Whether your home came with builder-grade wood kitchen cabinets or you're looking for a budget-friendly cabinetry option for your kitchen, you might be worried about builder-grade cabinets lacking character and beauty. While there's nothing inherently wrong with builder-grade cabinets, they can be a little plain. The good news? There are plenty of simple and inexpensive ways you can spruce them up to make your kitchen look more elegant.

1. Sand and Paint Them

It's amazing what a fresh coat of paint or stain can do, especially on otherwise bland kitchen cabinetry. Wooden cabinets can be easily sanded down and re-painted or stained for a completely refreshed look. These days, bright and white kitchens are very popular, so you might consider sanding down wood cabinets and painting them a white or off-white color to freshen up your kitchen space. This is a project you can do on your own or hire a professional painter to do for a relatively low price.

2. Add Unique Hardware

If sanding and painting sound like more work than you're willing to take on, you might even consider adding some updated or unique hardware to your builder-grade cabinets to make them totally unique. You can find all kinds of different styles of drawer pulls, and cabinet knobs at your local home improvement store -- and they're typically not very expensive and don't take long to swap out or install!

3. Install Cabinet Lighting

Another great way to add character to your builder-grade cabinetry is to install lighting, which you can do above, below, or even inside your cabinets. This lighting can really give your cabinets a customized look and are not difficult or expensive to install on your own. Under-cabinet lighting is also a great way to add a little bit of mood lighting and ambiance to your kitchen space.

4. Add Crown Molding

Adding crown molding around the top of your kitchen cabinets is a great way to instantly give them a more elegant and expensive look. You can add your own crown molding if you're comfortable work basic wood-working; otherwise, you might want to hire this project out to a handyman. 

These are just a few simple ways to drastically improve the appearance of your builder-grade cabinets. By following these tips, nobody will even be able to tell your cabinets are builder grade, and your kitchen will look fresh and updated at a fraction of the price of custom cabinetry!