Every homeowner has a room that acts as the centerpiece of their house. It may be your entertainment room with gorgeous leather couches and the best flat screen television the market has to offer, or your garage full of huge toolboxes with their contents immaculately organized. Or, if you are a fan of hosting parties, baking up a frenzy in the holidays, or just having a top of the line room to serve as the hub of activity in your house, you may choose to focus your home remodeling efforts on your kitchen or bath.
Kitchen or bath remodels can be quick, DIY projects that are finished in a Saturday afternoon, or deeply involved commitments that require construction and contractors. No matter how dedicated you are to your kitchen or bath upgrade (or how deep your pockets are), here are three quick kitchen or bath refreshers that have a high aesthetic and functional yield with relatively low efforts and costs.
Make a statement with your cabinets. Cabinets are oftentimes an understated element of the kitchen or bath; they can add just as much of a striking visual factor to the room as appliances do. Livening up your cabinets does not have include ripping out the existing ones and purchasing an all new set. Some low cost options to remodel your cabinets include: replacing the handles with bright, new stainless steel ones for a striking professional look; sanding the cabinets down and restraining them a dark wooden shade like espresso for a more sophisticated feel; painting the cabinets an unexpected hue like plum or hunter green for a pop of color; or remove the doors from your upper-level cabinets for a less cramped kitchen or bath look with a touch of modern airiness.
A new take on lighting.If you have more traditional lighting in your kitchen or bath, you would be surprised at what a new fixture would do to the environment in your kitchen or bath. Depending on the size and setup of the room, you may have several available options. Elaborate chandeliers will make an eye catching statement in your remodel, but may not serve as the most functional lighting fixture. If you don’t spend a large amount of time in your kitchen or bath but still want to make the room look fabulous, your local kitchen or bath remodeling stores can show you a wide variety of attractive lighting options, from mobiles to rustic pendants to dreamy lanterns. However, if you are a chef at heart, you may want to consider installing a modern steel fixture with professional-grade lighting; it will appeal to you both in visuals and functionality.
Fire up your flooring.The cost of reflooring your kitchen or bath can vary greatly depending on a handful of factors, from the flooring companies you choose to hire, to the material you purchase, to whether or not you want to put the same flooring in your dining room or living room as well. However, flooring can be a statement making addition to your kitchen or bath even if you choose to remodel little else. Kitchen or bath flooring needs to be durable and resistant to stains, spills, and messes. Vinyl is a cost efficient, popular option in many kitchen or baths, but only serves as a replica of of other materials like hardwood and stone, and may peel up as the years go on.
Some flooring options are trendy and cute, like cork, but not optimal for durability. Others are pretty cheap, like vinyl, but aren’t lovely to look at. Bath tiles can come in a variety of qualities and colors, are cheap, and cost efficient. Bath tiles can also be complimented with a lovely backsplash against your counters. Your bath tiles can be subtle and no nonsense, like ceramic pool tile, or it can be flashy and unique, like copper tiles. A glass tile bathroom would make a statement as well, but keep in mind that certain bath tiles will get very slick when wet.
A kitchen or bath remodel will not only boost your morale, but also your home’s value. In fact, homeowners who have a minor kitchen or bath remodel can expect a return on investment of over 80%.
