As we head into the most wonderful time of the year, our kitchens will be taking centre stage when we host our friends, family, and other loved ones. You’ve probably seen amazing inspiration for fabulously festive kitchens in the past few weeks, but if you’re anything like us, you’re probably thinking “hold on a minute, I’m not about to spend £150 on a designer animatronic polar bear to sit on top of my kitchen counter”.

So how can you do Christmas kitchens on a budget? Our team of kitchen experts are going to tell you.

We believe that every kitchen deserves to be turned into a winter wonderland this Christmas season, but it shouldn’t cost the earth to do it.

Spruce Up your Space 

Making a few small changes can have a huge impact when making your dream Christmas kitchen. By very simply replacing a few of your regular kitchen bits and bobs with Christmassy counterparts, you’ll find yourself surrounded by festive fancies for just a fraction of your time and effort!

Christmas crockery

Having a set of Christmas crockery is a fantastic way to bring some Yuletide cheer to your kitchen with minimum effort. Available from most supermarkets and numerous online stores, finding a set of crockery to beautifully match your kitchen should be a doddle. There are also plenty of budget-friendly options out there.

And the best thing? You can reuse your festive crockery every year – you could even make a family tradition of swapping your kitchen crockery over at the start of the Christmas period!

Festive furnishings

Just like with your crockery, another quick win when turning your kitchen into Santa’s grotto is to replace your usual furnishings with budget-friendly festive versions. Cushions, throws, coasters, tablecloths, even wall-hangings! Replacing any, or all, of these will really bring those Christmas vibes to your space, and is something you can easily do every year.

Dazzle with Decorations

We know all too well that the cost of Christmas decorations can really add up quickly, but there are a couple of tricks to making a select few go a long way. Follow our advice, and you’ll be buying less decorations than ever, but your kitchen will look just as fabulously festive as always! 

Placement is Key

One of the secrets to having amazing-looking decorations is placement. Being smart about where you choose to place each and every ornament can fill your kitchen evenly and beautifully without the need to clutter lots of pieces in small spaces.

There are three main things to remember when it comes to decoration placement:

1. Height
   Don’t decorate at one height. We recommend having an even mixture of high, middle, and low placed ornaments, using your eye-line as the middle point. If you want to have more decorations at a particular height, go for the middle as this is where your eye is most frequently drawn to.
2. Depth
   Depth is extremely important; without depth your decorating efforts will, quite literally, fall flat.  With shelving units, splashbacks, cupboards, windowsills, and more, your kitchen is the perfect space for adding depth to your ornament placement! Just like with the height of your decorations, aim for a good mixture of background, mid-ground, and foreground ornaments.
3. Colour
   If you’re using more than one colour or material in your decorating scheme, make sure you disperse them evenly, so everything feels balanced. In your kitchen we recommend going for either one complementary colour (that matches your kitchen’s décor) with one contrasting colour, or one natural material with one metallic material. The most important thing is to keep it simple! And always keep the style of your kitchen design in mind when choosing your decorations.

Pro-Tip: Keep the counter clear

We know it’s tempting to fill all that empty kitchen counter space with beautiful Christmas decorations, but you have to remember that, first and foremost, your kitchen needs to be functional.

Believe us, you’ll regret not having your counters clear when you’re hosting family get-togethers or making Christmas dinner for 10 people!

Forage for Festive Flora

If there’s one thing we know for sure, it’s that plants and natural materials look absolutely stunning in kitchens, and the same principle goes for your Christmas kitchen too!

Festive potpourri

A bowl of potpourri (dried, scented plants) not only makes your space smell amazing, but also acts as a lovely centrepiece on your kitchen table, island, or breakfast bar. There are plenty of budget-friendly options online for festive potpourri, or you can make your own with ingredients like dried oranges, cloves, cinnamon sticks, and pinecones.

Festive bouquets

Nothing brightens up a kitchen like a vase full of flowers! Add a festive bouquet of holly, mistletoe, poinsettias, and amaryllis to your Christmas kitchen décor for a fresh and beautiful touch.

Pro-Tip: Double-check all your festive flora is safe for your home

Having plants in your Christmas kitchen will look gorgeous, but always make sure the plants you get are safe for your home. A prime example is poinsettias – these traditional Christmas plants are highly toxic to cats and dogs, so if you have pets make sure you have this plant well out of reach, or avoid it all together.

Go Heartfelt and Home-Made

By far the best way to keep budget-friendly is to go home-made. Now, you may be picturing paper snowflakes and paper-chain garland, but fear not! We have some ideas for you that will fill your kitchen with Christmas charm without looking overly ‘home-made’ (if you know what we mean…).

Homemade wreath

Once you have a wreath made with real plants, you will never go back to the plastic one in the attic, trust us! Real wreaths look absolutely stunning, and they’re super easy to make at home. You can find hundreds of tutorials online, or you can even attend a local flower-arranging class to learn in-person from a professional. One thing’s for sure, it’s a great family activity to do the week before Christmas, and your home-made wreath will look simply stunning in your kitchen.

Christmas candles

At-home candle making has grown in popularity over the last few years, with candle wax, wicks, and scented oils all readily available to buy online at a fraction of the cost of shop-bought branded candles. Not only is it easy to buy everything you need online, but your kitchen is a veritable treasure-trove when it comes to fun and unique candleholders (old jars and teacups work amazingly well). Scents like pine, sandalwood, and cinnamon all work beautifully at Christmas time, so why not add a couple of home-made scented candles to your Christmas kitchen?

Fill your counters with festive bakes

There truly is nothing better than home-baked goods at Christmas time, and the amazing thing about so many of our favourite festive treats as that they double as up gorgeous decorative pieces! Nothing screams Christmas like a home-made gingerbread house on the countertop, or a tray of mince pies cooling in the corner. You could have a show-stopping Christmas cake adorn the centre of your kitchen island, or make stained-glass cookies that hang from your cupboard door handles – the possibilities really are endless!

We hope these tips and tricks have given you plenty of inspiration for your own Christmas kitchen on a budget! We’d love to see photos of your stunning festive kitchens. Tag us @DreamDoors in any photos you post on social media and, who knows, perhaps we’ll do a post of our favourites!