Make Kitchen New: Today, we’ll take a look at 8 simple ways to update your kitchen and make it look like new again!
At Graham’s & Son Interiors, we have over 40 years of experience in the home design industry, and have helped countless homeowners in the Kitchener-Waterloo area renovate and remodel their kitchens. We’re happy to share what we’ve learned with you!
These 8 tips will help you make your kitchen look like new again! You’ll once again enjoy spending time in your kitchen, cooking for family, and hosting events. Let’s get started now.
Make Kitchen New - 8 Simple Ways To Update Your Kitchen
1. Paint Your Cabinets
Easy For Beginners: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Your kitchen cabinetry probably takes up a good portion of your kitchen. Because of that, the cabinets you have in your kitchen can really make or break your space. Outdated cabinets can make your entire kitchen look outdated, even if you have a modern dining table, attractive countertops, or a snazzy backsplash!
Painting your cabinets is a fairly easy and inexpensive DIY project, but it can make a huge difference in the look and feel of your kitchen. In order to properly paint your cabinets, you will want to take the cabinet doors off. While the doors are off, you’ve got an excellent opportunity to organize your cabinets too!
You can really think of this as a two-in-one project. Clean the inside of your cabinets, get rid of old food items in your pantry, and consider buying some bins or accessories that will help you take better control of your cabinets. After you’ve painted them, the outside of your cabinets will look amazing and the inside of your cabinets will feel like new too!
Check out the video below to see how easy it is to paint your cabinets – and watch how transformative it can really be.
Make kitchen new by painting cabinets - doable even on a tight budget!
If you are not happy with your current cabinet style or feel like they are damaged beyond repair, you could also consider refacing your cabinets. It is still cheaper than fully replacing them, but will definitely update your space!
2. Update Your Table, Chairs, Or Stools
Easy For Beginners: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (depending on how you do it!)
A brand new kitchen table doesn’t have to be very expensive, but it can update your space and make you feel like your kitchen feel new again. Some tables can cost less than $150.00, and chairs you can often find for $50.00 each or less – especially if you are into thrift shopping!
If you really love your existing dining chairs but aren’t a fan of the old fabric, you could consider reupholstering them. A brand new pattern or fabric colour may be a better match for the modern paint colours you’ve picked for your kitchen walls, and will help your kitchen look (and feel) like new without breaking your budget.
Speaking of reupholstering, refinishing is also a great option if you have a quality table that could use a bit of extra love. Refinishing will help your table look like new without replacing a thing. Reupholstering and refinishing is often preferable if your kitchen furniture has sentimental value for you.
3. Choose A New, Modern Backsplash
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Tired of looking at your outdated backsplash? The good news is that installing a new kitchen backsplash doesn’t have to be difficult (though it does take a bit of planning and patience!)
Adding a new backsplash to your kitchen is one of the best ways to make your kitchen feel like new without going over your budget. For example, simple subway tiles can cost as little as $0.15 per square foot – though you are more realistically looking to spend around $6.00 – $7.00 per square foot unless you find an amazing deal.
Subway tiles are affordable, easy to install, and add a modern yet classic look and feel to your kitchen. Check out the video below to see how easy they are to install and how much they can improve the look of your space.
Make kitchen new easily with updated backsplash
If you are up for more of a challenge or you have a bigger budget, you may want to consider more intricate backsplash ideas. The backsplash in your kitchen can act as a statement piece, and bold and beautiful backsplashes are in right now!
4. Clean Your Appliances & Organize Your Fridge
Easy For Beginners: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Make kitchen new by cleaning appliances
One of the reasons why many homeowners start to feel like their kitchen is no longer that fresh, new space they used to have is because wear and tear on appliances can really affect the overall look and feel in your kitchen.
Stained dishwashers, dirty fridges, and stoves with grease marks and burnt spots can make your kitchen look and feel perpetually dirty, even if it isn’t. Consider doing a deep-clean of all your appliances. You don’t want to miss any! So, to do a deep clean, pay attention to your:
- Fridge
- Oven
- Toaster
- Toaster Oven
- Microwave
- Coffee/Espresso Maker
- Dishwasher
- Other Small Appliances
Thoroughly cleaning your appliances can help them look like new, which in turn, will help your kitchen look like new! You can do a deep clean of your kitchen appliances once every six months – one year, and then make sure in between to regularly clean and maintain them. This will not only keep your kitchen looking better, but it’s more hygienic and will help your appliances last longer!
While you are cleaning your fridge, consider organizing it as well. This will make your kitchen more functional and accessible, and that is another thing that will help your space feel like new again!
Organizing your fridge can help your make your kitchen feel like new again
For more tips on organizing your kitchen, check out this super handy guide from The Kitchn!
5. Install New Faucets
Easy For Beginners: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Your kitchen faucet (and sink for that matter) may have more of an impact on the overall look and functionality of your kitchen than you realize. Installing a new faucet is a fairly inexpensive way to make your kitchen feel new, and it can have a big impact on usability.
For example, if your old faucet is dingy and no matter how much you clean it, it just doesn’t look it’s best, a brand new faucet can brighten up the space and make that part of your kitchen look new. You could also invest in a statement faucet (and/or sink) that will impact the look and style of your kitchen.
You may also want to choose a faucet with a detachable nozzle – that way you can wash dishes more easily. Some modern nozzles even come with the ability to change the settings and strength of the water stream, so you may even be able to wash your dishes faster than before!
6. Replace Your Kitchen Flooring
Easy For Beginners: ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ (Can vary depending on flooring)
Now, this idea is a bit more involved than the previous suggestions – but in many cases, all you need to do is replace the flooring your kitchen and the entire space will look like it’s been renovated! So, if you know your floors could use some help and if you are trying to decide what renovation would be most worth your budget, consider replacing your flooring.
When it comes to kitchen flooring, you have a ton of different options. We’ll go over a few of the pros and cons for each popular flooring choice, including tile, vinyl, laminate, and hardwood.
The flooring you choose for your kitchen can have a huge impact on its overall style
Tile Flooring
Environmental Impact: Low | Variety Of Styles: High | Lifespan: 75-100 years | Care/Maintenance Required: Very Low
When it comes to tile flooring, the biggest pros are its general durability and ease of maintenance. If you spill something on a tile floor, it is super easy to clean up and less likely to accumulate bacteria. As well, high-quality tile floors can last up to 100 years before you need to consider replacing them!
However, tile flooring is quite hard. That is good for durability, but not so good for your feet! If you spend a lot of time on your feet in the kitchen, tile flooring can be hard on you. As well, tile flooring is often one of the most expensive flooring options for your kitchen.
Vinyl Flooring
Environmental Impact: High | Variety Of Styles: Medium | Lifespan: 10-20 years | Care/Maintenance Required: Low
Vinyl Flooring is fairly inexpensive and is easy to install. Many vinyl floor products come as peel-and-stick tiles, which makes it super easy for even the most inexperienced do-it-yourselfer to install the floors themselves. They require little maintenance and high-quality vinyl flooring is aesthetically appealing.
If you are looking for the most eco-friendly flooring option, vinyl is probably not right for you. Unfortunately, vinyl floors are not made from environmentally friendly materials. They also won’t last as long as your other options, even when properly maintained and cared for.
Laminate Flooring
Environmental Impact: Very Low | Variety Of Styles: High | Lifespan: 15-25 years | Care/Maintenance Required: Low-Medium
Speaking of environmental sustainability, laminate flooring has one of the lowest environmental impacts. It comes in a wide range of styles, has a fairly long lifespan, and requires lower amounts of maintenance than hardwood floors. Many laminate options look nearly indistinguishable from their hardwood counterparts.
However, laminate still won’t provide that truly natural feel you get with hardwood – so if that’s what you really want, you may want to consider real wood instead. Laminate may also bend and warp under the right (or wrong!) conditions, so you will have to be careful about that.
Hardwood floors come in a variety of styles and can last up to 50 years!
Hardwood Flooring
Environmental Impact: Low | Variety Of Styles: High | Lifespan: 10-50 years | Care/Maintenance Required: High
Hardwood floors are favourite for many homeowners, whether placed in the living room, the master bedroom, or the kitchen. Nothing can really beat the natural look and feel of hardwood floors if that is the particular style you are after. As well, high-quality hardwood floors can last up to 50 years!
The biggest downside with hardwood is the maintenance required. You will have to make sure that spills get cleaned up right away. Hardwood floors may also be vulnerable to scratches and dents, so if you have pets or your kitchen is a super high-traffic area of your home, you may want to consider a more durable option or find a scratch-resistant brand.
7. Purchase Open Shelving/Additional Cabinetry
Easy For Beginners: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
If one of the reasons why you want your kitchen to feel new again is because of a lack of organizational space, consider adding open cabinetry or purchasing a standalone cabinet or hutch!
These small additions can be extremely affordable. In fact, if you have some extra shelves or wood laying around your home, you can build something for free if you happen to be into DIY projects.
Make kitchen new with new hutch, additional cabinetry, or floating shelves!
Adding more organizational options to your kitchen can make your kitchen feel bigger and more functional, without the need to renovate or remodel at all. As well, installing anything new into your kitchen will change the look and style of your space, which also helps it feel like new!
8. Create a Tablescape
Easy For Beginners: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Ever heard of a “tablescape?” A tablescape is essentially a complex table arrangement, similar to a centrepiece but often more complex, incorporating various elements. If you are looking for an easy way to spruce up your kitchen, a tablescape might be the right choice for you!
Tablescapes are often used for Christmas, Easter, and other holiday table settings – but they can be created for any time of the year too!
One of the best things about a tablescape is that you can get creative with it and change it whenever you want! That means that if you’re feeling bored of your existing set-up and want to mix things up, you can update your table setting and your whole kitchen will feel different and new once again!
Make Kitchen New - Trust Graham's & Son To Help You Update Your Space!
At Graham’s & Son Interiors, we can reupholster and refinish your favourite kitchen or dining furniture to help make your kitchen new once again! And, if you think your kitchen is ready for a more serious update, we also offer quality kitchen renovations in the Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and surrounding areas! Get your free in-home consultation now.
“Great experience working with Graham’s & Son Interiors. Highly recommend their services. We had excellent service, advise and workmanship right from quote to job completion. All the staff, the owner, project manager, store staff and installers were incredible to work with. Excellent customer service and quality workmanship. Thank you for your help, patience for a job well done!!”
– Karen Darnell, Read More Google Reviews!
Ready To Get Started?
At Graham’s & Son, we offer a wide variety of home decorating and remodeling/renovating services, including professional kitchen renovations in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, and the surrounding areas. If you are ready to start your home renovation, you can rely on our 40+ years of experience helping homeowners get their dream home!
We offer many services to aid with your remodel, including flooring, reupholstering, and custom window treatments – which can make a big difference in any room in your home. Graham’s & Son knows window coverings; we have been in the window treatment business for over 40 years! Our expertise and professionalism are second to none.
In addition, right now we are offering an amazing deal on all our blinds, shutters, and shades – when you purchase any two, you will get a third absolutely free. We can help you find everything you need for your upcoming kitchen remodel.
WINDOW TREATMENT INSTALLER & INTERIOR DECORATOR – JOIN OUR TEAM!
Want to join our team? Graham’s & Son is looking for a full-time Window Treatment Installer and an Interior Decorator, and we would love for you to join our team! We operate out of Cambridge and are looking for someone who knows the Tri-Cities area well.
Training will be provided – some experience required. If you think this may be the perfect job for you, see job requirements and overview by clicking here to learn more about the installer position, or here to learn more about the decorator position.