Make the most of it on only a few dollars!

Obviously, you're not gonna be able to go for a full on kitchen renovation, or be able to replace all your old kitchen cabinets with custom cabinets. Neither will you be able to rework your kitchen to include that fancy new island with an inlaid granite top. Still, you should be able to make a difference with a little ingenuity and fresh ideas.

Go for High Impact

Both kitchen and bath design-generally the smaller rooms in a house-rely on accessories to create a ‘look.' On a budget, the easiest way to change a room is to concentrate on these. Bright red canisters, a red tea pot, and red-themed poster prints, for example, would make a retro, fun statement in a modern kitchen.

Another good idea is a new paint job. The mood and tone of your kitchen can go from country to contemporary in just the time it takes to paint the walls. Yellow tones bring a warm feeling to almost any room, cooler shades, a feeling of calm. It all depends on what you want your kitchen to say.

Inexpensive Furniture Options

Have you looked into some of the home sections of your friendly neighborhood discount stores lately? Both Walmart and Kmart, for example, are now carrying higher quality, well designed items like bar stools and dining sets, for only a fraction of the price of higher-end stores. Nobody needs to know where you got something that looks great and fits right in to the kitchen design theme that you had in mind. It's no longer about something being expensive, but about how you create a harmonious, comfortable, and functional space.

Thrift stores also offer a wealth of good stuff for a fraction of the cost you would usually pay for it. Dining sets, chairs, dish sets, window treatments, and cushions are just a few items that can be scored for dirt cheap prices and which can really go far in perking up your room.