New kitchens can cost an arm and a leg, and them some, which is great if you have a spare £10,000+ to spend. Most of us don’t especially with the current economic climate, so you’ll be surprised how a little bit of money and some elbow grease can go a long way. Here are a few tips on how you can give your kitchen a new lease of life without spending too much:

1. Paint - This must be the easiest and cheapest way to change the look of any room in your home and your kitchen is no exception. If you are fairly inexperienced at DIY like myself I would stick to just painting the walls, if like my kitchen you have limited wall space then changing the colour of the ceiling from that very popular white can make a dramatic difference.

However if you are more of a handy person around the house or have a little bit of money to pay a professional, you could go that extra step and have your cabinet fonts refinished in a different colour. Cabinets in colours can be very exciting in the kitchen: in postal blue, light pastels, whisper grey and sunny yellow can all create surprising results. Decorating magazines often show cabinets in spruce green, Navy blue and weathered or faux finishes.

One of the latest trends is to combine painting and staining in different areas of the same kitchen cabinets, or stain in two different colours. You are only limited by your imagination! If you are not sure which colour to select, your paint professional may offer colour consultations, or you may want to get advice from an interior designer.

2. Cabinet Refacing - To go another step from refinishing your cabinets, you could have them refaced. This will obviously cost more but is still less than a new kitchen.

3. Door knobs and Handles - Even if you aren’t changing the look of your cabinets you can still make a little difference by updating the styles of handles to a more contemporary look.

4. Worktops - This is another item that can make a huge difference but if you aren’t that handy at DIY can cost a lot to get a professional. Also the type of material will also make a huge difference to the cost, from natural stones like granite to tile and concrete.

5. Curtains - Apart from open-plan living room and kitchens it is very rare to find a kitchen without a window, kitchen curtains can be very affordable and easy to fit, even for us DIY novices. Curtains can be a good place to start when deciding on colour schemes from the walls to cabinets and accessories.

6. Accessories - There a wide variety of kitchen accessories you can use to make a nice kitchen into a great kitchen with pictures, plants, contrasting towels, rugs even a bowl of fruit. If you have glass panelled display cupboards, place decorative coloured objects to present a desired effect.

7. Dining Accessories - If you have a dining table in you kitchen or an open-plan dining room / kitchen, make use of accessories available such as table cloths and place mats. Dining chair covers are relatively in-expensive compared to buying new and can transform this area in a matter of minutes.

9. Flooring - One area that people tend to miss the most is floor and can be very easy to change depending on what you already have in place. You don’t have stick with the lino anymore, there are many other choices from Glass, Ceramic Rubber & Cork Tiles to Palmwood & Bamboo.

You don’t even need to follow all these ideas, just a few can achive that effect you are after.