When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.
As you can see by my before kitchen, I was handed some mega sized lemons (see my kitchen renovation here)!
High End Kitchen Updates on a Budget
1) Glass Cabinets (or open shelving)
They’re perfect for showing off favorite collections, add a custom look and break up the expanse of closed cabinets.
2) Built In Furniture
Stock cabinets can look like a built in piece of furniture. Add chunky moulding to get the look of a piece you found at an antique shop. Show off favorite collections like these glass cloches and cake domes from HomeGoods.
3) Tile to the Ceiling
This is my favorite tip anyone can do. Wrap tile around doors and windows and up to the ceiling.
Marble Herringbone Tile HERE.
4) Add a Focal Point.
My red stove is the show stopper in my kitchen and a real conversations piece. You won’t see this in your neighbor’s house! In fact, I saw a red stove at Home Depot the other day.
5) Large Scale Lighting.
Forget tiny pendant lights and think big and bold whether it be an antique crystal chandelier or a giant lantern.
Similar lights HERE.
6) Mismatched Hardware
Why settle for one kind of knob when you can have cup pulls, latches and handles.
Latch HERE.
Cup pull HERE.
7) Vintage Touches
A few one of a kind pieces (this step stool was $1!) can customize any kitchen.
Check out more ways to update and refresh your kitchen and start making a huge pitcher of lemonade!
always love looking at your kitchen. I have not seen red stoves at Home depot. I suppose they will be Targets Threshold line very soon as well. 🙂
Initially, I just glanced at the title and thought it said “getting high on a budget” and thought your blog had taken a whole new turn.
Another way to save is to cut your kitchen in half (like mine) and then you don’t have to buy as much. (Oh, PS–how do you like your marble countertop?)
Love all the special touches that make your kitchen unique and gorgeous!!
Mary Alice
Wow Kelly – I’ve never seen the before pics of your kitchen. What a transformation! Love all your tips. It kills me when I see these shows where people spend a huge amount on a kitchen redo when I know they could do it for so much less and still get the same fabulous result.
The transformation you guys gave your kitchen is incredible, Kelly (I can’t believe the “before” shot)! And, your use of awesome lighting … gorgeous tiles … fabulous red stove and eclectic elements truly make it one of THE coolest kitchens ever!
I love the tile to the ceiling look. I hope to eventually redo our kitchen and having a large wall of just cabinets is in the plans. I pinned your wall of cabinets as well. I’ve been planning on doing this but hadn’t come across anything “pin worthy” yet.
Lovely and unique touches to your kitchen!
Hi Kelly,
Love your kitchen and that red stove is fabulous. Thanks for sharing your tips.
Cynthia
Adore the red stove! What an awesome pop of color! I had never decorated with red until we did our den makeover What an amazingly cheerful color. Your kitchen looks amazing and I know you must love being in there. We’re slowly getting our kitchen done one piece at a time.
We inherited a vintage step stool with the house. Looks like I need to clean it up and give it a spot in the kitchen. Great tips!
Love, love, love your kitchen – especially that red stove! I need to ask forgiveness for coveting! Red is my favorite color and I have splashes of it in my kitchen, including a red highchair that belonged to my grandmother when my mom and aunt were young!
Love this kitchen! What type of lights are those over the island?
They are demijohn lights from Bobo Intriguing Objects Meredith! I bought them online.
Kelly
Thanks!!! Checking their site out now!
They only sell wholesale to the industry. How did she get them??
Well done! I think most of us would “kill” for that red stove! But there are so many ways to spruce things up, without spending a fortune. Paint and hardware can move mountains!
Cheers!
Barbara at The Treasured Home
Your kitchen is amazing! I also have a step stool like yours, it was my grandmas and one of my favorite things.
Your kitchen is just gorgeous Kelly! Amazing how you transformed it! i’m on the verge of having my kitchen renovated over the summer, and I think I have a lot of your suggestions in mind already, however, choosing the right tile, countertop is just a real conundrum for me! Love your marble backsplash, I really, am thinking about doing marble countertops with a mother of pearl backsplash…hmmm… we’ll see, I’m a long way off, still trying to decipehr kitchen cabinets. 🙂
Love your ideas….I especially love that stool – my Nana had one exactly like that in her kitchen as I was growing up – brings back lots of memories!
Great tips, your kitchen is one of my all time favorites!
Seriously what is wrong with me???? All that lovely stuff to look at and I find myself squinting to see what kind of candy ‘ya got in your bin!
Bliss
Wow, Kelly! What a beautiful, beautiful kitchen. It just look great! Guess what? I have one of those old stools that I pull out when the girls are “working on” something- xo Diana
Beautiful! Love it all 🙂
Just beautiful. Wish I had the nerve to paint my cabinets and update the kitchen.
Thanks for the inspiration.
Hugs,
Audrey Z.@ Timeless Treasures
You did a great job Kelly. I shared this post on my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Organically-Opulent/155838211246867). Everyone needs tips like these – especially where there is a cost savings! You have the creativity and foresight that most don`t have – and your kitchen looks great because of it! I`m going to try some of these myself! Thanks for sharing!
Cortney
LOVE your kitchen! Those stools at the counter……where did you score those?
I love your kitchen Kelly! It’s so gorgeous and inspiring!
I never get tired of tours of your kitchen. NEVER! I am having stove jealousy all over again. When we were building this house, the Home Depot Show store (can’t remember what it was called) was still open. I used to look at this giant Red Viking Stove and tried to conceive of every possible way I could get it into my kitchen. It didn’t make it, unless we added a lot of cutting of pipes and such to the whole area. I so love that cabinet hardware. I must put that on something I make one of these days.
Beautiful kitchen and GREAT tips! We’ve been doing a good bit of remodeling lately and our kitchen is in the planning stages…can’t wait to get her done!
Blessings,
Cindy
Gorgeous!! LOVE LOVE LOVE your kitchen. You did a fantastic job 😉
Jamie @ somuchbetterwithage.com
Your kitchen is totally amazing. I love your remodel and super great tips. I would love for you to post this to my Inspire Me Tuesday party going on now. Fabulous post. Hugs, Marty
i love it and how bright it is. i am on the hunt for a stool like that…..but i can’t find it for $1! your kitchen is stunning : )
I’ve always loved your kitchen but I’ve never seen that “before” pic! Wow! The tile to the ceiling detail is amaaaazing.
Thanks for sharing your kitchen. It is beautiful!! I would love to know the details about your tile. It is exactly what I want for our backsplash. I also haven’t found drawer pulls I love but yours are perfect! Now I’ll be hunting around 😉
Kate
Man oh man I can’t believe that is the same place. What an amazing transformation!!
Lynn
I Love the look. What happened to the second window from the before picture? Is it from a different angle, or did you do some serious remodeling?
Love these cup pulls. CN you tell me the brand/ where you got them? Thanks!
Can you tell me where you got the latch and handle door pulls for your cabinets are the name they are called. I would love to add these to our kitchen.
Hi Kelley –
here are the latches: http://amzn.to/1DCyCu9
and here are the cup pulls: http://amzn.to/1LJ9Qya
Great Kitchen! Who produced your cabinets? Thanks