Are you thinking about or planning a kitchen renovation in your home?  Here’s my favourite kitchen renovation ideas from my recent DIY kitchen reno.

5 Best Kitchen Renovation Ideas:

1. Subway Tile

Why I like it? About the same time I was renovating my kitchen, friends were also re-doing theirs.  Unknown to each other both of us chose the exact same tile and pattern to use as a kitchen splashback.  There are very good reasons for that!! After many hours of kitchen reno research, I concluded that white subway tiles in a brick pattern was the one of the most affordable and STYLISH options available.   Also for a newbie DIY tiler like myself, it was a fairly straightforward way to tile a kitchen splashback.  And I must say I still love it!!  White makes the room look bigger, it’s so easy to wipe clean and the subway brick pattern makes a statement in itself.

For an interesting bit of history, subway tile was originally designed  for American  train subways, the first being in 1904.  They were chosen for their clean look and how they would reflect light off them into the subway interior.  Of course now days, people use them in their homes.

I also chose to use subway tiles from the floor to almost the ceiling.  Previous experience had taught me that cleaning cooking dirt off kitchen tiles was a lot easier than keeping painted kitchen walls clean.   The other reason was that I think tiling higher makes the kitchen makeover look more expensive than it is.  For a few hundred dollars, subway tiles have a huge visual impact in the room and help create a cohesive, vintage type look.

Where did I get mine from?  Bunnings

2.  Crackle Crush Laminate Bench Top by Kaboodle

Why I like it?  Firstly, this is one of the features in my new kitchen that I get the most compliments about!!  Everybody loves it too!!

I initially looked at getting a stone bench top.  However after seeing the price difference between stone and laminate, $1800 to $500 for laminate, I reconsidered.   Also I had a fairly tight budget so I didn’t want to spend such a big chunk of money on that one item.  Plus the lovely ladies from Bunnings, who did my in-home kitchen consultation were persuasive in explaining how a laminatebenchtop is a very stylish and durable option.

So in lieu of my preference for stone, I chose the Crackle Crash laminate which had a flecky, stone look.   The Crackle Crush also had warm tones in it rather than cool like black/ grey, which tied in with the apricot/ pink colour of the original kitchen tiles I was staying with.

Where was it from? Crackle Crush laminate bench top is one of the options when ordering a Kaboodle kitchen sold through Bunnings.

3. Four Outlet Power Point

Why I like it? This is one of those brilliant kitchen renovation ideas that I didn’t know was a good idea until after I had done it.

I think it really helped that I had lived with the original kitchen for almost 10 years and I knew what really frustrated me about it.  Yes, having one power point people and have to attach multiple double adapters to use it.  Or having to plug in appliances and take them out all the time.  Or wait for the toast to finish so I could use the kettle.  Yes frustrating alright!

The simple answer replace the original single outlet power point with a four outlet power point.  I am appreciating the convenience!

Where did I get it from? I bought mine from Bunnings and then got an electrician to install it.  But often your electrician will be able to provide one.

4.  Open Shelving

Why is this one of my favourite kitchen renovation ideas?  I love the look and usefulness of open shelves!!  I think they gave a room a lot of character and individuality! Plus it makes every day kitchen items a display as well as easier to reach and put away.  See my Kitchen Renovation Ideas Pinterest board if you are not convinced.

I already had a large pine dresser I was using as open shelving for our crockery.  But I also decided to put in these industrial style Jarrah shelves in an awkward spot above the bench top.   It worked so much better than I had planned for because it disguises the old school landline phone cord and the ducted air conditioning wall controls.  The shelves also draw attention away from my less than perfect wall tiling job.  You can’t even tell that the tiles are sloping to one side here!    And hopefully in the years to come my plants will grow big enough to trail down over the shelves.

Where did I get these from?  The Jarrah wood I already had as it was previously bought for a different project and not used.  The black brackets are from Bunnings.  My trick was to paint the steel screws for the shelf brackets in black furniture paint so they wouldn’t be so noticeable.

5. Pendant Lights

What I like about them?  After living with bare bulbs in almost every room in the house since moving in, having ceiling light covers is wonderful!  What surprises me the most about the pendant lights too, seeing I went with the largest size, is that they do not make the kitchen feel small.  That’s important especially when I do have a small kitchen area!!  And I love how they give the room so much character too!

This is one of the kitchen renovation ideas that took me the greatest amount of time  to decide on.  Mainly because a lot of the industrial style pendant lights I liked were more than I wanted to pay.  Thanks Ikea for budget pendant lights!

I fluked it with these lights too because the top of  the pendant is plastic.  I only found out I needed plastic lights when the electrician came to install them.  Then he informed me that my 37 year old house has no earth wiring and so he was not allowed to install my metal chandelier I had purchased for the bedroom.

Where are they from?  Ikea!!

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