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Budget-Friendly Tips for Stylish Kitchen Design

Home-owners spend about 20pc of the total construction cost on the kitchen alone.

Updated on

September 22, 2019

interiors of a house — Renovation can transform a plain-looking house into a dream home. PHOTO | FILE

Learning how to design a great kitchen is an important skill that can help transform an ordinary house into a dream home.

However, modern kitchen designs in Kenya do not come cheap. An average home-owner spends about 20 per cent of the total construction cost on the kitchen alone – and this cost does not include appliances.

This is because most people tend to choose expensive kitchen design plans yet with some creativity they can achieve similar looks for much less.

This article aims to teach you how to plan a dream kitchen (a fabulous one for that matter) without draining your construction budget.

The first step towards a trendy kitchen is to make a list of all the things you want to have in your dream kitchen. Divide the list into two; 1) the things you need and 2) the things you want.

This will help you differentiate between what you need and what you could live without. Buy the things you need first and later, if your budget allows, buy some of the items you could do without.

Your kitchen design budget will be determined mainly by the materials used in the space. State-of-the-art imported fixtures, cabinets, high-end floor tiles and granite countertops will make your kitchen look stunning.

Unfortunately, these features do not come cheap. If you can’t afford them, go for inexpensive alternatives.

You may go for the more affordable marble and granite laminates to achieve looks similar to those of real marble or granite. And if you are dying for the real thing, go for marble or granite tiles as they are less costly.

The flooring material features prominently in kitchen design plans. It is also one of the most expensive features of your room. Ceramic tiles or marble may be way out of your reach, but modern vinyl flooring is not.

You may also go for wood-look laminates to give your kitchen a wooden appearance.

Lastly, you can design a kitchen cost-effectively by saving money on labour. Are there jobs that you can handle? Can you paint the room? Consider doing these jobs rather than hiring someone else to do them for you.