsplash cover the entire area between where the counters end and the cabinets begin, but others are even just a four-inch tile addition on the wall along the top of the counter. No matter what type of backsplash you choose, it can add a pop of color, or a touch of your personal style, to any kitchen quickly and easily.

Speaking in terms of functionality, a backsplash was intended to protect the kitchen walls. As you are cooking or baking, grease and other substances and chemicals can splash up onto the walls and ruin the paint or wallpaper. By installing a backsplash, it allows the substances to be easily wiped off and cleaned, thereby protecting the walls.

Today, backsplashes are often used for aesthetics as well as to add value to the house itself. Backsplashes improve the overall flow of a kitchen and tie the room together.

Backsplashes are available in a huge variety of materials and endless amounts of designs. They can be made of anything from stone tiles, ceramic tiles, or even glass tiles, and they come in any color under the sun. They can blend in with the kitchen decor and theme, or stand out as a splash of color.

#3. Renew your cabinet doors

Renewing your cabinet doors is a convenient and fast way to bring new life to the cabinets you already have. As long as your cabinets are in good condition, staining them is an easy way to turn an outdated kitchen into a modern masterpiece. You can hire professionals to help you complete this project, but it is even something you can easily do yourself.

After you remove the cabinet doors, and carefully store away all of the screws and hardware, you simply sand down all of the existing finish off the cabinets until they are basic wood. Then, to apply the stain, you can use a rag and rub the stain into the wood along the grain. As long as you follow directions on the stain, it is a quick and easy way to completely change the entire look of your kitchen.

#4. Reface your current cabinets

If you cabinets need a little more than just a new stain color, you can also reface them. Refacing the cabinets will give you new cabinet doors and drawer fronts, add a new skin to the cabinet boxes, and replace the fixtures and hinges. This process updates them to provide a fresh look while still keeping the existing cabinet boxes, drawers, and shelves.

Choosing to reface your current kitchen cabinets is more dramatic than just changing their color, but it is a lot less expensive than getting new ones altogether. This should be done by a professional company that has experience with the process.

#5. Update the hardware

Finally, an easy way to change the look of your kitchen that many people forget about is to update the hardware. While this may not seem like it would make a big difference, updating knobs and handles can have a notable impact on the kitchen’s design, and they can even complement or enhance a chosen theme or style.

If you are going for more of a traditional look, crystal hardware can add that classic style in an unexpected way. If you are trying to carry across a more modern theme, horizontal bars made of stainless steel can add a clean and sleek look, while copper hardware is an easy way to portray a vintage theme.

There are many ways you can update and change the look of your kitchen. Whether you decide to completely replace the countertops, or to simply change the hardware, small modifications can make all of the difference in terms of style and design. By choosing one of our above suggestions, you are adding value to your home and comfort to your life.