Help me spruce up a tiny tired kitchen! (picture)

[allegretto]

We are moving soon but can't afford a new kitchen but the one there is looking a bit tired. We have to keep the units but could change the handles - not sure what to go for though? Also the worktop is quite scratched but not sure if I can do anything about that - don't want to spend loads as will probably redo it all when we have the money. Thanks for any advice!

Change the worktops and re-tile the splashbacks?

Bit confused. You say you are moving soon, but will redo the kitchen sometime in the furture when you have the money?

Or do you want to improve it to help house to sell?

I read this as the kitchen in the OP's new place which they can't afford to replace.

Tbh if money is tight just live with it for a few years and put the few hundred pounds towards a new kitchen.

Tile paint and sand the counter tops, if money is really tight.

Sorry - wasn't very clear. The photo is of the new place we are moving to! I'm not sure we can sand the worktops - looks like wood but it's not real wood iyswim.

The door handles are quite worn so I definitely want to change them but not sure what would go with the style of kitchen.

The handles and tiles look pretty dated/ugly, changing those would probably make a huge difference.

Duck egg paint on the tiles and some matching appliances. A few swish chopping boards over the main scratched areas. (tho those magic sponges do work wonders on scratched tops!)

As a temporary measure you could cover the work tops in vinyl wrap? You could paint cupboards or also cover the doors in vinyl? You can get really good stuff now that looks like proper gloss units for the cupboards and wood / marble/ whatever you fancy for the work tops, you could also paint the tiles or re tile if you could do that?

Keep the work tops as clear of stuff as possibly. Tiny kitchens always look better pretty much empty other than appliances I personally think.

What are magic sponges?

DH has vetoed changing the tiles! Does tile paint really work?

Tile paint looks terrible imo but happy to be proven wrong.

Friends used spray paint to update tiles and it worked well.

Changing the handles could make all the difference, and if there's some way of doing something with the tiles that would help a great deal too I reckon. Maybe a light strip of some sort on the underside of the cupboards (but only if you can hide the wiring etc out of sight) would help brighten it up a bit too.

I quite like the style of these handles: www.locksonline.co.uk/Door-Handles/Cabinet-Hardware/Cabinet-Handles/Jedo-Stainless-Steel-T-Bar-Cabinet-handle.html personally, appreciate they may not be everyone's taste though!

Good luck :)

Pinterest is your friend, there are so many ideas on there. I think paint the tiles a light colour (duck egg?), and make the work tops white (look up self adhesive vinyl on eBay or Amazon). They do it especially for covering work tops in a variety of styles.

We had similar when we moved into this house four years ago. We bought cheap white metro tiles and redid the splashbacks, bought second hand, nicer cupboard doors from ebay and replaced those but kept the carcasses, and some new very cheap handles. And some new laminate flooring from Ikea. Total cost was about £100 but made a massive difference until we could afford to do it properly - lasted from we moved in until a month ago.

Tile paint works well if the tiles are spotlessly clean and the paint applied to individual tiles with a small roller. You can then use a grout pen.

It takes time, but worth it for the result. I did it on some 70s patterned tiles in a bathroom. It lasted until the refurb. ( a couple of years! )

The tiles are the worst thing. If you can't bear taking them off just put new ones on top and then re-edge.

I'd choose a plain handle like this www.handles4homes.co.uk/hafele-boston-bar-stainless-steel-cabinet-handles/?gclid=CjwKEAjw5vu8BRC8rIGNrqbPuSESJADG8RV0W_l1aQpT0DnvTmk2D2jS94zSTNK36rkZpoLe-QBqQhoCO6nw_wcB

Here's one you could copy goo.gl/images/8rhy82

And match the tiles to the door fronts like this goo.gl/images/OAZheB

Another vote here for Pinterest, some amazing ideas on there.

I would clean tiles and leave as they are. I think tiles are fine and look better than painting over them would.
Yes, change handles.
Up date with coloured appliances.
Co ordinating place mats and tea towels, hand towels and
Live with it until you are ready to do full refurbish.

Thanks everyone. I love those pics museumum!