Upcycling & Kitchen Revamp Ideas

Are you forever rummaging through overflowing drawers and awkward cupboards to find cooking utensils? It’s time to make your kitchen work harder to provide a functional space. Chances are you’ve got a plain wooden ladder or you could buy a secondhand one. This will help you use empty, vertical space as clever storage on a wall.

First, give the ladder a facelift to enhance your colour scheme. For example, create a striking display by painting a feature wall in Pepper Red and use a refreshing, cool white on the ladder for contrast. Get some kitchen utensil hooks and hang the items you most often use on the rungs. It’s also a great spot for those pretty tea towels you’ve collected on your travels.

If dining chairs are dragging the overall design of your open plan space down, get set for some dipping magic. Dip-dyed legs or coloured feet are all the rage and add a playful, stylish look to your upcycled kitchen and dining room. Although it may look like a tricky effect to achieve, low-tack decorator’s masking tape is the only extra thing you’ll need for the painting process. In fact, you don’t even have to paint the whole chair.

Choose any colour you like for the chair legs or even two or three complementary colours. Harmonise the scheme with similar colours in a rug, painting or your table. To get you started, watch our step-by-step Dipped Chair Leg Effect guide and use Dulux Quick Dry Satinwood for the perfect, mid-sheen finish.

Is there anyone out there who likes the job of retiling? If you’re shaking your head, painting over kitchen tiles is the solution for you. Along with eliminating a costly, messy replacement, paint allows you to achieve the colour you want and cover up stains or ghastly patterns. Dulux Tile Paint makes it possible, as it’s waterproof, self-undercoating and 10 times tougher than conventional water-based satin paints.

The trick to painting over kitchen tiles successfully is to prepare the surface first by killing any mould and thoroughly removing remnants of grease or soap.  If you’d rather remove tiles altogether, consider painting the splashback area in a bold colour to highlight it instead. You won’t need to worry about stain removal when you use Dulux Easycare Kitchen Matt.

Tired cupboard doors have the power to turn you away from the kitchen and go out to eat instead. Luckily, the reverse is also true. Repainting kitchen cabinets is a fast track to a sparkling kitchen revamp with a contemporary feel. When you use Dulux Cupboard Paint you won’t need to prime them before painting, so the process is fuss-free. Plus, the durable, hard wearing finish is up to the task of combatting wear and tear.

Now that you know how easy they’ll be to paint, let’s talk colour schemes! A cool white will freshen things up in an instant, while warm neutrals or pretty pastels introduce a cosy, traditional feel. To make a statement, go bold with blocks of different shades in the same colour family, like Sumptuous Plum, Berry Smoothie and Mulberry Burst. Simply painting two or three cupboard fronts could make a difference and greys bring a large dose of sophistication, while working with most other colours.

For any glass-fronted cupboards, try painting the inside in a different colour to the outside, transforming it into a cabinet of curiosities. If your cupboard fronts really are beyond salvaging, go ahead and rip them off. Use the same technique and paint the inside for an open-shelving look that adds to your overall design. Check out our handy guide on repainting kitchen cabinets before you start.

A few small tweaks are often all that’s needed for a kitchen revamp that’s worthy of its role as the hub of your home.