Top Tips: 15 Ways To Update Your Kitchen

"I’m constantly looking for simple ways to create my dream kitchen and while I might not yet be there, over the last few years, I’ve employed lots of different ways to create a kitchen that I do love and enjoy spending time in."

So when I was challenged by AO to come up with 15 different, relatively simple things you can do to update the look of your kitchen, I used my own as an example to share with you my tips and tricks for getting a new look without having to spend loads of money.

Most of these things can be implemented over time so you don’t need to do everything at once and you certainly don’t need to call the builders in!

Ready to give your kitchen a little love? Here are my 15 top tips!

While this may take a few days depending upon how big your kitchen is, changing the colour of cabinetry you simply don’t like is as easy as sanding, priming and painting in whatever colour your heart desires. It’s a lot of work but it’ll give you a lot of bang for your buck and can make a tired kitchen look like a bright new one without the cost of a full remodel.

When I fell in love with the idea of a white kitchen with gold accents, I knew the stainless steel appliances would have to go. As they were old, we waited patiently for them to die and then replaced them, one by one, with white appliances that didn’t interrupt the eye and looked seamless with the white cupboard doors. I particularly love Samsung's wide array of choice as they put practicality and style front of mind!

This is a much simpler swap. If you don’t care for the handles you have, simply drill for new hardware, patch the old holes and touch up with paint or wood filler that matches your doors and enjoy!

I love a little bit of pattern in any room in my home, so why not the kitchen? We backed our shelving units with a floral paper to bring in some colour but you can do the same with closed cupboards too. Imagine the pretty surprise when you reach for a plate or glass! It’s also a great way to bring colour or pattern into a monochrome kitchen.

If the lighting in your kitchen isn’t working for your style, consider swapping them out. I was looking for brass pendants to match my kitchen and when I couldn’t find ones I liked, DIY’d these ones! You can see the tutorial for that

With the odds and ends that find their way onto the kitchen worktop, why not gather those up into a handy tray? It will make smaller items look more purposeful and create a little vignette out of all your bits and pieces rather than looking like clutter!

We’re a bit crazy about hot drinks in our house and love both coffee and tea. What I wasn’t crazy about was how much room all those items were taking up in our cupboards! So instead, I decided to display them all in yet another tray in between our tea and coffee maker and beneath our favourite mugs. Now everything is within handy reach.

There’s nothing worse than an over-cluttered utensil drawer. So why not utilise dead space beneath your cupboards and make finding that ladle or slotted spoon easier than ever?

An organised kitchen is an efficient kitchen in my eyes and by decanting your dry goods into clear clip top jars, you’ll have a beautiful kitchen that’s well organised, too. I used a label maker to clearly mark everything and now I always know when I’m running low on something and need to restock.

I love nothing better than adding fresh herbs to my cooking and adding greenery brings life to any room in the home so why not combine both and create a small herb area on a windowsill? Basil, coriander and mint are favourites of mine but you can grow so many different herbs from seed or pick up small pots in your grocery store and repot them in plant pots that match the look of your kitchen.

There’s a homey warmth that comes with being in the kitchen and adding small touches of wood will keep a practical room from looking too clinical. It can be a set of chopping boards, a wooden blind or a butcher’s block worktop, but adding that touch of wood grounds a space and makes it feel warm and inviting, exactly as a kitchen should!

There are so many different fruit bowls on the market but I love using my pretty cake stands and keeping our fruit on these instead. It elevates it and makes it look like part décor/part tasty snack!

I spray painted some inexpensive rails in gold spray paint and mounted them under our storage units to tie in with the look of our kitchen. Why hide away those favourite mugs when they could act as décor and be in handy reach when you need them?

Whether you use a plate stand, a plate rack or you have glass fronted cabinets, don’t hide away your special plates. Use them to decorate your space by showcasing them vertically in your kitchen. If you’re afraid they might fall, use a stand inside your cupboards to keep them steady.

While this may not be a quick fix, replacing old and tired laminate, broken tiles or something that’s looking much worse for wear may be just what you need to create a whole new look. There are so many options on the market now from wood-look tiles to Moroccan style patterns to incredibly high quality laminates, you’re sure to find something you love.

So those are the 15 different ways we’ve updated our own kitchen. What little things have you done in your own home to update your kitchen? Any plans in the works?

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