* PR post
Our kitchen is the smallest room in the house. It's also the darkest. At the back of the house, it receives some sun first thing but because it's small and narrow, with just a frosted window and a glass panelled back door, it doesn't get a great deal of light. We're planning on having the current overhead lighting replaced to try and eradicate the dark corners and we'd love to have a new kitchen, but for now, we're working with what we have.
I like the black and white backdrop but wanted to update the room on a budget to give it a new lease of life.
My mission last weekend?
- Give my kitchen a quick update
- Choose new accessories that would add light and colour
- Keep the counters as clear as possible, as we have minimal space to spare
- Make something of the main wall that has no units on it
- Try and get everything for £100 or less
My theme?
Retro styling. I have a few postcards of food ads of yesteryear and similarly styled tins too, plus I have a love of all things vintage. With the black wall tiles and white units, I had an American diner type look in mind.
Here's what I started with:
I started window shopping online and soon found that Dunelm Mill had just the thing. We've had the same kettle and toaster for more than 10 years (a great testament, in fairness) but as they sit on the counter, taking up valuable space, I wanted to replace them with more attractive alternatives.
So, I settled on the Candy retro collection of appliances, and some accessories, and in store chose a mint toaster, a pink kettle and a duck egg blue bin to match in terms of style.
I like to mix and match more than have everything same-y; I thought that in such a small space, a pink kettle, toaster, bin and microwave would be too much, plus hubs wouldn't be so keen on so much pink (and I couldn't not have one of the pink items as they're too darn cute).
I'll be adding a duck egg blue microwave to complete the look this weekend - as again, our current model has seen better days but has served us well.
I then had a look around to find some other bits and pieces to give the kitchen a quick update; tea towels, oven gloves, a new chopping board and even a new dish brush can all add accents around the kitchen to give it a fresh new look, and are cheap additions too.
I picked up the wood chopping block with pink painted trim for just £3.49 and the large dish drainer for just £2.99, all Dunelm. If I hadn't already had a bread bin, utensil holder and biscuit tin, I saw the perfect retro set in Wilkos for just £12 when buying the bunting (just £1.50).
I found some narrow floating shelves (set of three for just £7.99) and back at home we fixed these to the wall, along with a previous picture shelf from Ikea, to make a display wall. I popped a couple of my Cath Kidston mugs on display plus a few baking accessories I picked up a few months ago.
And the overall effect?
It hasn't made the room any bigger but it has made it feel brighter and more fun. The new appliances look great and we're so pleased with the wall display too. The retro styling looks great and I feel much happier spending time in there now.
The whole update cost just £80 (with a further £43 for the microwave I'll be picking up this weekend) and has made a real difference and goes to show a room makeover can cost a lot less than you think.
* Collaborative post with Ocean Loans and their Dream Rooms campaign. I received a voucher to make my makeover plans come true, which in part paid for our new kitchen accessories. All views and content remains my own.