A friend told me the other day that they’ve nixed plans to renovate their kitchen, at least for now.
I keep hearing that the economy is looking up, but in the short run, here are three inexpensive things you can do to perk up your tired kitchen.
1. Add a rug – a colorful one.
Yes, it will get trashed over time, but it will bring warmth and character to an out-of date kitchen. Look for flatweaves, patterns, and darker colors. (If you’ve been nervous about ordering a rug online, this is the time to experiment. These are from Rugman.com.)
2. Address the windows.
First, buy a cheapie cafe curtain rod at a store like Linens & Things or Bed Bath & Beyond.
Using rings with clips, hang vintage dishcloths; look on Etsy or in museum shops online. Hang the rod roughly in the center of the window, so that the fabric brushes the window sill.
(The flamingo dishcloths are through Etsy, and the hilarious onion one is from the Santa Monica Museum of Art gift shop.)
To illustrate, this is the “temporary” window treatment I put in our master bathroom. It’s been up for four and a half years. I’d just unearthed the 28th UNOPENED box of linen handkerchiefs my grandmother had squirreled away for, oh, forty years or so, and I resolved to put them to use. (You’ll be using more festive, colorful pieces in your kitchen, though.)
3. Hang photographs or plates.
No photographs smaller than 8 x 10, please, framed in lucite, and hang several. Kitchen walls are a fantastic place for your honeymoon safari pics or other of your artistic photographic endeavors (I do suggest pictures of things rather than people). If you don’t have a tile backsplash, hang pictures in that space instead.
As for plates, I’m talking about funky contemporary ones, not Grannie’s. You feel me? Hanging one or several over the sink looks especially great.
Good luck, Gentle Readers. Remember: these are temporary measures to hold us until we bring in the wrecking balls and go crazy with kitchen renovations. Hopefully, that day is right around the corner.
Added 7.22.09: As fate would have it, Young House Love today writes about a fourth way to improve your kitchen – an “easy upgrade,” they call it. Easy, cheap ‘n instant!