The kitchen is the heart of your home, right? So many amazing memories happen while prepping in the kitchen.

It’s my favorite place to try new recipes and host when friends come over. No other room is quite as useful, fun, and multifunctional as the kitchen and you want it to look fantastic when you have people over to visit, right?

When you first wake up and go to the kitchen to make your coffee, you want to feel good and ready to take on a new day. You want your kitchen to look as good as it makes you feel when you are in it (or if you’re contemplating major updates, maybe it doesn’t make you feel so good right now). Completely renovating your kitchen is expensive and time consuming. Here are a few affordable alternatives to spruce up your kitchen in a big way but with much less financial impact!

Whether you want to improve your kitchen for yourself or you’re selling your home, these ideas will work for you. You can add visual appeal and functionality for yourself or potential buyers. Don’t let the thought of updating your kitchen intimidate you. These are some super easy and affordable alternatives to expensive updates that can make a big difference in your space.

Update your Cabinets Instead of Replacing Them

Cabinets take up most your kitchen walls so they make a huge impact on the overall feel of your kitchen. Of course, if they aren’t looking their best, you are noticing it daily. If you can’t stand to look at those dreary cabinets any longer, you may be wanting to replace them altogether. However, replacing your cabinets will take a lot of money and time to complete.

An easier and more affordable approach may be to paint your existing cabinets a fresh color and replace the hardware. You can totally update the entire look of your kitchen this way. Hardware may seem like a small element but you can transform your cabinets with that minor change. And if you add painting the cabinets a new color, it will be like a whole new kitchen. Paint can even hide minor imperfections in the cabinets and make them appear new again

Update Your Grout Instead of Replacing Your Backsplash

A backsplash is necessary in every kitchen to protect the walls from liquid, food, and knives. These items would damage your walls without the backsplash. Although, the tile between your cabinets is functional, you also like it to be pretty and make a nice statement in the room. If it’s your backsplash that is causing a problem for you, consider upgrading the grout between the tiles to make the old tiles appear new again. You can hire a professional to completely restore and renew the appearance of your grout lines. Believe it or not, cleaning and painting your grout lines can transform the entire backsplash. Freshen up the appearance of the existing tile for a fraction of the price of replacing it altogether.

Replacing Your Sink Fixtures Instead of Replacing Your Sink

Oh, the sink. Not the best of times are had here, right? I mean who likes doing dishes? If your sink needs an update, you should consider getting a new faucet and drain rather than replacing the entire sink. This is especially true if you want to stay within a budget. Sink sizes vary a lot and you could incur some serious countertop work by upgrading to a larger sink. This means keeping your existing sink is the best way to avoid a heavy price tag and a lot of work. Don't forget to make the new faucet and drain match the updated hardware on your cabinets to create a cohesive design within the room. That will look so great!

Adding a Hutch Instead of Expanding Your Pantry

Between the kids and the pets, there’s never enough pantry space. Sometimes it may seem like the pantry is bursting at the seams. I mean how much stuff do you have to move around to after a grocery shopping trip? If you need more storage space and don't like the idea of a traditional pantry renovation, consider adding a hutch to the space. Adding a hutch to the kitchen or dining room to hold the plates, cups, and mugs can open a lot of room for other stuff. This will allow more space for food in your pantry and cabinets without having to worry about building a bigger pantry.

Add Crown Molding Instead of Getting Bigger Cabinets

If your cabinets don’t quite touch your ceiling, consider adding crown molding to create a better flow in the room. Adding crown molding is a simple way to make your kitchen look and feel bigger. This is an especially great tip if you are wanting to sell your home. Crown molding above your cabinets adds great value to your kitchen and home altogether. Instead of installing larger cabinets that go all the way up to the ceiling, you can add crown molding to the top edge of your cabinets to connect them to your ceiling and give the same appearance. If you’ve ever replaced your cabinets, you know that it’s no easy task. It’s expensive and takes a while and you must empty out all your cabinets which is a major pain. Try adding crown molding for a cheaper and easier solution to the problem.

Updating Your Island Instead of Updating All Countertops

You may think that you can’t update your island without updating all your countertops, but think again. It’s a new trend that taking over kitchens across America. Okay, it’s not that serious but it’s true! If you can’t afford to update the granite in your kitchen, consider making your island into a statement piece. You can make it a funky color or even an opposite version of the granite on your other countertops. The most important thing to keep in mind when making your island stand out is that you must maintain a strong contrast. If the countertops around the kitchen are dark gray and you make the island countertops light gray, it may look too similar and like it was a mistake. It would be much more appealing if the dark gray countertops went with white granite on the island and the contrast is noticeably something that you did on purpose.

Updating Your Floor’s Grout Instead of Getting New Floors

If your floors need to be brightened up, you may be considering getting new tiles. However, if your tiles are not cracked, they are probably just fine! But, did you know that grout is extremely porous and remains that way? So, every time that you mop, the dirty water seeps into the grout lines and they become dirtier and dirtier with each “cleaning”! If you do grout cleaning methods on your own with a toothbrush and cleaning solution, you can break down your grout or even make it worse. If you end up getting the grout cleaned on your own, it will be temporary. Consider hiring a professional to clean and re-color your grout to transform the look of your floors without breaking the bank. This solution will last much longer than DIY grout cleaning processes and make a big impact on the appearance of your floors.

Have you tried any of these affordable updates in your kitchen?