In these economically challenging times, many people are holding off on big investments to update their house. But does this mean that you have to compromise on style and aesthetics while you are living in your home? Or does this mean that you have to make big pricing concessions when selling your home, just because your kitchen is not in par with what buyers are looking for?
As a real estate home staging company in Fairfield county, CT we know that kitchen and bathrooms sell houses. If buyers walk through a house and see that the first thing they have to update is a kitchen, before they even can move in, they just won’t make an offer on your property, but rather on the neighbor’s house that has been kept current in style. Buyers have many houses to choose from and they do not want to buy a “project”, but a move-in ready home.
Therefore, we worked with a recent client to make necessary changes to upgrade the dated kitchen. Here are some tips without breaking your bank that you can implement – either for enjoying a new look while living in it or for getting your house ready for sale:
- The plain “oak look” gives a kitchen a dated look. If the cabinets are in good shape you might want to consider re-facing them. If re-facing is not in your budget, you might want to consider painting them. TIP: bring the cabinet paint all the way to the ceiling trim to extend the visual height of the cabinets and give a larger space impression.
- Replace your old hardware with “new style” hardware. straight lined, simple design, brushed nickel works best for achieving a modern look.
- Granite has come down in pricing over the past decade and is a valuable option for also lower budgets. Granite countertops still has a great re-sale value and will give your kitchen a higher end look.
- In our specific kitchen example below we extended the kitchen countertop to provide a bar / eat-in feature as well.
- Compliment the granite countertop with a contemporary glass tile or other modern looking backsplash.
- A under-mount sink and a new faucet will extend the countertop space by a few inches.
- New and matching stainless steel appliances bring a continuous style into the kitchen
- If the floor is worn or dated, add a new floor as well.
- Coordinate the wall color with your backsplash, countertop, cabinets and floor.
- To top off the design, replace your old lighting fixture that matches the new style and finishes.
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