Kitchens are one of the most popular spaces in our homes. In fact, we spend around 12% of our lives in the kitchen! That is nearly three hours every day we spend cooking, eating, snacking, washing-up, and staring mindlessly into our fridges.
With this amount of time being spent in a kitchen, it is unsurprising we want a clean, fresh, and organized space. In truth, our kitchens probably deserve a makeover.
Whether you are looking for a sleek modern kitchen, a country and traditional space, or just a few quick touch-ups that can reinvent your kitchen, there are loads of options out there.
So, pick up your paint brushes and roll up your sleeves, as here are my top 30 kitchen makeover ideas, nicely categorized for your convenience.
Shelving and Cabinets
1. Open Shelving
Having open shelving instead of closed off cabinets is a quick and easy way to change to feel of any kitchen. Not only do open shelves remove the heaviness, they also open the kitchen up and provide better storage.
It also gives you a great place to show off your crockery and can showcase artwork and plants to ooze personality.
2. Bright White Cabinets
Have you got a dingy old kitchen? A sure-fire, budget-friendly way to fix this is to have bright white cabinets. Whether you buy brand new white cabinets or get mucky and brighten them yourself with a lick of paint, your kitchen will be feeling airy, light, and unrecognisable.
3. Raised Cabinets
Are you short of storage? Quite often kitchen cabinets do not reach the ceiling, leaving a gap of unusable and unreachable space.
Why not utilise this? By raising the cabinets up and adding a floating shelf below them provides that extra bit of room and a convenient place to keep fresh herbs, spices, or recipe books.
4. Floating Shelves
Shelves are also a great addition to fill up empty and bland walls. Again providing you with extra storage, they can also bring life to bare and boring kitchens by being a handy spot for storing accessories to bring that pizazz.
5. Sliding Cabinet Doors and ovens
Are you fed up only having enough room in the kitchen for one? Unless you want to knock through walls and create an open-plan living area, a straightforward fix is to replace your usual cabinet doors with sliding ones.
This way, if your partner has their head in a cupboard, you’ll still be able to get from one end of your kitchen to the other. This is also a great idea for studio apartments to tuck your kitchen away and create a divide from the rest of your living space.
6. Two Tone Cabinets
If an all-white kitchen approach is not the makeover you imagined, two-tone cabinets might be the answer to your revamping needs. All the cupboards below the countertop are painted one colour, usually darker, and only the cabinets above the countertop are white.
This adds great depth to your kitchen too. A good idea is to stick to neutral colours so you can be sure the cabinets go hand in hand.
Layout
7. Kitchen Island
Kitchen islands are a fantastic way to make more counterspace and utilize unused space in bigger kitchens. If you purchase some stools the island can also be used as a breakfast bar, helping make your kitchen a communal and sociable space.
8. Counters to the Edge
The biggest problem with kitchens is a lack of storage and space. By pushing the counters right to the edge of the room this opens the space and ensures you are making the most of it.
9. Kitchen Triangle
The kitchen triangle is a well-known design layout, whereby the sink, refrigerator and cooker are placed at three points of an imaginary triangle around your kitchen. This makes all the space feel equally important and links parts of the kitchen together.
10. Stove Near Window
Sometimes the biggest thing wrong with an old and dreary kitchen is the lighting. By moving the stove closer to the window when you’re cooking the space will feel a lot more open and fresh.
Colour
11. Splashes of Colour
Does your kitchen feel flat and boring? Sometimes this happens if a kitchen is in one solid hue. Adding splashes of subtle colour throughout your kitchen can add an element of fun and personality. Try adding coloured accessories like stools or appliances for a subtle but effective kitchen fix.
12. Wooden Accents
If you are not a fan of an overly sleek and sharp kitchen, adding wooden accents can add a sense of farmhouse charm to create a friendly and refined space. Whether this be wooden stool, exposed beams or hardwood shelves, it adds a certain warmth and comfortability to your home.
13. Bold Colours
Adding bold colours to your kitchen quickly injects personality and character. This could be a bright feature wall, or even a coloured stove or range hood. A winning combo for tying a splash of colour in with the rest of your kitchen is to pair it with a wooden countertop or cabinets and brass or chrome accessories.
14. White Walls and Ceiling
Does your kitchen feel slightly claustrophobic? Brighter and lighter colours help to open-up a space and give the illusion of room. If you pair white walls with a white ceiling the room instantly feels taller.
15. Feature Wall
Another option to add some personality and individuality to your kitchen is to have a feature wall. This readily cheers up the space. There are a few different options; a floral wall when paired with distressed cabinets gives a shabby chic vibe, or a bright wall injects some modern colour.
16. Blackboard Wall
This is a great idea, especially for a busy family kitchen. Blackboard paint can we picked up cheap from most hardware stores, so why not transform a bare space into a blackboard feature? Great for writing reminders, schedules and shopping lists, you’ll never forgot anything again!
Lighting and Accessories
17. Bright Lighting
If your kitchen lacks natural lighting and feels dull and dingy, adding bright artificial lighting to the space infuses freshness. Try not to make the lighting too harsh as this can make your kitchen feel clinical, but warm bright lighting from multiple sources is a winner.
18. Add Plants
Plants are an easy revamp for any room. They pack personality and life and make a space feel more harmonious.
Not only that, having plants in your home has been shown to boost your mood, productivity, concentration and creativity, and keep stress, fatigue and sickness at bay. Even having pots of herbs along the window ledge can add life and character.
19. Revamp Appliances
If you can afford to splash out on new appliances, this completely upgrades your kitchen from worn-out and overused to new and modern.
Whether this is just in the form of a new toaster or kettle, or a more extravagant purchase of a new induction cooktop, kitchen sink or range hood, it is a great way to turn back time in your kitchen.
20. Accent Lighting
I love accent lighting. It draws attention to surfaces and adds an illuminance and glow. A great place for accent lighting in kitchens is lining the underneath of your upper cabinets to highlight the countertops, or around the base of the lower cabinets to add a glow to the floor.
21. Upgrade Stools
If you do not want to rip out your entire kitchen, those with breakfast bars have a simple method for making a more sophisticated space: upgrade your stools.
These stools are probably used daily so deserve an upgrade and can hugely change the feel of your kitchen from aged to fresh. If you want these to contrast your kitchen island, wooden stools against white is a great combination.
If you would rather the stools were not the feature and want them to match the kitchen, try using different materials to add texture. Shiny black stalls and a matte black island are a great example of this working without seeming boring and flat.
22. Accessorize
Accessories in general should be a part of every kitchen. Instead of hiding everything away in your cabinets, add artwork and photographs, show off your favourite cookware and crockery, and add some personality.
This elevates the space and adds pizazz to what was a boring room. Even a change as simple as showcasing your kitchen utensils set on the wall can add a contemporary feel, plus acts as a storage saver while conveniently being right there to grab when you need them.
23. Add a Chandelier
Want to pack a punch of character into your kitchen? If you have a large and spacious kitchen, a chandelier is a great addition to your home.
Ideally hung low over a kitchen island, the chandelier can be as extravagant and luxurious or as simple as you please. They add instantaneous class and elegance, not to mention additional lighting to brighten your space.
24. Use Timeless Materials
Regardless of what style décor you decide to go for, you do not want to follow a trend which will quickly run out of fashion leaving you wanting to revamp your kitchen again a few years from now!
To help prevent this, use timeless materials for cabinet and draw handles, countertops and kitchen accents such as brass, steel, bronze or marble.
Countertop
25. Change or Repaint Countertops
This is a quick and easy upgrade that comes with huge impact. Wooden countertops are becoming more popular and add a farmhouse charm, or marble tops are a safe an effective bet that are unlikely to go out of fashion.
If you cannot afford a new countertop, why not try painting your existing one? Though your kitchen will be out of use for a few days in the painting process, paint can be picked up from most DIY stores and can covered up garish and outdates designs.
26. Compliment Countertop to Accessories
Sometimes kitchens can feel disjointed. There are so many elements to a kitchen; walls, cabinets, flooring, not to mention appliances and accessories! To help tie everything together, try complimenting your countertop to your kitchen fixings and accessories.
For example, if you have a marble top with flecks of sliver, opt for silver lights and handles, and a chrome coloured kitchen sink.
27. Dark Countertops and White
To add depth and contrast to your kitchen, try pairing white cabinets and backsplashes to dark countertops. This is a great option if you don’t want an all-white kitchen, but still want a light and airy space.
Flooring
28. Checkerboard Floor
A checkerboard floor is a lifesaver for older homes. Not only is it a timeless design, but if put on the diagonal it hides crooked lines and slightly wonky cabinets. Even if you do not live in an older house, diagonal checkerboard floor adds another dimension.
29. Free Floor Space
Have you got a small and cramped kitchen? Make sure you free up as much floor space as possible. A free-standing nuisance in most kitchens is the kitchen trash can.
Trade this in for an under-sink alternative and you magically have a lot more room to manoeuvre around your kitchen, plus any odours leaking are confined to the under-sink space.
30. Hardwood Floors
Hardwood floors are a nice alternative to traditional tiles and great for people seeking a more rustic look. It is great to pair hardwood floors with other kitchen items, such as a big wooden table in the centre of the room or exposed wooden beams across the ceiling.
Summary
Whether all your kitchen needs is a quick lick of paint and the addition of some plants and accessories, or if you are after a total rip out and remodel job, these ideas will inspire you to create the home you love.
I hope I have helped you get one step closer to achieving your perfect kitchen. So, what are you waiting for? Your dream kitchen awaits.
