How to Get a Stunning Kitchen Makeover on a Tight Budget

A new kitchen is a stylish and satisfying improvement to any property, but too often replacement fitted kitchens come with eye-popping price tags.



If you want to reinvigorate your kitchen for less, one of the best, most budget-savvy options is to refurbish rather than replace your kitchen.

Thankfully, kitchen refurbishments have come a long way from do-it-yourself, '60 Minute Makeover' inspired paint jobs. Today, professional kitchen refurbishment specialists offer a range of high quality, bespoke hard wood, laminate, acrylic and painted doors to create the kitchen of your dreams, and all at a fraction of the cost of a replacement kitchen.

Refurbish don't replace

Refurbishing your kitchen is a great way to achieve a high-end look on a low budget. A major factor that drives up the price of a new fitted kitchen is buying new units, which unless they are severely damaged, rarely need replacing and should remain sound for many years to come.

In addition, a kitchen designer will usually follow the existing design and layout of your current kitchen anyway, so as your units are likely to have plenty of life left in them, reusing them is a great way to achieve a new look even on the most frugal of finances.

Another financial advantage of choosing to refurbish rather than replace is that because you only replace the most visual parts of the kitchen such as the door and drawer fronts, end panels and plinths, the installation is more straightforward than a complete re-fit. Therefore you are likely to shave hundreds off your fitting costs as well.

Luxury looks at fraction of the cost

However, just because you are on a tight budget doesn't mean you need to scrimp on your kitchen's style. The beauty of refurbishing is that you have a choice of hundreds of styles of kitchen cupboard doors to choose from. From luxurious real wood doors to modern high-gloss doors with stainless steel handles, each kitchen can be tailored to your personal specification.

With the substantial savings you make on labour and materials, you can consider adding new features too such as worktops, lighting or up-to-date appliances like a cutting-edge hob or sparkling new sink and taps. The great news is that you can do as little or as much as your budget will allow, making several improvements in one go or spreading them out over several months.

Make your money go further

The key to creating a dream kitchen without splashing the cash is to utilise what you have.

So rather than undertaking expensive, labour-intensive renovations, such as re-routing your electrics or pipe work, leave everything where it is, use your existing units and add high quality doors for a truly exceptional result. It also pays to shop around. Kitchen refurbishment companies hold sales at certain times of the year, so you may be able to save even more money on the price of your new kitchen, or bag yourself a bargain free fitting deal.