Have some great kitchen remodel ideas? Maybe you should consider entering kitchen makeover contests. Not only can they get you recognition and awards—by entering, you may be able to give your kitchen a free makeover, which can save you thousands of dollars.

Where to Find Kitchen Makeover Contests

There are countless contests that you can find offering to remodel a kitchen for free or reduced cost. Here are a few ideas on where to start looking:

• Home improvement forums: This includes people who enter contests on an almost professional basis. Networking with those who enter kitchen remodeling contests will help you identify which ones are legitimate and which ones are scams.
• Home improvement websites and blogs: These are often backed by major home improvement companies, which periodically hold contests to help promote their businesses.
• Home improvement magazines: Digging through kitchen design magazines to find the perfect kitchen makeover contest may seem tedious, but the added bonus is you will come away with many ideas for your kitchen design.
• Home design and improvement TV shows: There are several home design TV shows that will offer a free kitchen design and remodel if you agree to be on the show. They often require your current kitchen to be ugly, dated or prohibitively dysfunctional, so viewers can see a drastic change during the remodel.
• Local businesses: Many local businesses will offer kitchen design contests to help promote their products and services.

Winning a Kitchen Makeover Contest

Most kitchen remodel contests require “ugly” kitchens with which to start. The uglier, more dated, and more dysfunctional your kitchen, the greater chance that you will win your dream kitchen remodel. This is because, for promotional reasons—particularly on television—the kitchen design company will want to show a drastic transformation with their products or services.

Most kitchen remodel contests have limits on cost, so it still takes a savvy kitchen remodeler to keep costs down while remodeling a kitchen to make it look good. In many kitchen makeover contests, creativity will make your kitchen design ideas stand out above the rest. Budgeting will often help encourage rather than hinder creativity, and make a kitchen that will be the envy of your friends and neighbors.