9 simple kitchen ideas that cost less than R500

Izelle du Pisanie Izelle du Pisanie
BEACH HOUSE, JSD Interiors JSD Interiors Built-in kitchens Wood Wood effect
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The kitchen is the heart of the home, due to its provision of culinary opportunities as well as social space for family and guests alike to interact and share with one another. It is certainly the room of any house that has the most foot traffic, and holds the most utility value. 

Due to the high use and importance of the kitchen in our homes, it is only natural that we would want a space that is comfortable, aesthetically pleasing, and fulfilling all needs appropriate to the space. It is not always possible, however, to have the kitchen of our dreams, due to budget constraints or limited time to achieve our home improvement needs. Not to mention the great effort involved in many kitchen upgrade tasks.  

Here at homify, we don't believe in insurmountable challenges when it comes to home improvement, though, and therefore we are glad to bring you this ideabook with some cheap and easy ideas to improve your kitchen. Let's take a look!

1. Black board wall

Our first idea is both functional and adds to the kitchen's aesthetic appeal. You can purchase a 500ml can of school board paint for around R100 at your nearest hardware store, and this will allow you to cover about 4.5 square meters of surface area. Add some coloured chalk to the mix, and you can have a beautifully decorated wall that changes with your mood and can also host the shopping list!

2. Wicker baskets

These handy items won't set you back much, and if you replaces some cabinet drawers with them, you can add a softer, more rustic look to your kitchen. 

3. Hang it up

Hanging storage is a clean and simple way to remove clutter from your kitchen. Best of all is that it will cost you next to nothing to install a railing on which to hang your utensils, and you can easily do this by yourself.

4. A splash of colour

Why not buy a can of paint and strategically update parts of your kitchen? As we can see in this example, only parts of the cabinets had been painted in a bright orange, which provides a pleasant contrast to the kitchen's grey colour scheme. 

5. Little adjustments

Sometimes small details can make a big difference. You can buy a few stylish drawer/cabinet handles and replace old ones in your kitchen for a bold effect. 

6. Natural inspiration

Nature is still the best decorator, and you can easily update your kitchen area's look with natural elements, like this driftwood and candle centrepiece, and it won't cost you a thing!

7. Shleves

It may seem like an obvious choice, but installing your own shelves is still one of the easiest and cheapest ways to add storage space to your kitchen.

8. Potted plants

For R500 you can add an entire herb garden to your kitchen. Not only will this beautify the space, but it will also give you access to organic, fresh ingredients. 

9. Personalise

Lastly, consider augmenting the decoration of your kitchen by adding a wall sticker of your choice. This will give the room a personal touch, and is an especially valuable decor technique when you have an all-white kitchen. 

We sure hope you got some ideas on how to easily update your kitchen on the cheap, but for some more culinary inspiration, take a look at: how to turn a boring kitchen into a gourmet dream. 

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