One of the most important rooms in your home is your kitchen. When considering selling or purchasing a home that has a dated kitchen some easy and affordable updates can be done to modernize.

Your kitchen cabinets are simply boxes screwed into the wall and for the most part can be easily moved up or down. So the first step is to look at the boxes. If they are all lined up horizontally in a nice even boring row, consider lifting a few of the boxes up higher than the others for a more creative and visually exciting line. Now look carefully at the boxes themselves and the cabinet doors. Moulding and trim work can be added to the top, bottom and the door fronts in order to give them a richer more stylized appeal. Since we are in the construction phase of our makeover, look at the doors themselves, you may want to remove a couple of doors to leave these cabinets as open shelving. This is a modern trend in kitchen design. Other doors can have the centre panel replaced with glass or even wire mesh or screen for a modern country feel.

Now, with the prep and remodelling work done (it was easier than you thought wasn't it?) get out the paint brush and roller and give the cabinets a fresh coat of white, ivory or even black (black espresso paint over outdated cabinets look fabulous). Designer note: you don't have to paint all of the cabinets the same colour. Perhaps the island can be left dark,or you can paint the lower cabinets dark and paint the upper light. Be creative.Before you paint, remove all of the old handles, knobs and even the hinges. These can all be replaced with new, more visually appealing hardware.

Remember here as well that not all hardware has to be the same. For example, you may use handles on all your drawers and knobs on the cabinets. You can also consider tattooing a cabinet or two.Remember,less is more but be sure to allow your kitchen to ooze with creativity.

The back splash will also be an integral part of your kitchen makeover. Consider re-tiling it yourself if you like the look of tile or replace the tile with a mirrored, stainless-steel,tin paneled or even a frosted glass back splash.

Taken from publication by Cherlyll Gillespie