Show Your Kitchen Some Love To Increase The Value Of Your Home

The biggest bang for your renovation buck comes from a thorough clean; good old-fashioned elbow grease. Clean grout with a toothbrush and abrasive cleaner. Get into every cupboard nook and cranny with a scrubber. Wash the walls and ceiling to remove grime, fly spots and food splatter. This level of cleaning also helps to ensure the kitchen smells fresh and clean too.

Then, choose a light, bright, neutral colour and pop on a fresh coat of paint. This quick fix can make an incredible difference for very little cost. If you can, a monochromatic kitchen is chic, clean and popular.

If you’re having an open home or getting real estate photos taken, Marie Kondo your kitchen. Get rid of anything unnecessary and remove all clutter. Got cans of tomatoes you don’t need? The foodbank would love them. Proud owner of 16 spatulas? Find a cousin or niece who’s going flatting. Remove what you don’t need and colour-coordinate whatever’s left. The result will be uncluttered and unified. Remember, people open cupboards at open homes, so lose the open bags and half-finished snacks. Put everything in labelled containers.

Another cheap and easy kitchen upgrade is to replace handles. While you should still keep the overall style of the kitchen consistent, a set of new kitchen and drawer handles immediately makes everything look better.

This is moderately expensive, but it’s cheaper than a full refit. If you have old wooden cabinet doors, have them removed, sanded and repainted to look great. Lacquered cupboard and drawer fronts can also be easily resprayed for a brand new look – you can even change the colour. If your cupboards are covered in cracked and peeling laminate, it takes more work to bring them up to standard - consider buying new cabinet doors for an instant spruce-up.

Tired, tatty lino or a beaten-up wooden floor makes your kitchen look dirty, even if it isn’t. Cost up a modern, hardwearing option to quickly modernise your kitchen space. There are plenty of choices: cork tiles, lino that looks like wood, manufactured timber tongue-and-groove floors, and ceramic or terracotta tiles.

If you have an older home, peeling back that scarred lino might reveal a solid hardwood floor underneath. This only needs cleaning, sanding and a polyurethane finish to look amazing.

Tired, tatty lino or a beaten-up wooden floor makes your kitchen look dirty, even if it isn’t. Cost up a modern, hardwearing option to quickly modernise your kitchen space. There are plenty of choices: cork tiles, lino that looks like wood, manufactured timber tongue-and-groove floors, and ceramic or terracotta tiles.

If you have an older home, peeling back that scarred lino might reveal a solid hardwood floor underneath. This only needs cleaning, sanding and a polyurethane finish to look amazing.

If you want to invest more in your kitchen, take a step back and think about the magic triangle between cooktop, fridge and sink. If it’s not so magical, or way too big, a kitchen refit is the chance to put things right. Other problems can be solved at the same time. Does your fridge live in the laundry? Can you only open the dishwasher when all the drawers are totally shut? Is there nowhere for a rubbish bin? You’ve lived here for a while, so you’re probably used to all the idiosyncrasies of your kitchen; potential buyers won’t be as forgiving.

Generally, plumbing and electricity changes are the most expensive factors in a kitchen refit. Try to keep dishwashers, sinks and ovens in the same place if you can, to minimise costs and effort.

When you have a kitchen reno on the go, there are many ways to buy cheap items that will still look great. On Trade Me you’ll sometimes find listings for small numbers of tiles that are leftover from another project. Also, there are often demo sinks, cabinets and counters that represent exceptional value for a new kitchen fit-out. Do be aware that sometimes these are harder to fit than custom-made pieces. Talk to a builder first, to make sure it will work in your space.

It’s debatable whether DIY actually saves you money. But if you’re relatively skilled with painting, carpentry and laying tiles, then doing it yourself is a great way to keep costs under control. But if a particular task needs sign off, such as electrical or plumbing work, you’ll need to call in the pros.

Don't forget to check with your insurance provider before starting any DIY work to make sure you're covered throughout. In some cases, you'll need a Contract Works policy to protect throughout your reno.