When a prospective home buyer enters the home one of the items that will stick in his or her memory is the kitchen. Even though bathrooms are important and the landscaping will add to the curb appeal the kitchen remains extremely high on the priority list.
However, kitchens are an expensive renovation because every new innovation seems to cost more and, as old adage goes, “yesterday’s luxury is today’s necessity.” This is true for the dishwasher, modern range and refrigerator. So how do you remodel a kitchen to sell a home without using up all your profits in the attempt?
Cabinets
Number one of the list of desirable kitchen commodities is cabinets. But cabinets are very expensive to replace and there is a time delay in ordering them even if you do have the money. And would you get the extra money for the home with this big ticket expense? The other option is to refinish them.
Replacing and Refacing: For the most part the kitchen cabinets are the door. The rest of the cabinet only becomes visible when you see it from the sides and when the door is opened. Therefore replacing the doors and re-facing the cabinets can be an inexpensive solution and take a fraction of the time to achieve a great result.
To reface the cabinets you choose a veneer that would match the door you are ordering. The material is self-adhesive and goes on quite easily The matching doors have to be specially made to the measurements required and this these can take upward of a month to make. With installation the doors and the cabinet refacing would still cost around 1/3 of what replacing the cupboards would cost.
Painting: Check the new colors of the cabinets in your local home store. These colors can be bought in a melamine paint which can then be applied to the present cabinets for a beautiful new finish.
Hardware: Whatever you plan to do with the cabinets change out the hardware. This is not expensive and a trendy new design on the refinished cabinets will be like the chrome on a new car.
Countertop
The kitchen countertop provides the work stations for the kitchen. Whatever cabinet color or material you choose the countertop will pull the whole kitchen design together. Therefore the when the prospective buyer sees the kitchen the countertops have to be perfect.
Now we all can’t afford to have natural stone countertops but too many people ignore changing out their countertops and concentrate on cabinets or flooring. They don’t see that a perfectly-good countertop to them is a plain eyesore to the buyer and just another item that will have to be changed out. Therefore see what designs will match your cabinets and look for a material that will suit it.
Rather than buying a new stainless sink get a modern set of faucets with a removable wand. The sink can be rejuvenated by rubbing it with a jeweler’s rouge compound. If you absolutely hate the sink then change it out. It’s not a huge cost and you will get a more modern look.
Laminate: Laminate is the “poor man’s countertop” but a good design with a well-crafted backsplash will gain attention. This is a cheap way for a new look and they are easily installed.
Tile: Many people don’t realize that a beautiful, inexpensive countertop can be made from applying granite or marble tile on the surface. Using small grout lines the surface will glow like a solid granite counter at about 25% of the price. Ceramic tile has a nice effect but it does not appeal to all people.
Backsplash
Tied in with a laminate or tile countertop the right ceramic tile backsplash will dazzle the buyer. There are so many designs to choose from and the tiling can be diagonally placed to break up the horizontal and vertical lines of the kitchen
Flooring
When it comes to kitchen flooring ceramic tile is the best choice because it comes in such a variety of colors, and in multi-colors, that it fill fit with any cabinet-countertop combination. Cork is heralded as a wonderful product – and it is – but there are those who don’t like the looks of it so go for the common denominator on this one. Vinyl flooring has great designs too but be very picky if you choose this as, like a cheap laminate countertop, it can cheapen the kitchen.
Paint
There are usually very few spaces to paint in a kitchen but the concentration should be on tying the colors to the neighboring areas. For this you can bring pictures of the countertop and cabinets into the paint store to choose the best basic color.
Lighting
When a buyer walks into the room and see the kitchen the right lighting can put a great face on almost any style of kitchen. So rather than trying to flood the whole space from one fixture or a three bright track-lights try lights in differing areas.. Under-the-cabinet lights are cheap and easy to install. They focus lights on the work areas. In addition, if there is wall space try sconces with a dimmer switch for a medium light. The overhead light can be an ornate fixture that, with the sconces and the hardware, gives a layered effect to the kitchen.