16 brilliant upcycled kitchens made on a shoestring

Upcycled kitchen ideas are beneficial as renovating a kitchen can be an expensive job. So, if your culinary space is looking a little worse for wear but you don’t want to splash out on a full refit, why not get creative?

From complete colour transformations without removing a single cupboard to DIY concrete countertops that look like they cost a fortune, these incredible upcycled spaces were made on shoestring budgets. Prepare to be inspired by these bold and beautiful budget-friendly kitchen projects…

Boring fridge ruining the vibe in an open-plan space? Be inspired by Rosie Dickens of @the_flat_that_rosie_built and wrap yours with peel-and-stick vinyl for a fabulous feature. 

Rosie’s pattern and colour choice work perfectly to marry the green and pink kitchen with the funky yellow sofa in this compact space. 

Rosie used Wildflower About You vinyl from the @ohsodaisy.shop. Cut to size, ensure the fridge is clean and dry and remove the handle if possible. Then take your time and use a squeegee or credit card to smooth it down.

If wrapping a whole fridge with vinyl seems overwhelming simply covering the front doors can look just as striking if the colours coordinate. 

Affordable and functional IKEA furniture makes ideal low-cost and useful kitchen project hacks. 

Jill, of @jillyshumblehome, has built a practical peninsula out of a £29 ($44.99) KALLAX storage cube. To copy Jilly’s genius follow her step-by-step guide which also uses supporting MDF. 

As well as nailing this KALLAX breakfast bar upcycle project, Jill continues a chic kitchen look by turning flat and dull kitchen fronts into expensive-looking Shaker-style cabinets with MDF panels, pebble-toned paint and new shiny handles. 

An MDF worktop covered with marble-look vinyl on this genius IKEA hack matches the run of quartz worktops on the cabinetry. 

If you are the crafty and creative type why not make use of your talents by painting unique features freehand like Helen Ford of @homewithhelenandco? Keeping the look simple but satisfying, these hand-painted lemons make a juicy wall feature. 

Not so creative? Look online or in craft shops for a similar fruity-inspired wall stencil or kitchen-friendly wallpaper or stickers to create the same uplifting feel. 

The rest of Helen Ford’s kitchen continues a fun and pretty vibe, with a half-painted pink wall feature. 

Adding unique and practical accessories to a kitchen can fill it with personality and character without breaking the bank. The vintage Ancona whistling teapot with hummingbird and tulip flowers is a kettle of dreams, no? 

When it comes to revamping a kitchen, kickboards are not usually thought much about. But that additional area between the floor and base cupboards is an integral part of the kitchen. A kickboard will enclose the cabinetry to offer not only a pleasing finish but will seal off any opportunity for dust and debris to collect underneath. 

Hannah Otto owner of The Otto House has seen the benefit of a stylish kickboard. Not only has Hannah painted her existing cabinets pink it’s the small attention to detail that offers that perfect finish. 

To give your kitchen kickboards a makeover like Hannah’s, you can even use ones currently there as backing!

Buy mouldings in the style you like (pictured are fluted). Cut the mouldings to size and stick with wood glue onto the existing kickboards. Sand lightly, prime, paint and once dry protect with clear lacquer or varnish. Screw pipe clips on if necessary and attach them into place. Follow Hannah’s tutorial on her Instagram reel @theottohouse.

When Elise Dodds of @makemyhomepretty moved into her home by the sea they could cleverly tell the existing kitchen still had plenty of life left in it but wasn’t quite to the family’s taste. 

So, Elise changed out the bottom cupboard fronts for a rich navy blue and swapped the tiles. Simple black and white penny tiles are budget-friendly but certainly not boring when styled up with quirky integrated wording spelling ‘EAT’. The finished result is certainly worth a read. 

As well as tiles and cupboard fronts Elise switched the existing wooden worktop for chic and bright marble versions and installed new luxe-look brass handles. 

Scrolling through @makemyhomepretty’s Instagram feed you’ll see the family are avid art lovers. Popping a colourful print on white walls is an easy and affordable way to inject personality into a kitchen. 

When it comes to kitchen tiling, there are a few elements to factor in, including materials, wall preparation and the cost of removing the existing tiles and laying new. 

We love this idea by Kerry of @blonde_at_home, who scrapped the possibility of kitchen wall tiles altogether. Instead, this splashback idea uses black paint as a backdrop to display interesting accessories and collectables, such as decorative wall plates and pretty utensils. 

When Kerry decided it was time for her kitchen to take on wall tiles, she kept costs to a minimum by using stick-on tiles. 

Kerry explains on her Instagram reel: “When I first discovered these stick-on tiles, I was a bit sceptical about how easy they would be to apply and how they would look. Glad to report that they are super easy to put up… you just need to be careful with your measuring and cutting, particularly around plugs. They look so good…better than I imagined and that’s a big ask!”

For those who love a minimalist look these textured DIY worktops created by Claire Douglas Styling are a clever way to inject the quiet luxury trend on a budget. 

Claire explains the process: “I used an off-white polish concrete microcement kit from Concretelab.co.uk to completely transform (existing) black worktops and added a ledge shelf in the process.”

To complete the streamlined and chic kitchen style Claire upcycled the plastic framed and clear glass kitchen door.

Claire painted the uPVC frame a cool grey-green tone to match the kitchen cabinetry and streamline the space. She then applied self-adhesive reeded glass effect film. It now looks like a new door!

Sugary pastels are the go-to tonal hues Charlotte Coleman loves and her kitchen including the fridge has not been left out. Collaborating with Rust-Oleum, Charlotte of @wiltshirewonderland chose a pink all-surface paint and got to work after prepping with a good-quality roller. 

We love how Charlotte has colour-matched a pink wall to the bespoke fridge for a stylish and colour-drenched finish. 

Charlotte has since upgraded her upcycled refrigerator for a two-toned cool character by Samsung in peach and lavender.

Splashing out on a wow-factor bespoke fridge may take a chunk out of a kitchen budget. So, one way to keep further costs down is to match cabinets to a colourful hero appliance. Complement the look by painting kitchen cupboards in sweetie-hued paint shades such as lemon drop yellow, candy floss pink and Parma Violet. 

Kathleen Kowalski of @createacolorfullife is fixing up her first home with fiance Brian, one colourful room at a time. We’ve seen painted and wrapped fridge upcycle projects but how about painting the dishwasher like Kathleen has? 

Blue-hued Champness by Fusion Mineral Paint has been chosen to paint the kitchen cupboards and, controversially, the dishwasher too. Kathleen received a mixed reaction on social media with many telling her it wouldn’t last. But, years on it’s still going strong and we love the streamlined look. 

To complete the kitchen, Kathleen repainted and stencilled the existing wall tiles and dated linoleum floor. 

Kathleen’s advice to Apartment Therapy is: “If it’s ugly paint it! Paint is the most powerful DIY tool we have. We totally transformed our kitchen and it was mostly from paint.”

Believe it or not, these mouthwatering pink kitchen cupboards were once high-gloss white. Kyla Magrath of @kylamagrathinteriors sanded down the fronts and painted them with the deep-pink toned Bobbi by Graham & Brown. 

“Painting it pink was definitely the best decision I’ve made in here and also extremely easy to do,” explains Kyla. The matt finish complements the wooden worktops and warm neutral panelled splashback above. 

Farmhouse and country decorating ideas will never go out of style so choosing tongue and groove over kitchen splashback tiles as Kyla has can be a wise and low-cost investment. 

To seal off the tongue and groove, add a ledge to create an easy storage solution for decorative and eye-catching kitchen utensils. 

Decorating with curves and arches is an on-trend paint effect that can inject character galore into a small kitchen for the price of one or two cans of paint. Mural artist, Richard O’Gorman proves our point perfectly. 

To paint a perfect arch, measure and mark out the width. Then cut a length of string half the size of the arch and tie a pencil to one end. Tack the other end of the string in the centre of the measured width. Hold the pencil so the string is taut and lightly draw the guideline of the curve. 

Here’s another example in Richard’s kitchen showcased on @househomo, where bright colours and curves can create delightful consequences for very little cash. Why not give your kitchen door a hit of dopamine by painting it in a sunny shade of yellow?

As a ‘colour-theorist’ and mural painter it’s no wonder Richard’s kitchen is a vibrant feast of contrasting and complementary colour. Richard also mixed his own paint. However, hindsight advises against it, when it comes to touching up paint jobs. If you’ve found a shade you love but can’t afford most DIY stores offer a colour-mixing service that will make painting a breeze. 

Carissa owner of A Bold New Hue is the creator of an incredible DIY colourful kitchen update that took just two weeks to complete. It is packed full of money-saving and upcycling tricks. 

Leftover terrazzo tiles from a bathroom project were used to add an accent pattern to the kitchen island, while a faux terrazzo splashback was created by printing the same tile image on paper and sticking it with glue to the back of glass cabinets. 

A painted ceiling can turn a simple kitchen into something truly special so don’t assume the only shade you paint yours is white. Carissa has used eye-popping cobalt blue on her kitchen walls and ceiling to conjure up a cocooning array of colour. 

Handmade pink flat cupboard fronts and white fluted cabinets balance the strong colour injection while dialing up the glam factor further. 

DIY fluted cupboard fronts with decorative moulding plus new shiny hardware add subtle interest and are a surefire way to up the wow-factor in even the tiniest kitchen.

Cynthia Stiller of @hotpinkpineapples clearly is a fan of pale tones and boho vibes. Her DIY-painted white upper cabinets are ever so slightly lifted by the barely-there pink tone on the cupboards below. 

Perhaps Cynthia has chosen the pale and interesting mood to link in with her subtle yet striking, pastel-toned pink and white bespoke Samsung fridge. 

Wooden utensils and chopping boards displayed on worktops are an effortless and low-cost way to add warmth and texture to a pale-toned kitchen. Just be careful not to clutter the small space. 

This amazing kitchen was designed by Plykea, a company that offers doors, drawer fronts, worktops and cover panels for standard IKEA kitchens, and took just six weeks to achieve. 

The incredible budget-friendly scheme is just one of their creations and features the firm’s Fenix Grigio Bromo, Formica Chrome Yellow and Walnut ply cabinet covers, with semi-recessed circular pull handles. 

This kitchen was also designed by Plykea. Modifying IKEA kitchen base frames by adding bespoke designs from specialised companies is the easiest way to give your IKEA kitchen a personalised and luxurious-looking makeover at an affordable price. 

All of Plykea’s fronts and worktops are made to order, so prices vary, but a kitchen like this could be yours at a fraction of a designer kitchen price.  

Offering a range of contemporary materials, including oak and walnut, you can customise everything from door handles to spacer panels. Each cover is finished by hand and sprayed with a UV protective clear lacquer to stand the test of time.

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