Partner Post: 21 Amazing Kitchen Decorating Ideas

It’s normal to look around your kitchen and daydream about all of the things you would change if you could just find the money to cover the cost. But what if it didn’t have to? We live in the age of DiY, thrifting, and shabby chic! Why not use those skills to redecorate your kitchen? Here are some ideas to get you started. Before we get started: while they are expensive, it is a good idea to spend or borrow the money to replace old or worn out appliances. A great deal of home appliance shops work with third party financing companies like Crest Financial Services to help people use what they call “take home layaway” to afford the important things they need. PRO TIP: Sometimes financiers like www.crestfinancial.com will also lend directly to consumers. If you are super strapped for cash, this might be a way to afford your supplies for these projects.

1. Use reclaimed wood

Reclaimed wood can be anything from the salvaged floorboards of a school gym to driftwood you find walking on the beach. You can use reclaimed wood for everything from countertops to furniture to smaller items like cutting boards and decorations.

2. Paint it White

Paint the walls and cabinetry white and then choose brightly colored drawer pulls, cabinet handles and other smaller decorative touches to help them pop.

3. Leather

You can easily leather straps fairly cheaply at most craft supply stores. Switch out your current cabinet handles and drawer pulls for leather pulls that you make yourself.

4. Paint your cabinets

Giving your cabinets a fresh coat of paint or a fresh wood stain can liven up the space and make it feel new.

5. Clean it up

You would be surprised by how much a good and deep cleaning of a kitchen can freshen up the space. Really go to town.

6. Declutter

Take everything down and put everything away. Put the small appliances away in cabinets and drawers. Take everything off the walls.

7. Less is More

Put back the three you love the most and store the rest. You can switch them out to help do mini-remodels from time to time.

8. Use Shelving

Why not display your fancy blender, waffle iron, stand mixer, etc on shelves? It’s pretty and organized at the same time!

9. Hang it On a Wall

Get some decorative hooks and hang your pots and pans on the wall for decoration.

10. New Floor Rugs

Replace old floor rugs and mats. It’s a subtle change but a good one.

11. Tablecloth

A new tablecloth can dress up an old kitchen table in a jif! Alternatively...

12. Place mats

Take your old tablecloth off of the table and put down place mats instead!

13. Your Splashback

Putting up a new splashback can help change the look of your kitchen and is easy to do on your own.

14. Start at the Oven

Plan your kitchen’s look starting with your cooking zone. Make that space comfortable and usable (putting items you use a lot within easy reach) and then decorate outward from there.

15. Pretty Jars

Instead of storing your pastas, rices, beans, etc in boxes or plastic bags, put them in glass jars. You can paint the jars if you want, but even leaving them clear will help add a decorative touch to your shelves.

16. Pretty Bottles

Use tiny glass jars for your herbs and spices instead of those terrible plastic bottles they’re sold in.

17.  Decorate up

Focus on the walls and leave your counter tops clean. Adding a couple of small prints, or a few small shelves on which you can place framed photos, bud vases, etc is a great way to add personality to a kitchen.

18. New Cookware

You can find great new sets of cookware for relatively cheap at Ikea, Target, etc. Pro tip: search for cast iron stuff at thrift shops like the Goodwill. Cast iron lasts for ever but is expensive to buy brand new.

19. New Plates and Cutlery

You can buy a matching set for around $20-$30 or you can dig through secondhand shops and put together your own eclectic set for about half that.

20. Use your windows

You can buy stained glass privacy film at an inexpensive price online. Use it to give your kitchen a decorative touch.

21. Lighting

One of the cheapest and easiest ways to give your kitchen “new” lighting is to put a floor lamp with a warm bulb in the corner of your kitchen to help soften your existing lighting scheme.

See? There are lots of ways to dress up your kitchen without having to spend a ton of money! Why not start planning right now?

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Thanks for reading and thank you to my new partner for the post!

See you tomorrow, 

Stacy