and H. Camille Smith To add architectural interest to any kitchen, carry the same tile used on the backsplash up onto the rest of the walls. Hardly a budget-buster, 12" x 12" sheets of penny round tile average just $10 per square foot. Image courtesy of Brian Patrick Flynn Anisa Darnell, Milk & Honey Home: Open shelving is a great way to wake up a bland kitchen while creating a functional place to display your favorite dishes. Rip out a few upper cabinets and replace with unfinished pine at least 12 inches deep for plates, add wood or iron brackets, and paint everything the same color for a custom look. Image courtesy of Anisa Darnell, photo by Jennifer Kesler Photography A small backsplash can quickly be personalized by having a favorite photo printed onto commercial-grade billboard vinyl, which is easily wipeable and flame retardant. A standard 18" x 6' print will cost approximately $200 and even a small section will add a lot of visual impact. At its heart, the kitchen is a workspace making task lighting, like properly placed pendants, essential.

Add style and illumination to your island or peninsula with unique pendants. Try vintage lanterns or depot lights, basket lights, hurricane pendants or even mini chandeliers. Easily (and affordably!) disguise dated tile floors by applying carpet squares over the old tile. You'll save the cost and effort of tearing out and replacing each tile, plus carpet squares add cushion underfoot and a cheery punch of pattern. Rouzita Vahhabaghai, Ita Design: The backsplash is where you can add a lot of style for a little cash. Chalkboard and whiteboard paints come in an array of colors and will create a noteworthy background in any kitchen. Wallpaper is available in an assortment of patterns and finishes like vinyl for easy cleaning. Laminates include a brushed stainless steel finish to mimic the look of metal without the cost. Porcelain tiles can be cost-effective and come in a range of patterns and textures. Don Raney and Jaymes Richardson, Civility Design: Consider swapping a boring flush-mount ceiling fixture for a chandelier.

Modern chandeliers are available in clear and colored crystals. If you prefer the look of a vintage piece, visit local resale shops, antiques stores or architectural salvage stores. Your new lighting will change the look, energy and drama of any kitchen while providing an immediate wow factor. Amy Bubier, AB Design Elements LLC: If your home is on a slab, update your kitchen by simply tearing out the existing flooring. Rent a concrete sander/grinder to prep the slab and use a soy-based concrete stain, like Soy-Crete, to give the concrete a nontoxic, easy-to-apply coating of sheer color. The freshly stained surface is a perfect complement to contemporary or modern kitchens and is a snap to keep clean. One of the quickest updates is to change your cabinet hardware, but instead of the ubiquitous steel pulls, choose a fashion-forward option like Lucite knobs. Set them off by spray-painting a large-diameter washer chrome or a complementary color to create a decorative backplate.

It creates a very glam effect and makes the cabinetry look more like furniture pieces. For a free kitchen update, clean out the clutter. Remove everything from the walls, countertops, windows and tops of cabinets so you can see the kitchen as a clean slate. Accessorize with a few well-proportioned, carefully placed items to reinvigorate the room with a fresh style. Luis Caicedo, Luis Caicedo Design: Paint is the fastest and easiest update, but for this kitchen I used Venetian plaster instead. Kitchen Floor Mats Bed Bath And BeyondIt's roughly the same price as a gallon of paint but creates a luxurious feel that is pretty easy to clean. Furniture For Sale In WvTiny mosaic tiles placed in a dramatic way maximize the visual impact. Used Moving Boxes Little Rock

Shop around at tile outlets for leftover lots of tile to save money. The combination of plaster and glass tiles is timeless and luxurious, yet simple, modern and elegant. Painting the cabinets will create a dramatic change, even on basic stock oak cabinets. Clean the surfaces well to remove any cooking grease or dirt, and for best results, use a small foam roller rather than the one you would typically use to paint walls. Dark paint, such as black or deep brown, especially when paired with new hardware, results in a very sexy kitchen with a high-end look and lounge-like feel. Before beginning work, first identify a design style that speaks to you. Do you respond to a minimalist modern interior space or a more layered, richly colored and accessorized space? Every good design begins with a plan, and identifying your design goals is the first step. Making style choices later will be easier if you know what you want. Maybe all your kitchen needs is a kicky new wall color inspired by a photo you've seen online or in a magazine.

The countertops in this kitchen are quite small but could have been expensive to replace. I wanted a natural-looking surface, something like a huge slab of rough stone. To achieve the look on a budget, I created a faux-finished texture of concrete and plastic wood over rough wood, finished with many layers of protective varnish and wax.Over a lifetime, the average person spends about one and a half years (yes, years!) in the bathroom. An attractive and efficient bathroom can make life easier and more pleasant, and adding charm—and a few amenities—doesn’t have to cost a fortune. You can update an average bathroom for under $200, and even though this modest budget doesn’t include major electrical or plumbing work, it can transform the look of the space, enhance its functionality and make visiting the loo feel more like an indulgence than a chore. A gallon of paint costs around $25, and penny-for-penny, it’s the smartest home improvement investment you can make. Paint is the great rejuvenator.

It conceals imperfections, recreating a blank canvas that effectively turns back the clock. The right paint color can also create favorable illusions, making a space look larger, smaller, longer or wider. Paint can make a ceiling appear to recede, draw attention to a particular feature or help reflect the available light. Paint can imply cutting edge style, too. Every year the Pantone Color Institute publishes a color guide for product manufacturers. It includes a list of “in” colors for the coming year and beyond. Designers and manufacturers use these colors to develop their product lines. When you use a color variation on the Pantone list, either as an accent or as part of a core design strategy, it modernizes your décor instantly. Even better, using one of these colors will make it easier to find matching and coordinating items like towels, rugs and shower curtains. Adding trim to areas of your bathroom is like putting a picture frame around an art print. It showcases without drawing undue attention to itself.

Trim provides detail and helps define the space. It’s an inexpensive way to make a bland bathroom look more refined. Trim can take many forms, too. A bathroom vanity sees a lot of action, and can begin to show wear soon after it’s installed. You can’t replace a vanity for $200 unless it’s the only update you plan to make, but you can improve the way it looks by either painting or restaining it. Both jobs are low cost options that require some planning and labor, though. Most new homes are outfitted with standard faucets and showerheads. They’re functional and attractive, but usually nothing special. Switching out your standard fixtures for upgrades with special finishes (bronze, brass, nickel, mixed metal) or enhanced functionality (light displays, hands free, water wise) will make a big difference without putting too big a dent in your wallet. A standard shower curtain is 72″ x 72,” creating a deliberate gap between the top of the curtain and the ceiling. Shower curtains and liners are now available in longer lengths of around 72″ x 96″ that can reach from the ceiling to the floor, concealing everything behind the curtain.

This can create a dramatic effect, and make a bathroom look more plush and less utilitarian. If you don’t like the colors and styles on offer at these new lengths, consider buying a long liner and adding shower curtain loops to a set of washable drapes. This offers lots of possibilities for adding patterns, textures and details to a ho-hum shower. Like faucets, cabinet pulls and other fixtures, the standard lighting in most bathrooms is functional but not terrific. The quality of the light fixture in a bathroom gets maximum exposure. It’s usually one of the most prominent features in a relatively small room, and can dress it up or down. This upgrade has the power to increase both the functionality and the visual appeal of the space, so it’s a two for one improvement. Oh, and if you like to take long, relaxing baths, install a dimmer switch. It’s a mood enhancer and also makes a great night light. If you’re lucky enough to have a window in your bathroom, don’t pass up the opportunity to make it shine.

Even if it’s a small window, it’s a focal point you can use to advantage. The obvious decorative strategy is to add curtains, but it isn’t the only option. New style self-adhesive vinyl flooring solutions can be hard to distinguish from tile or even stone floors at first glance. They also have the advantage of being durable, inexpensive and easy to install. You can cut and shape most vinyl tiles with a pair of sharp scissors or a craft knife, and even better, they can usually be installed over existing vinyl, tile and other flooring material—often in a couple of hours. If your existing floor is dingy, even after a good scrubbing, this DIY cover-up is one good way to make sure your floors get the full rehab treatment. Although prices vary, you can find tiles starting at around $1/square foot. If your bathroom is relatively small, you can outfit it with a new floor for less than you’d spend on a casual dinner. Decorating the walls can have a big impact on a small room like a bathroom.