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Tools For Renovating Your Kitchen
There are very few of us who wouldn't jump at the chance to have our kitchens get a makeover.
The kitchen is one of those rooms where we spend a large part of our lives. We want it to be an inviting place that is easy to cook in.
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However, the kitchen is also one of the most expensive rooms to renovate. With all of the plumbing and electrical work required, a full remodel can quickly become a highly-skilled job that requires outside expertise.
Additionally, appliances are extremely expensive and drive up the price of a renovation.
Here are some easy ways that you can affordably renovate your kitchen, and the few tools that you'll want to do it.
Fresh Floors
The floors in a room can change the atmosphere. If you are fighting with 20-year-old grout and grungy, hard-to-clean corners, your kitchen will always feel dirty.
While you could remove the tile and replace it, you are looking at an extremely expensive and time-consuming endeavor. A more affordable option would be to give it a facelift.
Start by deep cleaning your tile with a rented professional scrubbing machine that you rent. Once you get the old stains out of your tile, you'll start noticing that your kitchen looks and feels brighter.
The next step is to deep-clean and re-seal the grout. Using grout paint, you can easily brighten the grout so that it looks like new.
Finally, apply a tile sealant to the entire floor. It will be cleaned and will have that like-new sparkle.
Add Lighting
The other thing that older kitchens need is more lighting that is non-fluorescent.
LED-equipped can lights are an excellent choice. Using an impact driver with a spade bit and hole cutter, you can easily zip new holes and insert the can lights.
Consult with your local electrician, but many of these can light require so little electricity, that it does not require you to run a new electrical circuit.
You can also easily run under-the-cupboard lights. These accent lights are a relaxing, eye-catching design that many homeowners enjoy, especially in the evenings.
Repaint The Cupboards
Painting your cupboards is one of those easier fixes that can provide a brand-new look at a fraction of the cost of new ones.
The trick here is to go with modern colors that match the most commonly-sold cabinets. Most of these are sold in shades of gray or white. By borrowing those style ideas from the modern best-sellers, you can ensure that your updated kitchen is in line with the latest trends.
The other major point is to use flat or matte-finish paint. The good thing about modern, high-quality paints is that they all scrub well, even the ones with a flatter finish.
This means that you don't have to go with high-gloss paint like we used to
As you refinish your cupboards, you will find the job to go a lot faster if you have an orbital sander that you can use for removing the old finish.
Replace Your Cabinet Doors
This costs more, but you can look at buying new doors for your existing cupboards.
You'll want to remove your old doors and then sand and paint the cabinet base and your new doors so that they match.
Then, you carefully measure and install the new doors and adjust them so that they hang smoothly and open well. You might even find that this is a good time to upgrade the door hinges to a better quality model so that your doors open luxuriously.
New Doorknobs
Whether or not you change out your cabinet doors, you will want to add fresh new cupboard doorknobs.
Shopping for your cupboard knobs locally is likely to be rather expensive. However, if you go online and look for some of the hardware importers, you are likely to get a better deal on your knobs and hinges.
Quartz Countertops
Countertops are one feature that we fall find ourselves compromising on. There is something that is truly satisfying about a truly luxurious, high-end countertop.
There are few things as satisfying as cooking in a granite kitchen.
One of the things to look at is whether your local granite dealers have some year-end closeouts. Sometimes they order in granite for a special job and need to sell the rest o it at a steep discount.
As long as you are not too picky, you can get an incredible deal on the new countertop.
Additionally, quartz is an especially beautiful countertop choice that is durable and costs a fraction of what granite does. It should be a top consideration or any budget-minded kitchen renovator.
Appliances
If your budget allows, a kitchen makeover can be a good time to look or new appliances.
Buying appliances at sticker pricing is an expensive way to makeover your kitchen. Those appliances will lose their value in a hurry.
You want to go or appliances that have proven technology that has worked well or the past 5 to 10 years. Skip the smart refrigerator and go with a more simplified model.
If you are willing to drive aways for your appliances (and are patient while you shop), you can look to the used market to find nearly-new appliances for a fraction of the cost.
Shopping the closeouts section as well as the recently-returned item section of your local hardware store, can be equally rewarding.
Cookware
What good is your new stove, if you are using 20-year-old pots and pans to cook on?
Ok, so we're kidding a little bit, but there is always room for a new pot or pan.
Start by shopping at overstock stores such as Marshall's Tuesday Morning, or Homegoods.
Good cooking utensils then to be pricey, so be prepared to pay a little more to get the type that you are after. However, for the family who eats supper at home more than four nights a week, those nice pots can pay for themselves in a hurry.
A kitchen makeover may not be our dream. What we really dream of is a full remodel. However, with some sanders, a cordless drill or impact driver, and a lot of creative shopping, any kitchen can have a facelift for a fraction of the price.
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