10 Kitchen Updates That Won't Break the Bank

When it comes to the kitchen, unless you're up for a major project and a big expense, you're pretty much stuck with your layout and appliances, explains Dona Rosene, ASID, the owner of Dona Rosene Interiors in Dallas, Texas. "If you have windows that you can put fabric on," she notes "it softens and finishes the kitchen in a really nice way." In terms of fabric selection, Rosene says a pattern is the best way to make a big impact and tie things together. For short windows like these, go for a valance that's about 15 to 18 inches long. Hang the treatment above the window so that it just covers the top molding — this visually elongates the window.

While the saying "If you've got it, flaunt it," isn't typically used regarding kitchens, the sentiment is true. If you're lucky enough to have a breakfast nook, do what San Francisco interior designer Cristin Bisbee Priest of Simplified Bee did and call attention to it. "I wanted this space to have an impact," explains Priest. In order to set the space apart from the kitchen but still have the two flow together, she chose a wallpaper in one of the accent colors used in the kitchen. Whenever you paper a room, the wallpaper has to be the launching point for the rest of the design choices, so choose a paper with fresh contrast and a bold motif, she advises.

We're not pretending that this stunning kitchen designed by Lucy Earl co-owner of the Michigan design firm Jones Keena & Co is anything other than the highest end, but the pairing of elegant white cabinetry with vintage-inspired hardware is a lesson any homeowner can learn. "When the hardware is as big as this," explains Earl, "it becomes an important detail." The long polished nickel handles add a dramatic and glamorous touch to the kitchen. "We were going for a 1920s icebox look," notes Earl when discussing her choice of cabinet hardware from Christopher Peacock, "you can get a similar feeling by buying the small latch hardware they used in the 1920s," she adds.

Finding yourself with a large kitchen is hardly something to complain about, that is, unless you really want to tile around the range but the cost to do so is prohibitive. That's the situation that Karla Barton, founder and president of McBurnery Junction in Langley, British Columbia, found herself in when designing the kitchen above. "We chose to wallpaper around the range because it was a money-saving idea," she explains. By choosing a "bossy" pattern, Barton was able to keep the rest of the enclosure simple, including the millwork and trim. Barton's best advice for pulling this off yourself: Let the wallpaper be the focal point and choose a soft barely there wall color.