There is no wrong time to update your kitchen. Especially if you aren’t planning on going all HGTV and tearing down walls or installing new cabinets.

An updated kitchen is one of the best ways to increase the value, and if you are anything like me, the enjoyment of your home! I’ve got tips you can easily do yourself with a little bargain shopping and sweat that will save you a fortune and get amazing results!

Whether you are thinking about buying a fixer upper, you’ve lived in your home a while and just aren’t inspired by your space, or you are thinking of selling your home, but are scared of what number might be thrown at you when pricing out a full kitchen renovation, I’ve got five updates that will bring you a big smile and a good return on your investment without a big price tag.

I want to start by saying that some kitchens are just going to need a full renovation. If your cabinets are rotting or falling off the walls, if your countertops are broken and chipped or if the layout just doesn’t work, there is no point in slapping lipstick on a pig. It may be time to see about a home equity line of credit to go full makeover, but if it feels a little dated or uninspired, I’ve got you covered!

Tip One: Paint Your Cabinets

If you have those builder grade oak cabinets or something similar that were so popular from the 1980’s to early 2000’s, this is my TOP TIP for a beautiful upgrade. There are tons of YouTube videos that will lead you step by step through what needs to be done, but basically:

• Remove all the contents

• Wash cabinets inside and out

• Let them dry

• Remove doors

• Sand cabinet doors

• Wipe off any dust

• PRIME

• Paint

You may be tempted to get the paint that has the primer in it to save a few bucks, but I can tell you from experience that without a separate primer, the paint soaks right in and will require extra coats. 

Don't be afraid to step out of the box a little on color here. I probably wouldn’t go completely crazy, but we chose white for the top cabinets and a deep navy for the bottom, and even the biggest skeptic I know had to give me credit for the finished product after telling me I was nuts when I was in the planning stages. Currently, I am obsessed with Mountain Sage by James Hardie (their exterior color of the year) and Cracked Pepper, the Behr 2024 Color of the Year. If you aren’t into the moody vibe, Skipping Stones was named by Dunn Edwards for the color of 2024 and that’s also pretty great, as is Upward, a soft, airy blue by Sherwin Williams.

TIP 2: Hardware

While you have all of those cabinet doors off for painting, you’ll want to think about your hardware. There are two types of hardware that can really elevate your kitchen and you’ll want to decide, based on your budget if you pick one or both. The biggest impact will come from cabinet knobs and drawer pulls. You can get a good looking, cheap pack of ten for under $20 at Home Depot or go crazy at Restoration Hardware or a specialty website like Hooks and Knobs where you are probably looking at closer to $8-11 per piece. We got lucky and bought some on clearance from Pottery Barn and got the best of both worlds. If you don’t already have hardware (cabinets don’t actually come with holes from hardware and I see them without all the time) it’s easy to install. 

The next kind of hardware you are going to want to decide on is hinges and drawer sliders. These will likely cost $10 per cabinet door or $20 per drawer, but are highly sought after by buyers and will really increase your quality of life in your home if you have kids or a partner who doesn’t seem to understand that you don’t HAVE to slam a drawer for it to shut properly. 

TIP 3: Paint the Walls

Walls in a kitchen get greasy and grimy and scuffed up pretty easily. And if they are anything like the walls in my kitchen when I bought my home, the color decided on a decade ago is likely terrible. Lucky for you, you already have a lot of the supplies you need from painting the cabinets:

• Brushes

• Rollers

• Painters Tape

• Drop Clothes
  

Of all the rooms (except maybe the bathroom) the kitchen really doesn’t have a lot of surface area because it’s mostly cabinets, appliances and windows, so painting won’t take long or cost much. But a color update in this room really makes a big impact. Here, I recommend either white, or a light color that is tonal with the color you picked for the cabinets. If you chose white for your cabinets, a nice light blue like the Sherman Williams Upward I mentioned earlier can be a very inviting choice. Buyers are very drawn to blues, especially in kitchens and bathrooms. 

TIP 4: Organization

This may seem like a no-brainer, but an organized kitchen is like a breath of fresh air. If you have pans stacked and impossible to remove from a cabinet, or your countertops are covered in small appliances and canisters, it can turn throwing an easy meal together after a stressful day into the final straw that sends you over the edge. I am so happy with the cabinet storage options they have at Menards and the Container Store. My pans and food storage containers are always easy to put in and out. I have lazy Susans in my cabinets that used to be cluttered with everything from water bottles to spices and the extra room helped me to store the things that don’t get used every day. I also upgraded to a combo pressure / slow cooker that helps me have less stuff cluttering up my space. 

TIP 5: Flooring

Do you have stick-on tiles or linoleum or heaven forbid carpet in your kitchen?! I’ve seen it all! We had that old cheap linoleum in ours. It was horrible. We pulled it up and headed over to the hardware warehouse and bought some easy to install luxury vinyl plank flooring. It’s perfect for kitchens and other high traffic areas like family rooms and hallways. It’s water resistant and durable. The best part is that you can get great looking planks for between $1-3 per square foot and most kitchens don’t have a ton of floor space. 

PRO TIP: Always buy 5-10% more vinyl plank than you measured for to account for waste and recuts. And don’t forget the areas under the fridge and stove!

BONUS TIP: APPLIANCES

Even if you do all FIVE tips above, you can probably have a pretty great new kitchen for under $1,000 if you are thrifty and can do all of the work yourself. But one item that could REALLY improve your daily life or get eyes on your listing and help to sell it for top dollar is the addition of stainless steel appliances. We waited to order ours until a few months before selling our last home, and it is something that I still think about almost three years later! Our appliances were terrible, but we genuinely thought that it would cost a fortune to replace them. Boy was I wrong! We were able to get the fridge of my dreams, a built in microwave (we previously had one on the counter), a quiet, remote start dishwasher, and a stove that not only had convection (read 25% less cooking time) but also a built in AIR FRY function all installed for less than $3000. So make sure you do your research and look out for sales at the major retailers in the area, because they are frequent. 

If you’re thinking, “Well we aren’t going to move for at least 3-5 years, won’t I need to replace them AGAIN so they are new when we sell?” Nah. Just keep them clean and maintained and you should be fine. The enjoyment you will get out of them will be worth it. 

So if you have been watching too many renovation shows or are doing some irresponsible googling and think a kitchen renovation is scary and going to cost you $40-70k, don’t worry.

When you work with TREO Realtors, one of Cincinnati’s top real estate companies, we will always be able to help you sell your home for the best price, while saving you money upfront. 

If you’d like me to give you my opinion on what should be done in YOUR home and how it would affect the market value, whether you want to renovate your home for your enjoyment or because you are thinking of selling your home, reach out in the form below!