Jun 25, 2023
Revamp Your Kitchen and Make It Feel Like Home
We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed collects a share of sales and/or other compensation
We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed collects a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.
Look at you with your under-cabinet lighting.
BuzzFeed Staff
Enhances the natural beauty and depth of grain on finished *and* unfinished wood. For use on antiques, dining tables, kitchen cabinets, wood doors and trim, etc.
Promising review: "I have tried numerous products on my wood kitchen cabinets, and nothing has worked. You can see from the photos that they were in really bad shape. I applied this product and let it sit for 45 minutes before I wiped the cabinets down. I can’t believe how well it worked! If this didn’t work, I figured I would have to refinish or paint the cabinets because they looked so bad. I’m so glad I tried it! It has saved me a lot of time and money!" —nicole feather
Get it from Amazon for $8.47.
Promising review: "I can't believe how well Old English works! I recently purchased a home where a dog previously lived and had horribly scratched the woodwork. I thought I may have to sand and refinish the woodwork around two doors. Old English saved me a lot of work! " —Behold Behold!
Get it from Amazon for $5.34.
Promising review: "I need this in bulk!! I have tried so many cleaning solutions to get out hard cooking stains on my stovetop and nothing worked! This stuff took it right out without a problem!!" —Micaela Gunderson
Get it from Amazon for $9.99.
Useful Products is a US-based small business established in 2007 by car wash owner, electrician, and former bodybuilder Anthony LaPolla that specializes in drill-cleaning brushes and attachments.
Each of the different brush colors indicates which tasks the brushes are meant for based on their bristle type, so be sure to check which one is best suited for whatever you need to for! Yellow is the “all-purpose” medium bristle, but some are softer and harder depending on what types of surfaces you’re cleaning (but none of them will scratch!).
Promising review: "I manage many apartment properties and finding people to do the cleaning has been tricky business, so I end up having to get in and clean these horrendous filth pods tenants lived in and left me to deal with when they move out. The ovens and stove tops are usually the worst, and I absolutely hate cleaning. I came across this drill attachment set, and let me tell you, it helped me tremendously! I still had to get in with a putty knife on some of them but it really cut down my elbow-grease time." —alicia haats
Get it from Amazon for $14.99 (available in six colors and stiffness levels).
StoveShelf is a small business, and these shelves are built to last a lifetime.
Promising review: "This is an excellent buy. The shelf helped me declutter my cabinet, and it is an awesome storage space for my more often used spices. It is sturdy, easily installed, and attractive. I recommend this shelf." —Pamella R.
Get it from Amazon for $39.99 (available in six types and three sizes).
Promising review: "II am in real estate and known as a lighting snob. The first thing I look at in a kitchen if there is under cabinet lighting. These are so nice (it helps if you have a lip at the bottom of your cabinets). They are a true white, very bright, and I was lucky they were just the length I needed. I just ordered a set and had them shipped to my mom's as her halogen transformer which is buried in a wall, fried and I drives me nuts that the workspace on the counter is dark. I can't wait until I make the 250-mile drive to install them. I may buy more just to use at our listings!" —pauly
Get a 10' strand with 60 lights from Amazon for $19.80.
Promising review: "Very awesome stuff. The bottom of my cabinets had a rough, crumbly texture. This is a great fix to keep the silicone pieces of my dishes from picking it up. Feels a lot cleaner and it looks great! Highly recommend for looks and function!" —Kelsey Ware
Get it from Amazon for $19.99+ (available in 15 sizes and 27 colors and patterns).
Get it from our Goodful shop for $72 (available in two colors).
Psst, as you can see above, this set also comes with a crumb catcher where your stovetop meets your countertop!
Promising review: "I like that this is black so it matches the original color of the appliances, but more importantly I like that this has a larger surface area to catch the drips that the foil ones never could before. They're also trim to fit, so they get right up into each burner without leaving gaps where drips can burn where it's hardest to clean." —Michael
Get an 8-pack from Amazon for $10.99 (available in nine colors and three sizes).
Promising review: "Wow! A degreaser that actually works! I love the foam, which starts to work immediately on my stove top as well as cookware and other kitchen surfaces." —P. Webb
Get it from Amazon for $9.70+ (available in two sizes).
Cleaning Studio is a Fairfield, Connecticut-based Etsy shop filled with natural cleaning products and tools.
Get it from Cleaning Studio on Etsy for $39.99 (available in three scent options).
Promising review: "We moved into our house a year ago and I’ve been on a quest to clean the grout next to the stove ever since then. As a last resort I got this and holy cow! I left it on for three minutes as a spot test at first and I could already see a huge difference. I then did two more rounds letting it sit for five minutes each. The scent's not bad, it was fine if I had the window open, it was just being down close to it that got me. Seriously, stop looking and buy this." —Britney Phillips
Get it from Amazon for $19.95.
Promising review: "I installed an expensive soft white tile (if there is such a thing) floor in the kitchen when I bought my house. At the time, it was a new product and it was beautiful--that fuzzy, warm feeling changed the first time I dropped a fork. I have been so frustrated no wanting to rip up and put down replacement tiles. The grout pen made it look new again, I am thrilled with the results!" —K. Robles
Get it from Amazon for $8.99+ (available in two sizes).
Promising review: "My partner and I recently bought a 140-year-old home with original wood floors and wood work throughout. We had the floors refinished to their original beauty, but the baseboards and stair risers were a challenge. They were pretty banged up over years of use, and, after the floors were redone, all the nicks and scratches just stood out that much more. My partner found these and showed them to me. To our delight the pens worked incredibly well. It's like a magic marker for wood. I'm still amazed how well they worked. The pens last a long time. Our painter came back to do some minor touch ups, and I showed him what I used. He couldn't believe it. He said he was going to buy them to keep in his arsenal" —Kathleen W
Get a set of 50 from Amazon for $24.99 (also available in a 25-pack).
Promising review: "Love it for my kitchen herb garden. Great when you don't have a lot of space." —Tuesdai Hill
Get it from Amazon for $33.70+ (available in five colors and two styles).
This is also a better option than an organizer that hangs over your faucet because the weight of those can mess with your water flow!
Promising review: "This fits our sink perfectly! It's not too big and holds a sponge and two bottles of soap. We have a standard apartment sink and it fits perfectly, it also holds very well. We have it suctioned on the sink, not the counter." —Erin Johnson
Get it from Amazon for $17.99.
Promising review: "I have been blown away with how great they look and every person who has seen them after I put them up doesn’t know they are not real tile. They are shiny like tile and have the texture of tile as well. They are easy to clean and relatively easy to install. It took me two afternoons only because I hadn’t ordered enough and needed one more package (a total of three packages completed my L-shaped back splash area)." —Kyle & Noelle
Get 10 sheets from Amazon for $19.99+ (available in eight styles).
Can withstand temperatures of -40 degrees F up to 446 degrees F/230 degrees C. Includes 24 tools and holder.
Promising review: "I love everything matching. Finally got rid of all my mix-match stuff! However, they are SO many items it was too much to fit in my drawer so I put the things I use the most in the drawer and kept the rest in the holder and store them with my pots and pans. The holder is plastic and cheap so this would not be something I’d leave on the counter.
The are super sturdy and sharp looking. AND, they didn’t get dirty, black or burnt when scraping up charred food in a frying pan. Cleaned right off of the spatula. Very pleased." —Bonnie Pfiester
Get them from Amazon for $31.99+ (available in eight color combos).
And they're dishwasher-safe!
Get it from our Goodful shop for $70 (available in four color combos).
Promising review: "This is the rug I never knew I needed! I took a chance as it was on sale and am so happy I did — it has great cushion, is easy to clean, and looks fantastic!" —Kelly K
Get it from Food52 for $29.99+ (available in two sizes and eight color combos).
Tbh, I need one of these. I make my mom give me all her plastic grocery bags because I use them for trash. My personal goal is to never have to buy garbage bin liners again! But I'm a weirdo like that.
Get three from Amazon for $5.99.
Want a sturdier option? Consider this cabinet door bag holder. Alternatively, you can stuff them in an empty facial tissue box!
I have VERY narrow kitchen drawers in my NYC one-bedroom apartment kitchen and buying one of these organizers has transformed my cutlery drawer. I'm able to safely reach in and grab whatever I need (like a manual can opener for tuna salad or a mini whisk for a hot chocolate) without having to sift tools around.
Get it from Amazon for $11.99.
The set includes a nonslip silicone mat that you can cut to fit your drawer and 15 repositionable pieces so you can get the perfect fit for your utensils.
Promising review: "These are hands down my favorite drawer organizers. They work without adhesives and are easy to cut to fit any drawer. The hardest part of it is figuring out what configuration you want for your drawers. They clean easy, and are easy to adjust. I highly recommend this product for your kitchen. You will love it." —Crystal A.
Get it from Amazon for $35.25+ (available in three colors).
Promising review: "Great product for a great price. Very sturdy, but lightweight and small — under my bathroom sink is *very* small, and the metal frame is thin enough that it doesn't take up much space, and of course it allows me to utilize the empty vertical space instead of shoving things all the way to the back wall. I might rearrange the shelves, but it's just held with screws on each end so that's easy enough to do-comes with two supports for two shelves, but you can choose from four heights/positions. 👍🏻 Might need to order a second for under the kitchen sink..." —Jennifer Mowry
Get it from Amazon for $22.87+ (available in three finishes).
Promising review: "Perfect! Exactly what I needed to organize my mop, broom, scoop, etc. Efficient and easy to use. A little hard to get my scoop into it but that’s cause it’s thicker than the rest of items. Love that there are hooks. Spray bottles and cleaning product bottles hang perfectly on there too." —Kavita Chandanie
Get it from Amazon for $14.99.
Promising review: "I've used it to mount things, organize wiring in stereo cabinets, stop rattles (license plate rattled when closing trunk, two little balls of Sugru to back of plate did the trick). Even made tool hangers in the garage with it. Wonder if I could build a boat with it." —fastrnu
Get an eight-pack from Amazon for $19.99+ (available in several color combo pack).
Promising review: "This is an amazing tool to organize, declutter, and gain accessibility. I used to have a shelf of boxed teas that I had to rummage through when I wanted to make a cup. Now I can see what I have, I save cabinet space, and it is easy to store along side my kettle. I loved it so much I ordered a second one for my office. I get many compliments." —D. Burks
Get it from Amazon for $16.60+ (available in three colors and three styles).
Promising review: "I live in an apartment. The sink is about 35 years old and has become badly stained and scratched from neglect and indifferent care. This has made a noticeable difference. This sink will never look brand new again, but your product removed, I would say, about 80% of the stains, without any extraordinary effort, and put a really polished look on the sink. It is gleaming and actually looks very clean for the first time since I have lived here." —David Brennan
Get it from Amazon for $19.95 (also available in packs of two and six).
And when you move or change your mind, you can easily remove or reposition it!
Promising review: "I bought this to do a little update to a dishwasher I didn't want to replace since it is fairly new. I simply added a piece of it to a black dishwasher and it really helped to tie it in with our other new stainless/black appliances. It's been on for over a month and is holding up perfectly." —KFran
Get an 18-inch x 6-foot roll from Amazon for $11.97.
Promising review: "So I saw this tiny trash can on TikTok, and I was moving into a tiny studio apartment and thought this would be perfect. Turns out it's one of the best things I've ever bought. I installed mine with the over-the-cabinet hooks (also comes with adhesive stickers) on my kitchen island, and it is so convenient I can't even express with words. The lid is on this nifty hinge so you can open it by flipping the lid up, or by sliding it forward and it folds down out of the way. I usually keep it open while I'm cooking but I can close it super quickly if I see the dog coming. There is a little pull tab for easy opening. It is so easy to use and easy to clean. It's also so cute! I use my plastic grocery bags as trash can liners for this and they fit perfectly. It comes with a roll of bags as well. The lid lifts off easily to change bags out. Clicks back on easily over the new liner. Can't recommend this enough!! This is going on my list of 'best things I've ever spent my money on.'" —Ginger
Get it from Amazon for $20.39 (available in three colors).
Get it from our Goodful shop for $40 (available in five colors)
The length expands to 30" and each rod is 6.5" tall to accommodate taller items. Synthetic rubber bumpers protect your delicate surfaces.
Promising review: "Finally, a solution to corral all of these freaking pot and pan lids! It expands perfectly to accommodate my 30" wide cabinet. Actually, it can go a little further than that but it gets less stable when you exceed the maximum width. It also works great for smaller cabinets. I tried it out in a pull-out drawer that's approximately 24" and it serves its purpose well." —Nurse Bex
Get it from Amazon for $29.99.
Promising review: "I used to have an ugly knife block that took up too much room, so I decided to get a magnetic knife strip. I've read that the cheaper metal ones scratch and dull knives, so I went with a wooden one. It took me all of 15 minutes to install (I have a drill and a torpedo level). The strip itself holds my knives very securely and frees up a bunch of counter space that my old knife block used to take up. The strip works extremely well throughout the length of the product." —Thomas
Get it from Amazon for $39+ (available in a variety of lengths and wood types).
I lucked out with some similar racks already mounted in my apartment (like these!) and I adore them.
Get three rows (enough for nine glasses) from Amazon for $18.99 (available in four colors and two styles).
Elypro is a small business in New York City making clever organization products for the home.
Promising review: "I use these to organize my coffee mugs and my glasses in smaller cabinets. They not only look nicer, they save space without tilting when you try to stack mugs without support. I also use these to stack ramekins and that is also better now. These are adjustable to fit different sizes. I highly recommend these organizers!" —Amazon Customer
Get a set of six (to organize 12 mugs) from Amazon for $24.99 (available in three colors).
macraYAYmacrame is an Indianapolis, Indiana-based shop that makes a variety of cool macrame accessories.
My colleague Jenae Sitzes owns and loves this:
"I recently picked up this macrame basket (in the Cactus shade) and *highly* recommend it if you're looking to add a cozy touch to your kitchen. As someone with a relatively small NYC kitchen, I need every bit of counter space I can get, and this lets me keep produce out without having to take up space with a fruit basket or banana stand. I'm a big fan of utilizing vertical space as storage, and this does just that; plus, it allows for ventilation to help your fruit stay fresh for longer. I'm constantly cooking with onions or grabbing an apple as a mid-day snack, and having them right there at an arm's reach is sooo nice. BTW, these come with hooks that screw directly into a cabinet, but if you (like me) want to avoid that damage, I recommend using Command hooks — I'm using four of these small toggle hooks and they've held up the basket *with* produce in it wonderfully."
Get it from macraYAYmacrame on Etsy for $33.
Yes, this is my kitchen cabinet and this trick helps me find the correct measuring cup so much faster than back when I used to stack them in a drawer! Just be sure to account for the cups' depth while arranging the cabinet's contents. Since I took this pic my 1/2-cup met its doom in a tub of sugar so I swapped in some measuring cups with *engraved* measurements on the cups, which makes my setup even better!
Get a 10-pack of hooks from Amazon for $12.32.
Promising review: "This organizer is so useful! I recently moved and ended up with a much smaller kitchen, so I've been doing everything I can to make sure there's a place for everything and no wasted space. Luckily, I have pretty wide cabinets, so this works out perfectly. I have one holding my cutting boards (four standard plastic boards) and another holding my foil, cling wrap, and parchment paper boxes. The organizer is super easy to assemble and it's completely versatile. Hang it over the cabinet door or attach it to the wall/cabinet door, which means it's great for renters and owners." —Kerry
Get it from Amazon for $16.97 (also available in a two-pack).
Check out a TikTok of the plastic bag dispenser in action. Psst — these come with optional sticker labels so you know which size bag you're grabbing!
YouCopia is a woman-owned small business that specializes in home storage solutions.
Promising review: "I like it very much. Not so large. Lightweight. Would look nice on top of the counter. What I like is that you do not have to wrangle the box into the slots. Simply pick up the roll of bags from their packaging and put them in the designated slot." —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $19.99+ (available in three-, four-, or five-slot models).
Promising review: "My wife bought these for kitchen appliances after seeing a TikTok video. They work great and help things look neater!" —Josh&Shan
Get a six-pack from Amazon for $12.56.
Promising review: "Can't beat the quality for the price! Solid weight, none arrived scratched, bent or broken. Definitely get the template! It makes installation a breeze! With the template, I had 24 handles installed in less than 45 minutes! Immediately upgraded my cabinets. Very happy with this purchase!" —alexa
Get it from Amazon for $6.99+ (available in quantities 1–60 and in black, gold, or silver).
Promising review: "Rather than ditching furniture into a landfill, which is bad for the environment and one's pocketbook, this product allows you to give new life to existing furniture. Between the Soto touchup and new handles, my entertainment center looks like new....for less than $35. If you can use liquid paper, you can use this. I just ordered another bottle for porcelain. This is a fantastic product. You will love it!" —LexiNYC
Get it from Amazon for $18.95 (available in eight colors).
Promising review: "This review is for folks who want to know how well this paper holds up — in my experience: amazingly well!
I applied the paper to my Formica kitchen countertops (see before and after pics) over two years ago. Since then, the paper has not peeled or stained — it looks like when I applied it. Honestly, I'm shocked. I thought the edges would pop up at some point, but nope, everything has stayed stuck. These counters are pretty high-traffic since my kitchen is tiny. To keep the paper nice, I just make sure of a few obvious things: 1) I don't put anything hot directly on it; 2) I wipe it regularly; 3) I keep sharp things away (don't cut stuff on it, duh). The last point I was actually a bit lax on, so I have some superficial scuffs where I dragged a coffeemaker back and forth every day for like a year before I realized I was scratching the paper.
The bottom line is, the paper was only meant to be a temporary glow-up until I remodeled my kitchen, but it's held up so well, I'm fine with keeping it and continuing to save money!" —Juliet Bui
Get it from Amazon for $10.99.
Kit includes low-VOC, low-odor, water-based acrylic paint and primer in one. Requires a one-day application process that dries in a soft, satin finish. Covers 100 square feet of cabinet surface (40 linear feet), which is typical of most kitchen cabinets. Ideal for use on wood, laminate and primed, or painted metal cabinets. Formulated to cover most existing wood finishes and paint in a single coat.
Promising review: "You can see a before and after in my pictures but this paint was AMAZING and a huge transformation to my outdated kitchen.
The Process:
- I started off by completely cleaning the wooden cabinets with KRUD KUTTER PC32 Prepaint Cleaner/TSP Substitute. I read a lot of reviews on this cleaner and heard that is was great for cleaning off oils and dirt and it really did wonders.
- I sanded down the cabinets.
- I then primed the cabinets with a special wood primer.
- Once the primer dried I used the Nuvo paint on the cabinets. I did four very thin layers of paint. It is vital that you keep each layer very thin because it will dry weird. I found that in the corner of the cabinets where paint puddled even a little bit that it would cracker so make sure that you keep thin layers
- Additionally, I ended up purchasing regular brushes outside of this kit. A few blogs said that they used the foam brushes; however I did not like how the paint laid on the cabinets with them." —Danielle Joy
Get it from Amazon for $79.95 (available in more colors).
Reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Promising review:Promising review:Promising review:Promising review:I came across this drill attachment set, and let me tell you, it helped me tremendously!Promising review: Promising review:Promising review:As a last resort I got this and holy cow! I left it on for three minutes as a spot test at first and I could already see a huge difference.Promising review:Promising review:it allows me to utilize the empty vertical space instead of shoving things all the way to the back wallPromising review:Promising review Turns out it's one of the best things I've ever boughtThe lid is on this nifty hinge so you can open it by flipping the lid up, or by sliding it forward and it folds down out of the way.There is a little pull tab for easy opening. It is so easy to use and easy to clean. It's also so cute! This is going on my list of 'best things I've ever spent my money on.' Promising reviewBTW, these come with hooks that screw directly into a cabinet, but if you (like me) want to avoid that damage, I recommend using Command hooksPromising review:I recently moved and ended up with a much smaller kitchen, so I've been doing everything I can to make sure there's a place for everything and no wasted space.Hang it over the cabinet door or attach it to the wall/cabinet door, which means it's great for renters and owners.optional sticker labelsPromising review:Promising review: Promising reviewPromising review:Promising review:Promising review: