Budget Friendly Ways to Update a Kitchen with Paint

If you want to give your kitchen a face lift but have more time than money to invest in the project, paint may be the answer. Here are some creative, budget friendly kitchen update options using paint.

Paint the Walls and Ceilings. Nothing will more quickly brighten your kitchen at relatively low cost than a new coat of paint. While white will give your kitchen a fresh, clean look, consider other more interesting options, like shades of yellow, green or blue. If your kitchen is small, stay away from dark colors, which will tend to make it feel even smaller. Also, don't forget to paint the ceiling. White or a neutral shade is best.

Use Contrasts. Paint baseboards and other trim in colors that contrast with or complement the walls to give your kitchen a distinctive, finished look.

Use Stencils. You can use stencils to add your own unique style to your kitchen at minimal cost. Stencils can go almost anywhere, above doors or windows, on splashboards, across the top of the walls just below the ceiling, in corners, on cabinets, or even on the ceiling, and they come in a broad range of motifs from traditional country kitchen to more upscale patterns. If you are especially creative and artistic, you could even paint a mural on one of your kitchen walls.

Paint Your Cabinets. Another budget-friendly kitchen update option is to give dated kitchen cabinets a face lift with paint. Painting kitchen cabinets is a time-consuming project, since you will have to remove all hardware and doors first, but the results can be well worth the time and effort.

Do some research before you start painting kitchen cabinets, since you will have numerous colors and finish options. And don't feel that all your cabinets have to be the same color. For example, you might paint the sides a contrasting color, inner panels and outer trim on doors different shades of the same color or contrasting colors, one cabinet a different color than the others (making it a focal point of your kitchen), or wall cabinets a different color than floor cabinets.

Another option once you've removed the cabinet doors is to leave some of them off, creating stylish open-shelf decor in some areas of your kitchen. In that event, paint the shelves and interior walls of the open-shelf cabinets. A lighter interior color will set this space off and provide a nice background for the dishes or glassware on display.

Since you will have removed hardware, including knobs and handles, to paint the cabinets, it might be good time to replace them with new, more contemporary styles. Along with a fresh coat of paint, this will help to give your kitchen a brand new look at a relatively modest cost.

Floors. Another good way to update a kitchen with paint is to paint rather re-stain your worn wooden floors. Opt for a solid color that complements walls and cabinets or, if you are more ambitious, go for a pattern, such as diamonds or blocks.

Sources:

www.kitchenbathideas.com, 15 Ways to Update Your Kitchen with Paint

Coral Nafie, interiordec.about.com, Easy Stencil Projects Add Style to a Room