March 28, 2024


It must be recognized, it is not as easy to transform the appearance of the living room or a bedroom as that of the kitchen. When it comes to doing something beyond dragging furniture and changing vases or books, things get complicated. The desire to see the space renovated, refreshed with a new style or seasoned with some trend is usually paralyzed if it involves making structural changes, and those in the kitchen tend to be quite expensive. Tiles, furniture surely designed to suit the space, plugs and pipes are elements that cannot be taken or modified lightly.

What can be done then to give that aesthetic twist to the kitchen space without investing a fortune or going into reforms? There are some solutions that you can carry out yourself at home in a not very cumbersome way and that lead to the same long-sought effect: that of having the sensation of entering a renovated, cozy and modern space.

Before tackling a change in the kitchen, it is necessary to remember that this is one of the spaces in the house that is most conditioned by its functionality. It is convenient that the changes that are made do not hinder mobility, lighting or ventilation. Thinking in terms of usability can be key. Depending on the person who works in the kitchen, some of its uses may vary: the space needed for storage or pantry, easy access to spices, the possibility of eating directly in the kitchen or any other casuistry accepted by the routine of a home, which can be as varied as the people. It is the uses that make no two kitchens the same.

When thinking in terms of usability and planning the changes that can be introduced according to the needs, another useful advice emerges (which, although it may be obvious, must always be remembered) in order to renovate a kitchen, the one provided by the interior designer Delia Kenza to Better Homes & Gardens, which is to develop a budget and stay within its limits. Taking into account these two conditions (budget and usability), there are very effective shortcuts to give a new face to a space that we pass through every day, although some are simpler than others.

vinyl flooring

Vinyl floors are a booming trend. They constitute an effective and affordable solution to replace tiles that do not fit with the tastes of those who walk on them daily, while providing a touch of color with which to distinguish the space. This is especially useful in those open kitchens integrated into the living room units, because it delimits the space without making it smaller. In addition, they are so easy to install that you can do it yourself.

Fancy Haus is a Barcelona company that has specialized in this type of solution, designing and manufacturing vinyl floors that are inspired by the patterns of hydraulic floors and mosaics. “You do not need to place any base, but do it directly on the ground, and they are non-slip,” explains Ion Draghita, CEO and founder of the brand. He says that his signature gives customers two options: choose a standard size among those available in his store or completely customize it to suit their space. Once placed, these vinyl rugs can be scrubbed and vacuumed, from the manufacturer they only recommend doing so with neutral soaps.

Appliances with a note of color

Looking at the accounts on the social networks of interior design inspiration, it could be argued that electrical appliances are no longer those aesthetically neutral objects, at the service of a functionality that does not preserve decorative aspirations. A scroll by profiles such as the platform Apartment Therapy it serves to confirm that toasters, coffee makers, and even refrigerators are suddenly as saturated with personality as they are with color.

Colorful and with a marked inspiration vintage that makes them unique objects, as if taken from a spatial decoration from the sixties of the last century. This is how the electrical appliances designed from Valencia and Madrid by Create Store are. “Our Mediterranean essence is indebted to our origins”, they say from the firm. Its Nuevo Retro line includes wine cellars, refrigerators, coffee makers, mixers or toasters with wavy lines and a range of colors that goes from mint green to intense red, passing through pastel pink.

Replace kitchen cabinets with exposed shelves

Kitchen with exposed shelves.
Kitchen with exposed shelves.Kseniya Ovchinnikova (Getty Images)

A trend that does not go unnoticed on social networks is that of shelves with everything in sight in the kitchen, creating followers and detractors. The full-view upper kitchen cabinets give way to bare shelves with a few carefully selected objects on them. Before embarking on this trend, you have to think about it carefully, because it is not a question of leaving everything in plain sight (which would greatly complicate the efforts to keep the kitchen clean and uncluttered), but rather of turning the storage system upside down. A change in the organization implies making sure that everything finds its place before going on to select, with the vocation of an art curator, those special objects that are going to be the protagonists of the shelf. Perhaps a piece of handmade ceramics, beautiful editions of cookbooks or some other object that combines its functionality with a certain decorative vocation.

tuned cabinets

Changing the color of the cabinets can give a new life to your kitchen.
Changing the color of the cabinets can give a new life to your kitchen.Getty Images

In the frenzy of the social media trend towards furniture customization videos, the so-called Ikea hacks They are one of the most common. This taste for “hacking” Ikea furniture is not exclusive to DIY enthusiasts, it is also a common professional strategy among interior design studios that helps them reduce costs. It is what makes the start up Spanish CUBRO, take the structures of the cabinets and replace doors, drawers and countertops with higher quality materials, local and personalized to the customer’s taste.

A change of ‘look’: with paint or placing vinyl

A man painting the tiles in his kitchen.
A man painting the tiles in his kitchen.Srdjan Pavlovic (Getty Images)

If we attend to the limits of a budget that does not allow changing the kitchen cabinets, there are other options to give them a face lift. You can choose to paint or enamel the doors of the kitchen furniture and the visible part of the drawers. The ideal for this is to disassemble them, clean them very well and give them a coat of primer beforehand. A solution that can work when the furniture is somewhat old or has stopped responding to the tastes of those who inhabit the house.

Another option is to paint the kitchen tiles. This also requires thorough cleaning, possibly a primer coat (unless the paint manufacturer’s instructions say otherwise), and the application of a specific paint for these surfaces. Without a doubt, a more affordable alternative to re-tiling the wall.

In this line, the Barcelona company Fancy Haus, dedicated to the design of decorative vinyls, also introduces the possibilities that its vinyls have for walls or for the kitchen backsplash. “With them you can easily transform your kitchen front, they are super easy to install thanks to our anti-bubble technology and totally removable, which is very interesting for people who are renting, for example”, explains its CEO Ion Draghita.

Play of light

Lighting is one of the great assets of interior design in this 2023. Not only lamps and lighting screens stand as design objects full of personality capable of giving character to a space, but intelligent lighting also comes into play, designed according to the space and its uses. In this sense, the possibilities can go from betting on a beautiful screen with a design full of intention to highlight the dining area to improving the lighting of the work area on the counter by placing a led lighting strip or strip under the cupboards. the kitchen, with a result that, in addition to being practical, can be very welcoming.

When it comes to interior design and renovation, playing with the multiple possibilities that space offers is only the first step. Many times it turns out that the most ambitious idea can be carried out at a lower cost just by doing a little research on the alternatives.

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