15 Easy Projects to Refresh Your Kitchen in Under 30 Minutes

West Elm Novak Banquette

This sleek, curved unit offers customizable designs to perfectly fit your space — whether compact or spacious. With its vertical tufted backrest, it gives off a subtle '60s Bond-era sophistication. Plus, you can choose from a wide range of fabrics and even add built-in power to charge your devices before starting, or ending, the day!

McGee & Co. Olivier Slipcover Dining Bench

Talk about comfort — this slipcovered dining bench has cushions filled with a dreamy feather-and-down blend, making every meal feel extra cozy. Plus, the linen cover gives it that perfect mix of laid-back and refined style.

Threshold Cora Dining Banquette

This budget-friendly banquette from Target features a sturdy wooden frame and upholstered fabric in a charming cottage stripe. The corner unit is a great space saver and the fabric complements a range of styles, from modern to farmhouse.

Serena & Lily Belgian Club Loveseat

This petite loveseat doubles as a space-saving banquette. With its gently rolled arms and inviting curves, it creates a cozy, relaxed spot for dining — perfect for lingering over a delicious meal.

West Elm Shelter Storage Banquette

A banquette with built-in storage? Game changer. The pillow-soft seats make it a cozy spot to gather, while its modular design makes it perfect for most spaces. Bonus: it's made from sustainably sourced wood.

Pottery Barn Layton Upholstered Banquette

This banquette is the perfect mix of relaxed and refined, combining cozy upholstered seating with the rustic charm of exposed wood. It has a curved design (love) so you can make the most of your space, whether it's a breakfast nook or an open dining area — perfect for laid-back meals and long, cozy gatherings.

West Elm Hargrove Banquette

This similar banquette is a fresh take on modern farmhouse style, or even coastal California design with its oak wood frame.

Williams-Sonoma Dining Upholstered Banquette

This customizable banquette in a French-inspired ticking is the perfect nook to sip coffee in the morning, enjoy a casual lunch, or gather with friends for a laid-back dinner. Plus, its space-saving design means you get extra seating without taking up too much room!

Banquette Inspiration

Cordonné Príncipe Paint

I adore this built-in curvy banquette with a pop-of-red cushion. It really feels so French and lovely. The checkered floor is another detail that charms the space. The pretty green paint color ties it all together!

Lulu & Georgia Florent Dining Chair

Swooning over this floral upholstered banquette that isn't afraid to show its curves. Paired with these cute wavy-back chairs, this setup is divine in my book.

Nickey Kehoe Banquette Inspiration

A rich, reddish leather in a sleek design gives this piece a modern twist on a traditional look.

The LifeStyledCo Kian Dining Chair

I love how this banquette wraps around both sides, creating plenty of space to gather. Paired with the Kian dining chair and a pile of cozy pillows, it’s the perfect spot to enjoy a sunny breakfast with your favorite people.

AYR Barns Coates Dining Table

A reclaimed pine table paired with a tufted upholstered banquette strikes the perfect balance between rustic charm and refined elegance — an elevated look I absolutely love.

Le Maé Roxie Dining Table

This geometric table pairs beautifully with the corner banquette, which features a unique fluted wood detail at the base. Not only does the banquette maximize seating in a cozy, space-saving way, but it also adds a stylish focal point that elevates the entire dining area.

Brook & Lou Sloane Chandelier

This wood-framed banquette is a refined take on the classic cottage-style design, bringing warmth and charm with an elevated touch. Paired with a bold natural-fiber chandelier and cottage-inspired plates on the wall, it creates a cozy-yet-stylish dining nook that I admire.

1. Cookie Presses

Williams Sonoma Cookie Press Set

The cookie press was once a must-have for home bakers hoping to create perfectly-shaped cookies. All you had to do was fill the canister with dough and pull the trigger to squeeze out cookies in fun shapes and designs, oftentimes themed for holidays like Easter and Christmas!

But while this tool has some nostalgic charm, it's typically seen as more of a novelty than a necessity nowadays. Modern bakers have gone back to rolling out dough by hand and using cool cookie cutters or other tools like rollers that offer more versatility.

2. Butter Molds

Antique Carved Wooden Butter Mold

Butter molds, typically made out of wood, featured ornate designs like flowers or wildlife and were prized for their ability to shape butter into beautiful patterns. Then, the decorative butter was often used to impress guests at dinners or other formal occasions!

Outside of antique stores, though, this kitchen tool is rarely seen today. The convenience of pre-packaged butter and the move toward minimalist kitchens among homeowners have made these fancy molds almost obsolete.

3. Breadboxes

IKEA Magasin Bread Bin

You probably remember your grandparents' decorative breadbox sitting on their kitchen counter – it was designed to keep loaves fresh by protecting them from air and light while still allowing for enough ventilation.

The invention came during an era when bread was usually homemade or purchased fresh on a regular basis. But today, the availability of pre-sliced bread and the widespread use of plastic packaging have caused the breadbox to fall by the wayside.

4. Egg Poacher Pans

Eggssentials Poached Egg Maker

Next up is the egg poacher pan, which had small cups to hold eggs as they gently cooked in simmering water. The tool was supposed to simplify breakfast prep without the need for precise technique or timing.

Yet, as home cooks became more skilled in the kitchen, they realized the same result could be achieved using just a large pan of water and a dash of vinegar. This has rendered the egg poacher pan pretty obsolete.

5. Cake Breakers

Vintage Cake Breaker

First invented during the 1930s, cake breakers were designed to help people slice through delicate cakes without squishing them. The tool almost looked like a very long-toothed comb and would be used like a knife.

But, much like with the egg poacher pan, the evolution of baking techniques and the rise of better gadgets have caused the cake breaker to be replaced by things like sharper knives.

6. Cherry Pitters

OXO Good Grips Cherry & Olive Pitter

People who frequently enjoyed fresh cherries once viewed the cherry pitter as a must-have. Instead of battling with a knife, the contraption used hand-crank technology to pull the pits out.

Nonetheless, cherry fans can now find pitted cherries readily available in supermarkets, so de-pitting them at home is no longer a typical chore.

7. Hand Mixers

SMEG Hand Mixer

You probably have memories of cranking a hand mixer to whip, beat, or mix ingredients. Thankfully for your forearms, more efficient appliances have been released that rendered the hand mixer unnecessary.

Obviously, there are electric hand mixers and even more heavy-duty stand mixers on the market, like the famed KitchenAid. Plus, some people use regular blenders or immersion blenders to achieve the same result!

8. Toast Racks

Apollo Chrome Toast Rack

Last (but certainly not least) is the toast rack! This quaint kitchen item helped hold slices of toast upright, allowing the bread to cool without becoming soggy.

It was particularly well-used in more formal settings or when multiple people were being served at once. Nowadays, it's just less convenient, as home cooks can lay their toast out on larger cooling racks to save time and space in their kitchens.

1. Paloma

Campbell "Pookie" Puckett and her husband, Jett Puckett, have taken the social media world by storm with their seemingly picture-perfect romance and lavish lifestyle.

In November 2024, the influencer couple welcomed their daughter, Paloma, into the world after creating a lot of anticipatory hype surrounding their name choice.

Paloma has Spanish and Italian roots and is derived from Latin. It means "dove," in addition to "pigeon" and "butterfly." Those familiar with Greek mythology may recognize doves as symbols of Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

2. Wyatt, Elliotte, and Bennett

Jason Kelce, who spent 13 years playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, and his wife, Kylie Kelce, faced some backlash for the gender-neutral names they chose for their three daughters.

However, gender-neutral monikers are more popular than ever before. And now that the couple has a fourth daughter on the way, they reportedly plan to continue the name trend in their family.

3. Riot

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky made waves in 2023 when they named their second child Riot. The bold, unconventional pick fits right in with the couple's trend of sticking to "R" names, as Rihanna's full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, and A$AP Rocky's is Rakim Athelaston Mayers.

Beyond its personal significance, the name Riot carries a strong, rebellious energy. It definitely reflects both artists' fearless approach when it comes to both music and fashion.

4. Winnie

When Jimmy Fallon and his wife, Nancy Juvonen, had their first daughter in 2013, they chose a somewhat unique name with a lot of personal meaning: Winnie. Welsh in origin, it means "gentle friend" or "friend of peace."

Specifically for the couple, though, it's a tribute to Lake Winnipesaukee, the picturesque New Hampshire lake where they got engaged. Plus, Jimmy added the name made even more sense since they viewed Winnie as a "win" in their life.

5. Grace Warrior

Everyone remembers Steve Irwin as the fearless "Crocodile Hunter" who tragically died in late 2006. More recently, his daughter, Bindi Irwin, welcomed a little girl of her own into the world in 2021 and named her Grace Warrior.

While Grace may be a more common name, meaning "favor" or "blessing," Warrior was a more unusual choice with a sentimental intent.

"Her middle names, Warrior Irwin, are a tribute to my dad and his legacy as the most incredible Wildlife Warrior," Bindi shared on Instagram.

6. River Rose and Remington

Kelly Clarkson and her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock, chose two distinctive names for their girl and boy: River Rose, born in 2014, and Remington Alexander, born in 2016.

With British roots and a whimsical feel, River is a gender-neutral pick that means "a flowing body of water." It was traditionally used more frequently for boys, but Kelly changed that trend.

Meanwhile, Remington is also British in origin and started as a surname, translating to "settlement by the boundary stream." Perhaps Kelly chose this sibling combination because both River and Remington begin with "R" and have connections to water.

7. Elsie Otter

When Zooey Deschanel and her then-husband Jacob Pechenik had their daughter in 2015, they chose a name that was both classic and quirky: Elsie Otter.

While Elsie is a timeless choice of Hebrew origin, which means "pledged to God," the addition of Otter gives it a more playful twist. During an appearance on TODAY, Zooey explained their reasoning behind it.

"We just really liked the name Elsie, and then we both love otters because they're so sweet and also smart," she detailed.

"They use tools, they keep their favorite tools, they hold hands while they sleep; there are so many amazing things about otters. They're wonderful animals."

8. Luai

Finally, in 2023, Lindsay Lohan and her husband, Bader Shammas, named their Dubai-born son Luai. It's Arabic in origin and means "protector" or "shield," but it remains a rare pick in the U.S.

Luay, a more common variation of this name, was only given to eight boys born in the U.S. in 2022.