Another productive week at SHS HQ this week. We’re on the lead up to half term with the kids, so this week has seen us navigating an online parents evening (I couldn’t be a teacher at the moment for all the tea in China I think they’re amazing!), celebrating well behaved children (you really have to grab these moments when they happen) and mostly realising that my 3am-er on Friday night that made me feel like I was in my twenties again, is in fact going to take me a full week to recover from and that despite feeling like a spritely twenty something for probably a measly five hours, I’m just not one. These days I’m far more suited to warm fires and cosy socks. I’ll never learn.

This week has also seen me taking on a lovely new client that I can’t wait to tell you about and binge watching Dream Home Makeover on Netflix. If you haven’t watched it yet, get involved, it’s interior porn at it’s very best. The project I worked on in Loughborough is really starting to take shape which is super exciting, with the kitchen reno well under way. Check out my grid for an up to date image, it’s looking great.

The Loughborough project is the perfect example of how you can update a kitchen and make a real difference to how it looks without spending a hefty fortune and by being a whole lot more sustainable- which in my book, we should all be doing. I have a couple of other kitchen re-vamp projects coming along too so watch this space!

With all this in mind I thought I’d use my blog this week to offer some very simple tips to upgrading a tired kitchen by changing just a few key things that can make all the difference. You don’t need to follow all the tips but one or two may be just perfect for you. The kitchen is often the heart of the home and where we spend most of our time so making a few updates can really make a difference not only to how you use the space but to how you feel when you do. Here we go with seven simple suggestions to make the biggest impression.

Lets start with the Units
Now let’s assume that these are the most expensive element in a kitchen design. When people talk about designing their ‘new kitchen’, we always think about the units. But these don’t always need to be changed to update the look. If you’re wanting to change your units first decide what it is about them that you don’t like. Is it the style or the colour? If it is, there’s lots we can do to make changes. Firstly let’s look at style. Narrow down specifically what it is that you don’t like about it. Then address it head on. Could you make small changes? Could you simply add handles to change the look? Could you replace the cupboard doors and leave the carcass? Moving on to colour, could you paint, spray or cover the doors to change the look? Paint and spray are so good these days and the lovely people @BandQ are really good at advising what products to use. Spray comes in a multitude of not only colours but textures and paint can be as shiny or as matt as you’d like it to be. My client in Loughborough has just repainted a really good quality wooden kitchen and it looks great. They have also used a local carpenter to make some identical integral doors which were cost effective and look great. They had the doors made but have done all the painting themselves and saved so much money. Maybe a weekend of DIY on your own home improvement could really change up your kitchen without having to break the bank.

2. Work Tops - Now I’m a big believer in these making a huge difference not only the look of a room but the feel too. When we moved into our house the kitchen was brand new but the work tops were the cheapest laminate tops you can buy and I hated them. I’ll give them their dues, they were practical, but they looked awful. I changed them for quartz. Quartz is a whole lot more expensive but in my book they were worth every penny, especially as we didn’t have to change the kitchen. The texture and touch factor is lovely and by using an off-white quartz we totally lifted the space to make it so much lighter and brighter. Quartz is also really practical which is great.

But quartz isn’t your only option there are now some great value, much better quality laminates which look great. Wood is also an option but does come with a certain amount of maintenance. For bigger budgets there’s always marble or granite, but personally I find quartz to be a much better option from a durability and usability point of view and I think the look is just as good.

Adding an up-stand looks really smart and is also super practical. This can be done in laminate and wood too, it doesn’t have to just be quartz.

My lovely friend Jen has used spot lights to uplight her beams and they look fab!

3. Lighting- You can be as bold or as bashful as you like when it comes to lighting design but lights are a great way of adding a real wow factor to your kitchen design. With lighting in a kitchen it’s good to shake it up with a few different types. Make sure you have good task lighting- that you can see what you’re doing. This is often under unit lighting that is really cheap now to add with LED strips. Just make sure that you don’t go too bright and it looks like an airport runway under there!

I like to use recessed lighting in a kitchen as I think it provides an even cover of light and doesn’t get in the way. For me it’s like the light foundation - it does the job but isn’t seen. That’s great for a flat ceiling but with a vaulted ceiling that doesn’t really work. A mixture of pendant lights and directional spot lights can be used to make the most of the high ceilings and show off the lovely feature.

Pendant lights also look great over breakfast bar areas or kitchen tables. These look best hung in threes if you have the space. Be careful not to hang them too low so they get in the way when you’re cooking or preparing but don’t be afraid to go big if you have the space. It’s a good idea to have the different forms of lighting on different switches so you can create different moods in your space depending on how you’re using it.

A trawl through Pinterest found this kitchen design using wooden paneling as a splash back. Looks HOT!

4. Splash backs - I get so many questions about splash backs, people seem to get really stuck on what to choose. Again you don’t have to spend a fortune to make a change and there are lots of options to consider. When we had our quartz tops fitted I wanted to put a colour on the splash back but I was worried I’d get bored of it really quickly. So I painted it in Valspar scrubbable paint in a dark blue/teal and I’ve never changed it. The up-stand catches most of the splashes and I have a glass splash back behind the hob. Anything else just gets wiped away. Any marks you do get can be easily painted over and when I am ready for a change it’ll be super easy and very cheap to do.

Despite this working there is nothing like a nice finished splash back to really elevate the feel of your kitchen design. Tiles are a great option and as long as they’re done well you can tile over tiles making it not such a daunting task. Often the high street stores can be really expensive but there are great stored online that offer the same products for much cheaper and you can request samples often free of charge before you commit. There are also some great suppliers on ebay and Etsy if you’re looking for something more unique. Search gold splash backs. I love them.

5. Flooring - Again when we moved into our house we replaced the ceramic tiles in the kitchen with an engineered oak flooring. Just by changing the floor the whole room felt so much warmer and was also a lot less echoey ( I don’t think that’s even a word!). Porcelain tiles in a kitchen space can look great - the bigger the better. Using large tiles can really make the most of your space. Think practically about what to choose. Think how you use your kitchen space - do you have a door to the outside? Will kids or dogs be running in and out? Or is it a strictly a bare feet or slippers kind of a space? As much as I’d never recommend a carpet in a kitchen, I’ll always put my hand up to a large rug which can be really practical if it’s an indoor outdoor space and can pull a space together nicely and make a hard floor feel more homely. As for the cooking space - hard floor all the way, mine gets hoovered and cleaned to within an inch of its life regularly!

6. Fixtures and fittings

Traditionally most of the fixtures and fittings in a kitchen have been chrome or wooden. More recently there are some fab textures and finishes that can really up the ante and give even the plainest of kitchens a real wow factor. Black and metallic finishes such as brass still look timeless yet really modern. Swapping your old silver cabinet door knobs for a brass cup handles or a longer textured gold handle can look the bees knees. Taps are another area where you can make a big change. Black taps are increasingly easier to get hold of and look really smart. Taps are the one area where I always recommend making an investment. Buy the best you can afford as cheap taps not only break very quickly but are horrible to use. Sound daft? Trust me!

7. Style it baby!

Finally if nothing else, style up your kitchen to be a bit different. Add some lovely cook books to your kitchen surfaces or some nice new kitchen ‘bits’ (I have my eye on a gorgeous pestle and mortar. It will be mine!). Invest in some lovely tea towels and one of my favourites - add some fresh herbs and some fresh flowers or plants. I was once given a great tip to have an Aloe Vera plant in the kitchen for if you ever burn yourself. They look lovely too!

If nothing else cut some foliage from your garden and bring it in, it’ll change the feel of the space. Don’t be afraid to add a little lamp to any dark areas, even the work tops and open the windows to get some much needed fresh air through at this time of year.

Let me know if you’re thinking of making any changes to your kitchen, I’d love to see your photos and please ask away if you have any questions. Happy designing!

Re-Love Your Kitchen: 7 Easy Ways To Upgrade Your Kitchen On A Budget