Handy Hints for a Kitchen Makeover

Kitchen Makeover

Great Ideas for Kitchen Makeover

The kitchen is often the one room in the house that gets the most abuse (and no I’m not just talking about me swearing when I’m cooking). Nothing dates a kitchen like worn worktops, damaged doors, stained grouting, cracked tiles and burned surfaces. But with a little thought you can get it back to its shining glory and it needn’t cost the earth. In fact, by not going all out and replacing the kitchen completely, you’ll actually be helping to save the planet.

To help you get started Granite Transformations has put together some handy hints for updating your kitchen décor.

Layout – if you’re comfortable with your layout and its familiar oven-sink-fridge work triangle, then don’t rip everything out and fit totally new units. Instead, reface your work surfaces with composite granite, quartz, recycled glass or porcelain composites that fit right over existing worktops and replace cabinet doors with new fittings, leaving the underlying carcasses intact. This also means no rewiring or new pipework, cutting installation costs by more than half.

Colours – your décor is a reflection of your personality and lifestyle, so a kitchen makeover gives an opportunity to ditch unfashionable or eccentric finishes and explore fresh colour and style directions. Black worktops can become white or bold colours, timbergrain cabinet doors can be transformed into high gloss acrylic and you can add splashes of brightness with glass mosaic panels or an island unit in a contrasting colour. Remodelling means the choice is yours.

Storage – even though you’re happy with the basics, your accumulation of gadgets and materials might make extra storage a bonus. Refaced work surfaces and cabinetry enable a new central island unit, extra wall cabinets or a full-height storage cupboard to be integrated seamlessly into your new design. There is also the option of extending a run of base cabinets into a right-angle peninsula end, complete with cantilevered worktops for a breakfast counter. Alternatively you could choose a complementary cabinet design, if you’re not replacing cupboard doors, and still do as suggested. This mix and match approach works well in a farmhouse style kitchen – Sara.

Practicality – if you have laboured in the past with resealing, sanding, treating and polishing stone, timber and laminate worktops, then now is the time to choose a modern, maintenance-free composite material that is non-porous, flame-resistant and withstands stains, scratches, cuts, burns and knocks. Today’s agglomerate granite, quartz and recycled surfaces look like luxurious natural stone, but need just an occasional wipeover to keep their sheen and come in a wide choice of colours.

Splashbacks – you’d be surprised how a decorative, yet practical splashback can enhance or transform the look of a kitchen. Choose a regular upstand in the same material to run around the worktops, protecting against dirt and bacteria, a half-height glass mosaic splashback that adds texture and sparkle, or perhaps an extravagant, full wall panel in large tiles or seamless sheeting. Modern, slimline agglomerate and polyurethane-backed mosaics will fit over existing tiles and surfaces, making fitting a breeze.