Low Cost Kitchen Updates

Cozy Up the Work Space

A colorful or patterned rug instantly gives you a low cost kitchen update with personality and comfort. Plus, a comfy rug adds warmth underfoot and a touch of homeyness to your hardworking kitchen space. Consider placing a rug in areas of the kitchen such as in front of the range, refrigerator, or sink, where you tend to do a lot of standing. Be sure to place a slip-prevention mat beneath the rug for safety.

Refreshing Change

The quickest way to rev up your kitchen’s style quotient is to roll on a fresh coat of paint. With so many color choices available in wipe-clean paints, drab cabinets or walls can be banished in a weekend. A burst of cheery yellow cabinetry, tempered by a rich wooden island and floors and a white beaded-board ceiling, cozies up this room.

Stylish Faucets

Spruce up your kitchen sink with a new faucet. Often overlooked kitchen elements, faucets are truly valuable style-setters. Faucets come in a limited number of metals, so to start you’ll need to settle on a finish. After you’ve decided on a finish, search your favorite brands for models that suit your needs and your kitchen’s style.

Source: BHG.com

Outdoor Kitchens: Maximize Your Backyard Living

Outdoor kitchen scene

Outdoor kitchens can maximize your backyard living. Imagine a sunny Texas morning. A cup of coffee by your side, you’re making omelets in your outdoor kitchen. You reach over and snip a few fresh herbs from the garden to delicately sprinkle over the dish. Sounds heavenly, doesn’t it? Well, moving the most-used room in your home to the great outdoors doesn’t have to remain a daydream. More and more homeowners are maximizing backyard living. In addition they are bringing their culinary skills—along with the high-performance indoor kitchen experience—with them.

According to the 2016 National Kitchen and Bath Design Trends Report, 69 percent of the designers surveyed recently created an outdoor kitchen and 43 percent saw an increase in requests for alfresco living spaces from their customers. “This year I already have three outdoor kitchens scheduled,” says L.A.-based Karl Champley, AKBD, and NKBA K+B Insider. “I think the trend will continue to grow as an extension of the indoor cooking and dining experience. More projects are including a fire pit as a feature and pizza ovens are becoming more popular as well.”

Homeowners are not only bringing the entire kitchen experience outside with weatherproof cabinets, refrigerators and music systems, but also the comfort of the dining and family rooms. Indoor-style furniture and lighting are migrating to the wilds of the backyard, creating a haven from the rest of the world while substantially increasing living space.

Source: National Kitchen & Bath Association