View ChannelsFeatured: Finance
View ShowroomsFeatured: Radiantec - Radiant Solar Heating

BobVila.com

Home

Budget Kitchen Remodeling Ideas

Get Adobe Flash Player to see this content.

Clip Transcript For:

Budget Kitchen Remodeling Ideas

Here s another great tip from BobVila.com. If your kitchen s begging for a facelift but your budget begs to differ, try focusing on some key details instead of a major overhaul. If the cabinets are still in good shape, you can change the look of your kitchen just by changing the color of the walls and re-surfacing or re-painting the cabinets. Cabinet re-facing, which involves replacing the veneers, is more expensive but still saves 50 percent over a complete remodel. As long as your cabinets aren t laminate or melamine, you can re-paint them yourself. De-grease them with a citrus oil-based household cleaner, remove the doors and hardware, and apply a primer-sealer first though you might still have to sand them down before painting. New drawer and door pulls will make a huge difference as well. In rethinking your colors, go for a 60-30-10 color scheme, which means 60 percent of a main color, 30 percent of a complementary color and 10 percent for an accent color like a backsplash or a trim detail. Recommended kitchen colors often include shades of tan, peach, yellow and all the many off-whites. Keep the big-ticket items like cabinets on the neutral side and accent with easily interchangeable elements like wall paint, window treatments and small appliances. That way, changing the look of your kitchen in another few years won t have to be a major investment. Florescent under-cabinet lighting strips are an easy and inexpensive way to brighten up. And since you use it so often, spending a couple hundred dollars to upgrade the kitchen sink or even just the faucet can also go a long way for short money. Find out more at BobVila.com: the ultimate home improvement web site! 2008 BobVila.com

More Videos »Related Videos

New Kitchen

One of the best ways to increase the value of your home is to remodel and update the kitchen. With a minimum of effort and expense, you can reface your existing cabinets... and update the flooring to give your kitchen a facelift. If your kitchen could stand a complete makeover, consider incorporating new cabinetry, energy efficient appliances, and a convenient home office.

Kitchen Tool Drawer

You can save time around the house by having a few basic tools stashed in a kitchen drawer. Here are some of the most popular items: a hammer; screwdrivers, both phillips and flathead; a small tape measure; a utility knife; a torpedo level; pliers and an adjustable wrench; and the ever useful duct tape. Most important don't forget to put everything back when you are finished.

Kitchen Lighting

Lighting design is an important part of any kitchen. A single overhead fixture can make a room seem flat. You want to try and highlight those areas you use the most. One way is to install task lighting under the cabinets or use it to uplight objects. For ambient light, use track lighting to open up the room. You can adjust the levels by using a dimmer switch. This allows you to accent certain areas to complement any occasion.

Choosing Kitchen Countertops: The Maintenance Factor

Here s another great tip from BobVila.com. To help you wade through the sea of choices for new kitchen countertops, take a long, hard look at how they compare for durability and maintenance. Having a clear idea of the amount of work you re willing to do to maintain and protect your new investment will make the decision less complex. Take stone, for example. After millions of years in the Earth, granite, marble and travertine are naturally hard and beautiful and for $50 to $100 per square foot, they can grace your kitchen. But they re also naturally porous, so you ll have to seal them every few years with a non-toxic sealer. Some kinds of natural stone can stain with acidic foods and can even crack if you put a very hot pot directly on them. Some, like slate long used for laboratory countertops are better than others at taking the heat and acids, but oils can darken them and they are prone to scratching. Engineered quartz stone, at the same price point, has solved some of the maintenance problems of natural stone. It s non-porous, twice as strong and tough to scratch or crack. Like anything else, though, even high-end countertops are only as good as their installation, so check references on whoever is going to do the work to make sure you start off with the best finish possible. Wood countertops require mineral oil treatments and occasional sanding for stains. Solid surfaces don t require treatment and scratches can be buffed away easily. But using trivets or pads under hot pots is important to avoid damaging any wood or plastic surface. Regardless of your budget, think about the way you cook and clean and how much extra work you re willing to do before you choose a material. Your new countertop should fit the way you live, not the other way around. Find out more at BobVila.com: the ultimate home improvement web site! 2008 BobVila.com