Cheap Kitchen Decorating Ideas | eHow

Paint is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to redecorate a kitchen. Whether you paint one accent wall or the entire room, it gives the walls a fresh, clean look. Color creates different moods in the room, so you can use the paint to make the kitchen more relaxing, vibrant or modern. To test different colors, buy a sample can of the color you're considering. Paint it on a piece of poster board and hang it on the kitchen wall. Look at the paint color in different light at different times of day. Paint also works well to redecorate plain cupboards.

Place mats work well as an inexpensive kitchen window treatment. There are a number of styles and colors available in place mats, making it easy to find something that matches your kitchen. You can also match the curtains to the table settings in the kitchen by purchasing the same place mats for both purposes. Layer the place mats over a decorative curtain rod. You can use hot glue or double-sided tape to hold the place mats in place.

Another inexpensive way to spruce up a kitchen is to add new kitchen hardware to the cabinets. There is a huge selection of styles and colors available in cabinet hardware. They may be small, but decorative handles make a big impression in a kitchen. Keep in mind how many handles you will need. The prices of door hardware also vary greatly, so you'll want to know how many you need to purchase so you can keep the project under budget.

Under cabinet lighting adds task lighting to the work areas in the kitchen. Many styles of under cabinet lighting are available. Instead of buying expensive under cabinet lights, use a strand of white Christmas lights. You can hide the light strand behind the cabinet trim so no one will know the difference. You still get the upscale under cabinet lighting look without the price tag.

Empty jars make inexpensive decorations for the kitchen. Save old food jars or look for decorative jars at thrift stores and garage sales. Fill the jars with decorative items such as dried beans in different colors, interesting shaped pasta or oil with herbs in it. The fillers keep with the kitchen theme but don't cost a lot. Place the jars on window sills or shelves in the kitchen.

Backsplashes are popular in kitchen decor. You can spend a great deal of money on backsplash tiles or you can save money by creating your own mosaic backsplash. Pieces of broken tile or old plates make up the pieces of the mosaic design. Ask friends and family if they have some extra tiles lying around the house that you can use. Also check with tile or home improvement stores to see if they have any broken tiles you can have. You'll end up with a one-of-a-kind backsplash without spending a lot of money.