Updating a kitchen nowadays is unbelievably expensive. So what can you do if your budget won’t extend to new units and appliances but your kitchen is still in desperate need of a serious makeover? Well begin at the end, in other words concentrate initially, not on what your kitchen looks like now, but on the sorts of kitchens that you would like to have, if possible. Look in magazines and showrooms for ideas and inspiration.

Now you’re not going to be imitating any of these fantastic looking kitchens, but you will pick up many ideas and get a feel for what functions well. And one thing you are virtually guaranteed to pick up on is how none of them incorporate extraneous clutter and how all of them are enhanced by their use of lighting.

But not having extraneous stuff around the place is not the same as Spartan minimalism. Most kitchens gain from having utensils, books, decorations and assorted small appliances strategically on display. It’s the stuff that doesn’t belong, or that could be put away but hasn’t been, that is distracting and mars the appearance.

On the lighting side of things, step outside the kitchen and into a TV or film set. The point is that these appear to the viewer to be, say, a fashionable office, or a beautiful bedroom or whatever the designer wants you to see. In reality they are normally cheap chipboard with a quick paint job - the lighting is what makes them look so much more. Apply this logic to your kitchen.

So the strategy for an effective low-cost makeover is 1) clear up and set things where they enhance the look and 2) sort out the lighting. You might also be rather surprised to learn just how far modern lighting has come since your present lights were first installed.

Do you, for example, have pendant lighting that hangs above an island, table or breakfast bar? Adding these is a very easy and affordable way to update and lift the look of the place. Even if you already have this type of lighting, you can bring in a more contemporary look simply by replacing them with more modern ones.

Modern kitchen lighting is characterized by the application of many quite specific light sources rather than just a smattering of main lights that attempt to light everything. Also the appearance of new technologies mean that you can, for example, position LED light strips to pick out a plinth or pin them beneath wall units to create task lighting on the work surfaces.

LED lights give off a bright, clean light that works particularly well in kitchens with their numerous reflective surfaces. By reflecting LED light from walls and tiles you can create fascinating ambient light effects not possible with incandescent bulbs. Their bright, concentrated nature plus the fact they use up little power and give off little heat also makes them well suited as substitutes for halogen spotlights.

If this article interested you then try these additional articles to find out much more about strip lighting for kitchens and LED strip lighting in general.

It’s quite common in most modern kitchens to see an “island” - basically a standalone workspace, usually occupying the centre of the kitchen. There are a number of compelling arguments in favour of having a kitchen island, but also a number of other points to consider as well.

One of the most obvious advantages of a kitchen island is extra working and storage space. Having kitchen units set against walls limits the amount of available space, especially when you also have to take windows and doors into consideration.

It is also self-evident that helping to connect otherwise disconnected zones and making the kitchen simply seem more interesting is another benefit worth having. If all your work surfaces and kitchen units are spread out against the walls it can make a kitchen appear, well, hollow.

Some people use their kitchen island as an additional work area and install sinks, hobs and ovens etc, while others prefer to style it as a formal dining area or simply a place to gather round. But whatever you choose, an island provides a perfect excuse to introduce some stunning lighting effects.

Among the most common yet effective lighting options is the use of elegant suspended pendant light fittings. These are often eye-catching features all by themselves as well serving a utilitarian purpose, namely providing suitable task lighting when using the island.

And of course today no modern kitchen is complete without some element of LED lighting. A kitchen islands is intrinsically a centre-piece feature that demands and can absorb a lot of attention, and there are few more stunning contemporary effects than plinth or floor-level lighting using LED spots or light strips.

But although it is hard to think of a single measure to lift the appearance and usefulness of a kitchen that rivals installing a kitchen island, it’s not always the right choice. Especially if your kitchen is modestly proportioned then you need to reconsider a few options.

There can still be benefitsto incorporating an island in a less spacious kitchen, but the key is to ensure that you don’t then make it awkward to work and move around, or end up with an island that is frankly at odds with its surroundings. An island is supposed to add a certain style to your kitchen, not squat ungainly in the middle of the room like the proverbial 500 pound gorilla.

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