The kitchen is one of the most used rooms in the home, where loved ones come together for cooking, dining, and socializing. In terms of kitchen renovation, having an updated and functional space can be one of the best things you can do to your home to improve your daily life and add value to your home.
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A modern, updated kitchen is one of the most common “must-haves” of potential homebuyers. Giving your kitchen some needed love can help drive up demand and earn you considerable ROI on re-sale, especially when you hire a Toronto realtor that can ensure you get the best deal on your home.
But updating your kitchen doesn’t have to become a total renovation. Here are a few relatively inexpensive ways to upgrade your kitchen.
Kitchen renovation: Create faux openness
Having an open concept in a kitchen is the desire of many prospective home buyers. But not every home can be graced with an abundance of space in their kitchen, and not everyone has the budget for a full kitchen remodelling.
One of the best ways to create the illusion of making your kitchen bigger is by removing some upper cabinets. Doing so lightens a room, makes the area more modern and frees up air space.
Removing cabinets does not always mean losing storage either, as adding open shelving in its place is a great way to add an element of décor and colour to your space without closing them off. In some cases, simply removing the doors from some upper cabinets is enough to give the illusion of space, leaving the actual cabinets themselves in place.
Photo by Mark McCammon/Pexels
Great things to display on these open shelves are cookbooks, dinnerware, cookware, and small planters of fresh herbs. These items will be not only more easily accessible but double as décor with your newer open concept look.
One good tip if you’re considering the open shelving look is to invest in matching sets of dishes and glassware so the appearance is more cohesive and decorative rather than cluttered and mismatched.
Kitchen renovation: Modernize your lighting
Having ample lighting in a room is one of the best ways to make a room feel cleaner, fresher, and more spacious. Updating the lighting in your kitchen can give the space a complete overhaul without actually having to change much. Consider adding any of the following lighting to your kitchen to liven up the space:
- Adding bold statement pendant lighting over any dining and island spaces,
- Adding a scone over areas such as the sink or doors to the outside if applicable,
- Adding strip lighting underneath your cabinets, granting ambience when desired while also brightening up your counter areas, is useful for both display and food preparation purposes.
Update your backsplash
A great way to make your kitchen seem brand new and refreshed is by updating or adding a new backsplash. A backsplash is an amazing way to add personality and charm to a kitchen, even when it is just a simple, timeless subway tile.
If you’re feeling bolder and more adventurous, more patterned and vibrant ceramic tiles can be used as alternative materials such as wainscotting or shiplap.
Top image: Unsplash
I am a 50-something Torontonian who loves everything about my city. It’s been my home, my playground, for my entire life. I went to school here. I met my wife here. I own real estate here. I love writing about the transformation of my city on the world stage, which hasn’t been anything short of dramatic. That continues on, as I write this. I write on the real estate scene. I write on travel and fashion. I like following the world of luxury watches.
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