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Updating your kitchen to add functionality and style can be an easy weekend project on a modest budget.
Bunnings Workshop members have shared many simple and relatively inexpensive ways to transform your kitchen.
Get inspiration from these community member projects and let us know if we can help with your own kitchen refresh.
1. Add VJ panelling
VJ panelling is a simple way to spruce up a flat surface and create a stunning feature in any kitchen. @ProjectPete used Easycraft panels to enliven a kitchen island with a bold colour choice of British Paints Mossy Road.
Community member @maddisoneblack also used VJ panels in her kitchen makeover, and you can check out more VJ panelling projects for any room in the house.
2. Paint the cabinets
Give your kitchen a makeover by changing the colour of your cabinets. Community member @nicoleherrick used the Dulux Renovation Range to transform her kitchen cabinets with a paint sprayer.
Member @newbie23 also created a fresh new look in their kitchen by using the Dulux Renovation Range to paint their cabinets. You can get more inspiration from our collection of 20 kitchens transformed with paint.
3. Add shelves
Shelving can maximise storage and help organise essentials in your kitchen. Experienced Workshop member @prettyliving used recycled timber shelves to add style and functionality.
Get more ideas from 10 ways to organise your home.
4. Paint the splashback
A paint refresh is one of the easiest ways to modernise a dated splashback. While giving his kitchen a cosmetic makeover, @diy_hausdesigns painted a tiled splashback to make the kitchen brighter.
Community member @raceytrace also refreshed her kitchen splashback using paint. The Bunnings guide How to paint a tiled splashback shows you how.
5. Decorate your cabinet doors
Give your cabinets more charm and character by adding detail. A dark kitchen with brown cabinetry was transformed using earthy green paint and shaker-style fronts by member @Acewoodhome in their kitchen makeover on a budget.
Also wanting to achieve a Shaker-style look, @jasmine_rose glued thin strips of MDF to her cabinet doors in a budget kitchen makeover, while @LizzieCro used plywood in her Shaker-style kitchen reno.
6. Paint the benchtop
Another easy way to dramatically change the look and feel of your kitchen is to paint your benchtop. See how @raceytrace created a marble-look benchtop using paint.
Member @raymond265 also painted his benchtop in bright white while refreshing his kitchen. Learn how to paint like a professional in our step-by-step guide by experienced Bunnings Workshop member @Peggers.
7. Add or organise drawers
Replacing kitchen cupboards with drawers can offer a more practical storage solution and better use of space, as shown by @pete_brig.
Organising and decluttering drawers can also help you to find ingredients quickly and easily. Experienced woodworker @JoeAzza made a bespoke spice rack inside a drawer using leftover timber.
Check out How to build drawer dividers by Workshop member @CSParnell for step-by-step instructions.
8. Replace splashback
If painting your splashback isn't an option, you might consider replacing it. Experienced renovators @homeinmelbourne used James Hardie Axon cladding to create a vertical panelled splashback to complement the shaker style cabinetry.
Get more inspiration from our collection of 12 kitchen and laundry splashbacks and step-by-step instructions from Bunnings Workshop member @ProjectPete in How to tile a splashback.
9. Update the flooring
Updating the flooring doesn't mean you have to replace it. To save money, community member @dorabulldog sanded and then bleached a parquetry floor to transform its appearance as part of a kitchen refresh.
See 5 ways to revamp your floors for more ideas.
10. Upgrade the pantry
A tidy pantry can help your kitchen feel new again. See how a standard walk-in pantry was transformed into a stylish and practical butler’s pantry that’s easy to keep organised and tidy by @Acewoodhome.
Get more inspiration from the walk-in pantry build using VJ panels by @Renowayoflife and 8 pantry ideas from the Bunnings Workshop community.
11. Add a coffee station
A dedicated coffee station can be a feature of your kitchen. Check out the coffee station using Flexi Storage floating shelves and Porta Cirque lining boards painted in Dulux Herbalist by @EleventhCoastal.
Member @diy_hausdesigns created a kitchen coffee station with a bright white subway tiled splashback.
12. Utilise niche spaces
Reimagine awkward recesses such as old stove bays and gaps beside your fridge. For example, @Christine61 renovated a kitchen alcove with a new benchtop and drawers for storage, while @diy_hausdesigns built a custom wine-rack cabinet in an awkward space.
Maximise unused space next to your fridge by following our step-by-step guide How to build a slimline spice rack
inspired by the popular project by @DIYology.
13. Replace your benchtops
Replacing your benchtops doesn't have to be an expensive project. In his 80s kitchen budget renovation project, @ProjectPete replaced the benchtops, sink, splashback and tapware for less than $1000 while also painting the cupboards and walls.
Another experienced renovator @tom_builds also used timber benchtops in his kitchen overhaul.
14. Transform your kitchen island
A kitchen island can add style and storage to the heart of your home, and Bunnings Workshop members have shown you can perform dazzling makeovers to these central features. See how @ProjectPete used bamboo panelling on a kitchen island, or how @debsearle used scallop panelling to upgrade her Kaboodle island bench.
Get more inspiration from our collection of 20 versatile kitchen islands.
15. Decorate your pantry doors
Like your kitchen cabinetry, your pantry doors can be transformed with some inexpensive timber. In the decorating pantry doors project, @sjloves showed how they used skirting as an easy and inexpensive way to create fancy doors.
You can get more inspiration from our Top 10 most popular kitchen renovation projects.
How to renovate your kitchen
Renovating your kitchen offers the opportunity to create a more functional and beautiful space for cooking and entertaining.
Check out experienced Workshop member Adam's guide How to plan a kitchen renovation for useful advice and tips.
