Paint

• A fresh coat of paint can do wonders for any room, especially the kitchen, where you spend time preparing meals and sometimes eating them. A new color can inspire you and bring out a totally different feel in the room. For a fresh look in the kitchen use yellows and blues, or bring out a calm, romantic feeling with sage greens or powdery lavenders. While crisp white can give the look of clean lines, you may want to spice the kitchen up with stencils either along the top of the walls or around the room like a chair rail.
  
  

Cabinets and Countertops

• Stencils can also be used along your cabinet doors. Either repaint the cabinets to have a different background color, or use them as they are and apply stenciled designs over them. Often symmetrical scrolling patterns look nice, or use aspects of grapevines, flowers or farm animals with checkerboard stenciling below them.
  
  If you don't want to stencil your cabinets to achieve a new look, you can look into changing the doors all together. Repaint them, switch to a frosted glass door look, or take the doors off altogether for an open kitchen look--just be sure to clean up your shelves so the presentation is nice.
  
  Without spending money to replace your countertop, you can look into a few different faux finishing techniques. With a faux finish, your counters can appear to be marble, granite or a solid color. Just be sure to do your research before you paint on your counter so you know what non-toxic paints won't wash away when you clean up.
  
  

Flooring

• Maybe it's your cut-up or dingy floor that is the problem. Often affordable, self-adhesive floor tiles can easily, with little to no setup work, be applied directly on top of your existing floor. If you want to tear out the floor and start from scratch, you may want to consult a professional for tips and guidance before you begin.
  
  

Fabrics

• With all of the hard surfaces in your kitchen, fabrics are what make it soft and inviting. Create a country look by adding curtains with chickens or eggs on them, or use fabric patterned with herbs to lighten the mood. You can buy a simple set of hand towels and dish cloths to match the curtains you choose. Pick something with the same print, or select a solid color you like from the curtain pattern for your towels and cloths.