13 DIY Projects That Will Freshen Up Your Kitchen

The kitchen tends to be one of the busiest rooms in the house. Whether you are having breakfast with the family, trying out a new recipe with some friends, or cooking dinner for that special someone, it hosts all kinds of hustle and bustle that goes on throughout the day. So naturally, there are many reasons why freshening up every once in a while is a good idea — for aesthetics and efficiency.

There are all kinds of kitchen updates for you to try that are easy to implement and very rewarding. Ranging from smaller crafts and decor ideas to slightly larger DIY projects, there is no limit to what you can do with your kitchen. It is only a matter of taking the time to understand what changes you wish to introduce during your kitchen remodel and what benefits these changes offer.

Chalkboard Wall for All Your Scribbling Desires

Personalize Your Kitchen With an Unusual Design Element

Chalkboard walls are a fun interior design idea and they open up a window of opportunities for further personalization. One of the most unpleasant things to see is a beautiful coat of paint on the wall tarnished by a few crayon strokes or pencil marks. Why not incorporate these “flaws” into the decor with a chalkboard wall and give the little ones an appropriate outlet for their creativity?

You can also use the chalkboard wall to write down shopping lists for the following day, important notes for work, and even motivational quotes for the mornings to get that extra boost of confidence.

Bring Some Color Into Your Life with Different Countertops

Color Code Your Countertops For Different Kitchen Activities

Harmony is a big aspect of interior design, but so is heterogeneity. Interior designers like to keep a balance between uniformity and variety in design elements, depending on your personal preferences. One very common uniform design you will find in most kitchens is matching countertops. However, nothing is stopping you from changing things up a little. 

When thinking about your future kitchen remodel ideas, consider implementing varied countertops. The different kitchen surfaces will bring a little heterogeneity into the kitchen, but they can also help you keep your workspace more organized. You can color code what you do on each counter. For example, the butcher block countertop can be used for prep as you can see the ingredients more clearly as you cut them. Darker, natural stone surfaces adorned with patterned grains and veins, can be used for plating the food or putting all the ingredients together.

Wall Hangers That You Won’t Get Hung Up Over

Use Every Inch of Your Kitchen Space to Optimize Your Storage

One of the best ways to optimize storage in your kitchen is by utilizing as much vertical space as possible. Most homeowners are so focused on the horizontal spaces in their kitchens that they often don’t see the walls as storage opportunities.

Wall hangers are a classic kitchen addition and storage unit. They are not only a great way to save counter space but they can also accentuate the interior of the kitchen, giving it a cozy, rustic appeal. You can hang cooking utensils, mugs, even pots and pans if the hangers are high enough. Then, this cookware can be organized into attractive patterns to make the kitchen walls look more complex.

Brighten Up Your Life with Cabinet Lighting

Lighting Under the Cabinets Is Not Only Stylish but Practical

Lighting goes beyond being a stylistic choice in the kitchen. Getting the lighting in your kitchen right is also a matter of practicality. Without proper lighting, it’s only too easy to strain your eyes as you work without even noticing, and your efficiency in the kitchen will suffer as a result — nobody likes having to scramble to find the right pots, pans, and kitchen utensils.

Installing LED strips under the counters, cupboards, or cabinets gives you more strategic lighting and can be tailored to your exact needs. You do not need to flood the entire room with light if you are grabbing a quick midnight snack. LED strips will give you just enough light to help you see where you are going, what cabinet you are opening, and which bag of chips you are taking out.

The Next Step In Cabinet Evolution

Maximize Your Kitchen Storage Space by Installing a Pull-Out Shelve

One of the best choices you will make as an owner of a modern kitchen is upgrading your cabinets. When maximizing storage capacity and making the best of what you have, nothing beats upgraded cabinets that come with optimized storage solutions.

Baskets attached to the cabinet doors, pull-out shelves, lazy Susans, and wire racks are all great ways of upgrading your kitchen storage. You are bound to discover a lot of neglected space after the upgrades are installed as every pot, pan, plate, and bowl fit perfectly into place.

Shiny New Kitchen Hood

Install a Modern Stainless Steel Kitchen Hood That’s Easy to Clean and Maintain

After years of cooking in the kitchen, the hood gets covered in grease. Greasy kitchen hoods are not only aesthetically unappealing, but they can also cause a genuine health hazard as they are unable to suck in smoke and steam as well as they used to. Specialized cleaning services can solve this problem, but at some point, you will need to replace your old kitchen hood with a new one.

Keep in mind that you do not need to replace the entire ventilation system to change the hood; you can simply purchase a new hood and install it as per the manufacturer’s instructions. While you may need an electrician or HVAC technician to take a look at it to ensure that everything is in place, you can easily install a kitchen hood on your own. 

Why You’ll Love Jars

Organize Your Kitchen Space With Labeled Jars

On a slightly smaller scale, a great way to organize the kitchen and give it some extra character is by storing dry ingredients in jars. This is a classic way of storing food and makes it easier to pick out exactly what you need as you can see the contents of the jars.

Upgrade your pantry system with see-through containers and cute labels on everything to make the prep and cooking process even easier. The best part about mason jars is that they double as decor with the colorful ingredients inside brightening up the palette in the room.

Cabinet Door Makeover

You Can Spruce up Your Cabinet Doors With New Colors

While cabinet doors are typically built to last, they will start to wear off after years of being used. This not only affects how the cabinets look but also can result in significant damage to the doors.

To keep the cabinet doors from falling off their hinges it's important to keep them fresh. If you feel like yours are worn down, then it’s a great time for a fresh coat of paint, resurfacing, or even refurbishing the mechanics as well. By upgrading your kitchen cabinet you can increase their longevity and give your kitchen interior a complete makeover on a budget.

Feature Wall That Oozes Character

A Feature Wall Can Help You Personalize Your Kitchen

Accent or feature walls are a great way to introduce some character to the kitchen. By changing up a single wall, you can bring a lot of change to your kitchen interior. This can be something as simple as a different coat of paint, or tiles or wallpaper with a different surface or texture.

Implement unique patterns, wall fixtures, or decor to change up the scenery and enjoy the added complexity of your kitchen’s interior. While it is always important to have some common features throughout the various elements of your interior, injecting some aesthetic variation will give your eyes something new and interesting to look at.

Wooden Textures for Some Added Biophilia

Add Wooden Surfaces to Create a Cozy Atmosphere

Wood textures have been a part of interior design for centuries. As a material, wood is very strong and reliable and can withstand years of wear and tear. It is also natural, which humans are innately drawn to. As for its design and style, wood textures and surfaces are very attractive, especially when accentuated by other materials.

Combine wooden accent walls and furniture with brick and stone surfaces to create an interior that oozes with a rustic atmosphere that is hard not to fall in love with. The wood textures create a cozy interior that is wholesome and welcoming, which is perfect considering how kitchens have become a very popular room for hosting guests.

Hi-Tech Retractable Outlet

Add a Modern Tech Touch to Your Kitchen With a Retractable Outlet

Modern problems require modern solutions, so what would you do if the wall sockets in your kitchen are too far and the appliances are too heavy to constantly move around? Create a retractable countertop outlet, of course. These outlets are the peak of modern convenience, and they make it easy to organize your kitchen workspace and keep all the cables in order.

Nothing is worse than having electric cables in the way of your cooking that could be a tripping risk. With a retractable outlet that lifts from the counter, you can keep all the cables organized and your countertop safe to work on.

Fresh Coat of Paint Can Go a Long Way

Brighten Up Your Kitchen With Eclectic Colors

When it comes to kitchen design ideas a great place to start fresh is with a new coat of paint that changes up the atmosphere. Whether it’s repainting the kitchen furniture or the walls themselves, new paint can go a long way in brightening up the room and bringing all the elements together.

Let’s also not forget how the kitchen is home to a lot of metal utensils that tend to scratch all the surfaces around them. It is very common to accidentally chip or puncture kitchen walls, ruining the paint. To fix this you do not even need to do a full kitchen remodel. Simply patch up the paint to restore the walls to their original smooth state, and see how much you can improve your interior with a dash of vibrant colors.

The Coziest Kitchen Rug

Rugs Can Give Life to Your Kitchen

Picking the right kitchen flooring is crucial as it will be experiencing plenty of spills and impacts from dropping cooking utensils, as well as pots, pans, and plates. Most homeowners opt for ceramic tile or wood flooring, but kitchen flooring design is not limited to tiles: you will find lots of tasteful kitchen rugs which are not only stylistic additions but also offer some practical uses.

Dropping your favorite mug on the floor can be heartbreaking as you watch it shatter into pieces. Having a rug will lower the risk of shattering fragile kitchenware and will help you keep that favorite mug intact. Just remember to give it a regular wash so the kiwi peels and loose Cheeto puffs do not overstay their welcome.