Kitchen Improvements On A Budget

One Of The Wisest Home Improvement Approaches there is Bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchens are some of the most used rooms in a home. The living room does have some “living” going on, but less than the kitchen and bedroom. The “family room” will likely have less “family” time than the kitchen as well. Accordingly, it makes sense to focus on kitchen refurbishment and renovation when you want to better home value.

It’s not just you who will use the kitchen extensively. Pretty much anyone who owns a house ends up spending substantial time in the kitchen. So if you’re going to make your home the most valuable to a potential buyer, you want to get that kitchen squared away. The thing is, remodeling your kitchen isn’t going to happen in a vacuum. It’s not going to be “free”.

Well, let’s amend that: it can be free, but you’ve got to be exceptionally resourceful. For example, if you were already a contractor who could barter for materials and had the tools on hand, you could “part out” your kitchen like you would a car, fixing things one at a time as you got the materials. Most people aren’t in a position to do that.

However, that doesn’t mean you have to go into debt on your kitchen remodel. There are ways to get the job done cost-effectively without sacrificing associated quality. We’ll cover a few suggestions for that sort of outcome in this writing.

1. Table of Contents

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   The Floor: Wood, Tile, Or LVP? LVP Is Easiest

   
   Wood or tile, properly done, represent the best flooring for a kitchen. Wood needs to be treated and sealed with polyurethane in advance, as spills are common in the kitchen. Tile is heavy, it can be expensive, and installation—though straightforward—can be a little bit complex. Also, mistakes are harder to fix.

Luxury Vinyl Plank, however, goes in really easy, and though it is a little expensive these days, it can be installed simply enough that you don’t need to hire a contractor. Basically, you’ll need a straight razor or another reliable cutting tool, and that’s about it. There’s a little tampering tool used to push the LVP into place; that usually comes with whatever you buy.

Essentially, you want to leave between a quarter-inch and a half-inch under the trim at the corners of a room. You don’t want the LVP to be flush with the wall under the trim. Heat and cold will contract this flooring material, so if you get it “flush”, it’s going to buckle throughout the year, and there will be “bubbles” in the floor.

Even so, provided you’re able to put a little space between the LVP and the wall, this won’t be an issue, and you’ll have a brand-new floor that looks very professional, lasts a long time, and is sturdy. LVP is relatively water-resistant, and doing the whole kitchen in a DIY way may only take one day out of your weekend if you knuckle under and get the job done.

2. Appliances: Switch Them Out

   
   What kind of budget do you have? You don’t necessarily have to spend top dollar on the latest appliance. There are a few options here. For one thing, you can buy late-model solutions. A fridge that’s a little older can be just as effective as the newest sort of fridge on the market, and it will likely be cheaper.

Also, many homeowners in your community upgrade appliances every year. The old ones aren’t broken, they’re just no longer necessary. You could install used appliances that work fine to replace old ones that are on the fritz.

Also, you can simply buy new if that suits you better. If you purchase kitchen appliances online, you’re often able to get them more cost-effectively than if you purchased from a department store downtown somewhere.

3. Kitchen Cabinets Are A Fine Upgrade

   
   When it comes to kitchen cabinets, these are almost one of the most core features of effective, notable, value-adding kitchen improvement there is. Flooring and appliances play their part, but solid cabinetry is usually one of the first things the eyes see when a new kitchen is encountered.

Think about the last time you looked at a home for purchase. Wasn’t the kitchen one of your most important areas of observation? And weren’t the kitchen cabinets one of the first things you saw?

If they were tattered, run-down, falling apart, improperly maintained, and needed a coat of paint, what did that say for the rest of the house? But if they were pristine, clean, and stylish, wasn’t that better? So kitchen cabinets are a good move for home improvement, and you don’t necessarily have to spend an arm and a leg.

You can order DIY options like RTA cabinetry. Ready To Assemble cabinets are a great Do It Yourself project, and you can find them to precisely match the dimensions of your unique kitchen. As a bonus, DIY and RTA tend to be more affordable.

4. A Tile Back Splash

   
   A tile backsplash can be installed right behind the sink in your kitchen, you can do it the DIY route, and you can choose to either find tiles at severe discounts because they were ordered improperly—or something of the kind—or you can simply pay the full price for exactly the tile options you want. For a backsplash, you won’t have to buy much.

Better Homes and Gardens offers some ideas to help get you started. Essentially, provided you go “DIY”, the only cost you’re out is the tile and the time. Most backsplashes are going to be under ten square feet.

Usually, it’ll just be between two and six square feet, depending on the size of the backsplash area. Sometimes you’ve got more to work with. However you swing it, tile backsplashes aren’t too complex, and when finished, they make your kitchen look nice.

Getting More For Less With Your Kitchen Remodel
A quality tile backsplash, fine kitchen cabinets, new or old appliances secured either through carefully exploring the market or purchasing wisely online, and redoing the floor with LVP or some other material all represent straightforward kitchen refurbishment projects you can probably get done going the DIY route. The key is going DIY: that saves money every time.