Home makeover shows have us (and you, admit it) obsessed with finding ways to transform our kitchens, from figuring out how to make a small kitchen look and feel bigger, to how to make 70s cabinets look fresh out of the warehouse, to how to keep the kids from using the kitchen (and abusing it) as their playground. Let’s face it: not everyone has the budget to follow in the footsteps of the people who installed custom-cut marble countertops and hand-hewn cabinets flown in from Madagascar. *sigh* If your piggy bank has you feeling lean in the kitchen, follow these tips to plump up your kitchen love.

Do a Sink Swap

Your sink does a lot of hard work in your kitchen. And hard work should be rewarded. Stainless steel will give your kitchen a sleek, commercial look while antiqued bronze brings on a stately feel, and a composite sink evokes practicality and a desire to get down to business.

Create an Island Oasis

If you’ve got the space, adding a kitchen island could be just the touch your kitchen needs without making massive changes. And it doesn’t have to be expensive. Find an old dresser or short kitchen curio, paint or stain it to match to your kitchen cabinets, and top it with a counter for a quick, mobile storage and prep oasis.

Give Your Cabinets a Facelift

Kitchen cabinets can be expensive to replace, but cabinet refacing or cabinet refinishing can be just the quick and inexpensive fix your kitchen needs to totally transform. On your own, painting cabinets is a minimal monetary cost, but takes a lot of effort, organization and patience on your part for removing and replacing doors, hardware, and drawers. Help from a professional can speed up the process without substantially increasing your costs.

Replace (or Fake) Your Window Treatments

Kitchens need and deserve lots of natural light. If you’ve never opened the blinds or curtains in your kitchen, it’s time. And a few dollars spent on new window treatments can markedly change the look of your kitchen and how you feel about it. Don’t have a kitchen window? Fake it. Purchase an antique window frame and hang it with a window treatment to add depth to your kitchen.

Get Footloose with New Flooring

Even a job well done on flooring gets old after a while. DIYers can install lock-in-place laminate, roll-in linoleum and other types of flooring in a day or less. Keep in mind that a steady hand, patience, and the willingness to disconnect and move appliances is a must if you’re going it alone on this project.

Small budgets don’t mean you can’t make meaningful, big changes to your kitchen. Be smart, shop around for the best pricing on supplies, and put in some elbow grease, and you’ll end up with a TV-worthy kitchen makeover that will make you, and your piggy bank, squeal in delight.