It is actually not that difficult to cheer a kitchen up on a low budget, you just need to be canny on the way you find deals and how you spend your money!

Basically, if the ‘carcasses’ and doors are fine, then why change them? You can easily update them by painting over the current door and drawer frontages and then buying some new, up to date handles. You’ll have to make sure you get the right undercoat which is not always the cheapest type of paint, but then your new colour can just be painted on top, hopefully in one or two coats.
 
To update your worktops, visit a good value local worktop manufacturer or retailer. You can usually find them in your local directory and they tend to be sited on small local industrial estates that are easy to find. Have a chat to them and a good one will usually have some ‘end of ranges’ that you can use at a great price. They may even cut out the space for the sink that you might need.

If you can, search the end of ranges and sales to find a new sink and taps for under £100 in most DIY stores. Alternatively you might find people selling perfectly good sinks and taps that have never been used at second hand prices on-line.

If you have tiles you want to cover over, you can get special tile primer to give you a base to paint over (using specialist tile paint, which is also OK for a kitchen).

Finally, if you need to update your flooring, go for vinyl. Lots of people opt for laminate these days, but on a budget it won’t last as it’s not particularly hard wearing and water can cause damage. Vinyl on the other hand is really cheap, easy to fit, waterproof and the prints that you get even include wooden flooring ‘look a likes’ that look as good as the ‘real thing’!

For further information on renovating and converting a property, visit the Renovate or Convert section of the website, purchase the Renovate or Convert a property eBook, contact the Designs on Property team or telephone 0845 838 1763.