Want to finish your new kitchen with a few designer touches that won’t break the bank? Once the cabinets, appliances, flooring, and lighting have all been accounted for, there is still plenty of room for adding value and enjoyment into your new space. Look to the smaller details and you will find several niche projects worth exploring.

Here are the first details to upgrade:

1. Cabinet hardware (spruce up a high traffic area)

2. Faucets (same as above)

3. Backsplash (add texture and color to the walls)

4. Appliance covers (protect countertop items, avoid repeated cleaning)

5. Area rugs (under dining areas, in front of stove, at back door)

6. Art displays (cabinet top, countertop, frames on walls)

7. Utensil racks (either hanging or wall-mounted)

These days, the science of ergonomics gets a ton of attention in kitchen designs — and rightfully so. Ergonomics is the study of factors that ensure productivity, efficiency and comfort. If things don’t work in unison in your kitchen, then you can expect its shortcomings to create an unbalanced and less than healthy environment.

1. Customize your countertops. Make sure they are the right height or median height for the inhabitants. Consider the function of the countertop. For example, food preparation areas should have lower counters than slicing or dining areas.

2. Put some bounce in your step with flooring that gives a little more than stone or tile. Consider cork, wood or rubber. Add feature rugs in areas of heavier traffic like in front of the stove.

3. Think in terms of drawers and not just doors. When you look for things in your kitchen, it’s often easier to look down and into a drawer than sand on a stool to see what’s on shelves behind a cabinet door.

4. Make sure cabinet doors open and reveal easily. There are no hard and fast rules about how cabinets should be opened. For example, there are pop up and sliding doors that help to avoid ducking.

5. Mind utilities. Ensure that storage and electrical outlets are easy to locate and ample. This will make it easier to find what you’re looking to use — and make it easier to use it.

6. Don’t forget stools. Studies have shown that people sit more correctly (from a posture standpoint) when seated on a stool.

7. Plan the flow of the room for easy access and utilization. Organize items needed for cooking around the stove area. Follow same process for food preparation and dining areas.

Every homeowner wants a light kitchen. However, it’s certainly possible to have too much of a good thing! It doesn’t take a feng shui practitioner to know that too much light can be overwhelming. KItchens are full of reflective surfaces  appliances, countertops, cabinet faces. Too much light could leave you squinting and drawing the curtains.

1. Don’t think in terms of superlights that overwork to light the entire room. Focus more on watt-appropriate task lighting. It’s not hard to know where this type of lighting should reside — where you prepare food, where you cook food, where you clean, where you eat, etc.

2. Think about under the cabinet lighting. It’s the least expensive type of kitchen lighting, and it could very well provide the most bang for your buck. It adds drama to your kitchen, especially in the evening.

3. Choose a less then embellished ceiling light. Think in terms of improving now and into the future. A more contemporary choice will work with more styles — should you renovate again or sell the home.

4. For mood setting light, think in terms of track or pendant lighting. They provide meandering lines and variety from your ceiling-based lighting.

5. Don’t be afraid of making a statement with a singular decorative choice. A distinctive piece can add a nice signature to the kitchen in the now, and it’s easy to replace it come time to sell.

6. The lighting should work together as a design unit. While each is separate in its function, you don’t need to sacrifice unity in form. Regardless of style differences, matching finishes and colors will do wonders to bring together the lighting.

Practice patience when planning a kitchen renovation. The process of making something new is at first disruptive before it can be revitalizing. Decluttering experts recommend that you also take this time to organize PRIOR to repopulating the new kitchen with items you won’t need. Less is more in creating a clean, organized kitchen.

1. Identify your everyday items — countertop appliance you use daily, plates, glasses, etc — and place these in a box with the label NECESSITIES.

2. Pull the remaining items from cabinets and draws and label these appropriately. Donate items you no longer use. Discard those that are broken.

3. Take those items that are rarely used (seasonal items, for example) to storage.

4. Repopulate your new kitchen the way a grocery store would. Categorize by meals! For example, keep all breakfast items stocked together.

5. Place the most popular items is easy-to-reach spaces.

6. Avoid the inclination to bring non-kitchen goods into your new space. Let your office be for professional endeavors and your kitchen be for enjoying meals.

7. Keep all important appointments on a calendar, but don’t hang that it in the kitchen! This is a room of relaxation and release — not of stress and expectation.

8. Keep the refrigerator gallery to a minimum. Scrapbook if you’re collecting a ton of artwork and photos here. Visually, they clutter. Functionally, they fall when you open and close the door.

9. Monitor the flow of how you utilize your kitchen — otherwise known as “flow” to design professionals. The more your kitchen is in concert with your natural inclinations, the more it will make sense and provide joy.