Please help me spruce up this tiny kitchen on a separate budget

[PianoPants]

Cannot afford a new kitchen at the moment but really don't like this one. I've seen people stick things over cupboards etc. But don't think that would work with this design. How I can I make it look better until I'm in a position to to upgrade? All hints, tips and tricks welcomed!

Jumping on this thread as considering painting a kitchen. Thanks for the Frenchic recommendation. OP, let us know if you go for it!

Would anyone mind sharing before and after pics? Does the finished product look professional? I’ve had bad experiences with tile paint before, especially!

We have just done something very similar Op. Painted the wooden cabinets grey and took off the extra wood at the top that was on some of them. Looks great!

I used Frenchic paint on my utility and it looks completely professional. I took each door off, gave a light sand and wash with sugar soap (as required) then used a small foam roller to paint each door front and back with really thin coats - that is the answer to getting a brush / roller free finish. It takes about 3 coats with a 2 hr gap between to get them finished. Totally worth it though! I recommend looking at the Facebook page transformations before starting though.

You can use the Dulux visualiser app to get an idea of what it will look like painted

@FullHeartEmptyHouse here's a progress picture - top cupboards painted with Frenchic, bottom cupboards as before. Tiles are yet to be done! Horrible "kickboards" (random bits of wood) also yet to be replaced.

Wow! Loving all your creativity and inspiration. Thank you so much. I'm actually so excited now about making this my little project instead of spending thousands on a new one. I will post progress photos as I go. In terms of painting tiles, does anyone have any experience of using Frenchic to do this? Is it a specific tile paint or the same stuff? Also, keep your own projects coming!

Does Frenchic paint work on melamine cupboards as well as wood?

@sunshinesupermum we used a hairdryer to peel off the melamine coating, was really easy. Then painted the wood behind it.

Thanks MikeEhrmantraut great moniker!!

@sunshinesupermum thanks, I love him

Totally agree about painting the cupboards - think they will look great a lighter colour!

Personally I'd then re-tile - you can get simple metro tiles very cheap or look on ebay for bargains near you. Tiling yourself is not hard if you watch a few youtube videos - I wouldn't try herringbone or tricky shapes but I've done rectangles myself and they looked good! Will be a better end result than painting for sure.

Then just decide if you want to live with the worktops or replace - won't be worth doing anything pricey obvs but we got wood veneer worktops from Ikea that are genuinely lovely and very practical.

Have fun!

I saw a pic of a guy who “inverted” his kitchen colour scheme - units painted to white, timber worktop, black appliances, it looked so contemporary.

I would paint cupboards to off white, iron knobs, new tap, wooden worktop ( just Ikea) and white metro tiles. I think Wickes do some cheap ones.

You haven’t a lot of cupboards but could you add shelves or hooks, again look in ikea if you can.

Hey thanks @goodwinter - that looks fantastic!

@NotMeNoNo @woolymammoth55 and others who have changed worktops using ikea... How do you go about it? I always thought worktops were fixed?

Test

Painted the cupboards with an off white, the new " wood" worktop is a sticky back plastic as a temporary measure and we retiled due to the 3d nature of the old tiles. It's made a massive difference and was cheap and easy

It's determined to miss the original kitchen off

My sister painted her kitchen tiles and the paint lasted very well for many years. She cleaned them with sugar soap first, then did two coats of proper tile paint - the edges with a brush and then the rest with a small foam roller.

In your situation I would paint the walls and tiles white and leave the cupboards unpainted, but freshen up the look with a black or charcoal floor covering.

@PianoPants yes we got a pro in to swap the worktop - he had a special gizmo that helped :)

I think in total though we paid him £150 for half a day and the worktop was £120 - so given tiles were £70 we felt we'd done well for a great and solid end result!

@WoolyMammoth55

I’m thinking of painting cabinets and replacing the worktop sink and taps for a fresher look.

Did your worktop guy cut the holes on the worktop for the sink and the taps too? Who fits the sink and taps and plumbs it in? Do I need a plumber and a worktop guy?

I’m not sure about the who does what situation re tradespeople.

I also need a replacement shower fitted (same as before, so easy to do, just newer) and don’t know if I need a plumber or sparky or both!

Grateful if anyone knows the answer.

Thanks

I like it! I would paint the cupboards cream or white with chrome handles. Paint the walls and maybe a couple of shelves and some new tiles

This is an after photo, I will try find a before photo and post it.

We recently moved into a 'doer upper' and sadly the very brown and dated kitchen is just one of a long list of things to do. Yes it's not to everyone's taste, but I love it and it's a million times better than it was.

Cupboards are Frenchic Wise Old Sage abs Tiles are Dusky Blush, I used a grout pen on the tiles after painting them.

This was the before pic, when we moved in! Truly awful!

@Justforphoto well done, it looks like a different kitchen!

No, worktops are held down using surprisingly few screws. Carpenter will have them out in 30 mins. You will have to disconnect hob and sink and refit. Cut new worktop to fit, re- fit, re-tile if wanted and if any gap at back cover with a small wood strip.

Kitchen units are only screwed to the wall and also can be removed/moved/cut down/put back.