Helpful Tips from Your Contractor to Update Any Kitchen

Glass tile backsplash in West Hollywood kitchen.

If you are trying to sell your home, rent it out, or just thinking about updating it, the kitchen is a great place to start. Kitchens and bathrooms are the most popular rooms in a home, especially when upgrading. Even though the thought of a kitchen renovation seems expensive and time consuming, there are several things you and your contractor can do that are budget friendly and will make a world of difference to your home.

First, you can go to a local home improvement store and find various colors and shapes of tile backsplash. If on a stricter budget, there are often clearance items in this area. Pictured left, is an example of one kitchen backsplash we did in blue glass tiles.

Another good way to update an outdated kitchen is painting or staining your cabinetry. If you have wood cabinets and they look worn out, chipped or just out of style, there is a vast array of stains and paint colors that you can choose from. There are even kits completely set up with all the equipment you need to sand, prep, and stain your cabinetry. Further, if your cabinets are in decent condition, simply updating all of the hardware can make a huge impact.

Additionally, upgrading laminate, linoleum or old tile floors can make a very big difference to your kitchen. Either hardwood, laminate wood (if you have a tighter budget), bamboo, or updated floor tiles are good options for any kitchen. This can also add a lot of value to your house if you ever want to resell; sometimes it can add more value than you actually paid for them because flooring is such a huge selling feature.

Lastly, another main way homeowners are finding cost efficient options to upgrade their kitchens is replacing countertops and surfaces. Great, and obvious solutions are stone slabs such as granite and marble. A more cost efficient option is tile countertops, there are even granite tiles that you can purchase for countertops. However, if you want something more smooth and don’t want to clean grout, there is a new option on the market called granite overlay. You get 100% granite countertops without the expense and mess of slab granite. Also, it is more eco-friendly because these granite overlay countertops are manufactured from existing granite pieces, and granite slabs are actually mined out of the earth. They are going to be much cheaper than any other slab stone, but more expensive than laminate or formica counters. There is minimal cleanup and no demolition also, because they can be installed on top of whatever existing countertops you have. If any of these stone options are still too expensive for your remodel, you can try updated laminate or even concrete countertops. Some newer laminates are made to look like granite so they look nicer, and these will be much cheaper than using any kind of natural stone. Concrete is another material that is used for countertops these days, and there are many colors to chose from.

All of these cost efficient updates around your kitchen will improve the look of your whole house and can even add significant value to it! Check back soon for more information on kitchen renovations!