The kitchen isn’t a place you want to be impractical. The kitchen is a place you most likely tear your hair out over anyway – let’s not make life more tricky than it has to be. Below, we’ll give you six practical changes you can make to your kitchen!
Upgrade Your Lighting for Better Functionality
Good lighting is everything – and yes, in your kitchen, it can make it more functional. Brighter LED lights should replace old, dim bulbs. If you’re cooking with dim bulbs, we feel sorry for you. And if you don’t have it and want a bit more brightness in your work areas, install under-cabinet lighting. It’s relatively inexpensive and you don’t need new cabinets to install them.
Pendant lights over islands or dining areas also look great. If you want to go super fancy and high-tech, you can buy voice-activated brightness and colour adjustments with a smart lighting system.
Replace Old Appliances for Efficiency
Old appliances use up unnecessary energy and can ruin your cooking process. If you’ve ever tried to cook in an old oven that takes 100 years to warm up and never seems to cook your food evenly, you’ll know what we’re talking about. Again, you don’t need an entirely new kitchen. You can replace old ovens with a reconditioned agas oven (top of the range) by only removing a cupboard or two at the most. Of course, you’ll have to consider the supply to the oven, but we’re sure it’ll work.
There are some other beneficial improvements you could make. Think along the lines of a new dishwashing machine or a refrigerator with more space and energy-saving properties. Also, when you buy appliances, make sure you choose those that have an A++ energy rating.
Maximise Storage with Smart Solutions
If you feel your kitchen is so crowded, it’s time to re-evaluate your storing of items. A lot of people like sliding shelves or lazy Susans inside cabinets. Or there’s a trend of magnetic knife strips, wall-mounted racks, and hanging pot racks can help declutter your counter while keeping favourite tools within arm’s reach.
Pantry installation or rearrangement can also free up more space than you realise. We all have that one spice cupboard that looks like a bomb went off inside – sometimes all you need is a rack inside to tidy things up.
Refresh Your Countertops and Backsplash
Changing the countertop or backsplash can give your kitchen an entirely new look without doing a full remodel. The timeless appeal of durable quartz or butcher block countertops might be just what you need. If you’re working on a tight budget, don’t worry, as you can give existing counters a fresh look by refinishing them.
To add some character, try tiles with vibrant colours and funky designs as opposed to plain ones when choosing backsplashes.
Create a Coffee or Beverage Station
A coffee corner sounds very 2025, doesn’t it? People went on a coffee hype at the end of 2024 and we think it’ll be here to stay.
It’ll look so trendy if you can convert an area of your kitchen into an exclusive coffee or beverage station (we know not everyone likes coffee) that upgrades its functionality and brings a splash of elegance. Some of the designs we’ve seen on Instagram and Pinterest look incredible – here’s a link to some of our favourites.
All it needs to be is a fancy coffee machine (some of the cheaper ones look fancy), or a soda machine, or a cute teapot and teacup setup – whatever floats your boat.
Repaint or Reface Cabinets
Give your kitchen’s cabinets a new look without replacing them by simply repainting or refacing them. A fresh coat of paint in trendy colour tints like sage green or navy blue is enough to give the room a modern touch instantly. Refacing means replacing cabinet doors and drawer fronts while maintaining their original structure, which is cost-effective compared to remodelling the entire place, but it is still more expensive than a repaint.
Updating your kitchen does not have to be expensive renovation work. These six practical updates will make your kitchen feel like one you actually want to spend more time in (if you don’t spend enough time there already). Which of these six ideas do you think you’ll try?