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Does Your House Have Royalty living in it?

Kitchen1 As a male REALTOR I don't ever want to compete with the natural intuitive powers of the female homeowner or homebuyer. I think for some reason they just "know" things men can't ever grasp.

In terms of plunking down your remodeling dollars and creating the wow factor for selling your house, nothing beats updating a kitchen. Complimenting a woman homeowner recently on the gorgeous job she did on her newly remodeled kitchen, she said, "Gary, you know a kitchen is a woman's jewel." Seeing many houses for sale I would say it is Royalty, the "crown jewels."

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You can't go wrong with a kitchen update. I think this has to do with the nesting instinct of women and gathering the family together for food or friends over the house for socializing.

Enhancements include granite or tile countertops, decorative backsplashes, ceramic tile flooring, undercabinet lighting, designer sinks and faucets, multiple gas burners or flatop electric cooktops, stainless steel appliances, quiet dishwashers, large islands, tremendous cabinetry, walk in pantries, double ovens, wine refrigerators, barstool areas, glass cabinets, butler's pantry, and the list goes on.

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For your own lifestyle sake or for the resale of your house bring your kitchen into the 21st century.

As one woman told me, "I absolutely LOVE my kitchen," and I think from all the compliments she received from the other ladies at a recent social gathering, it generated many positive feelings from her friends as well.

Keep beautiful kitchens at the top of your list when it comes to taking your home to that next "Wow" level!! The photos say it all.

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Posted by Gary Woltal - Associate Broker REALTOR® Dallas Ft. Worth on 05/03/2008 08:18 AM

Comments (24)

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24 Comments on Does Your House Have Royalty living in it?

MAY

2008

Gary,

Shhhh! I gotta make sure my wife doesn't see these pictures or read this post!!! :^) Thanks, Fran

Gary ~ The kitchens you've shown are beautiful. I have to agree;I feel the kitchen is the heart of the home. How many times do you have a party or guests over and everyone winds up hanging out in the kitchen? I have some of the best talks with my kids in the kitchen (and the car).

great photos....you are right-a great kitchen really helps sell a home quickly.

I'll take Number 1, I'm traditional and yes I am due for a kitchen update. I have Cherry now and still want it but I need new cabinets, mine are 15 years old. It is on my to do list. I agree kitchens sell homes to the woman.

Nice photos- my wife loves our kitchen! She might change her mind if she saw these photos.

Fran: I am always preaching simplify, count your blessings, not wanting more, more, more. But I think when we can afford the nice things in life this is a great investment, especially for socializing. I know you want to buy the boat, but if your wife looks over your shoulder reading this post, You, my man, are in big trouble! : ) I may have set off controversy in the Gaspari household!

Kathy: Stagers really get this point and I know you see how wonderful a beautiful kitchen is in your life.

Michael: It attracts people in and people remember the kitchen.

Missy: Something to spend all those big bucks you are earning this year on : ) Cherry cabinets are gorgeous but there are so many wood styles to choose from.

Rob Muller: I think the consensus from the men folk is to hide the photos : )

That stainless refrigerator in first image is shining but found not easy to keep it that way with paw prints and normal use. Does a maid come with it too? Good post!

WOW...I would love to have the money they spent to update. Great pics Gary

Absolutely beautiful, and all so different! You are correct: the kitchen is what sells the house to the woman ( or to whomever the chef of the family is). Very important room, if not most important room in the house!

Andrew: You are right if the little ones put their paw prints all the time on it sometimes it could be difficult. The modern day stainless steel appliances though don't smudge as much as they used to. KitchenAid has a stainless steel cleaner and polish that you can use to keep it very shiny. I'll take the maid any day to help out too : )

William: This will be a big year for you in the biz.... but you are right, depending on all you change it can be quite an investment!

Tina: Many men, as you pointed out, are the big chefs in households. They especially like the hanging pots and pans over the islands. Like the family room, the kitchen is a place for everyone to gather.

Great pics....feel ike redooing my ktchen again after seeing these!

GARY - I've seen kitchens make or break a sale of a home. Aside from creating curb appeal, it is probably the most important aspect of preparing a home for sale. I would add that anyone looking to do a remodel that is planning on moving in the near future, should stick to very neutral colors that will appeal to the greatest number of buyers.

Kitchens absolutely sell a home. As many have pointed out above, we hang out in the kitchen, or adjoining family room. Even I, who would love not to ccok, need to be in a nice kitchen!

Pictures do get us in the mood to remodel.

Adam: Neutral in all remodeling I think protects the investment.

Carol: Kitchens are such a gathering place.

Gary thank God we just remodeled our kitchen. If my wife saw the pictures before hand I know we would have doubled the budget. And yes kitchen are one of the biggest reasons a home may or may not sell.

wow! every photo you picked was fabulous - now they weren't out of a magazine were they? lol......makes me want to sell my place and buy one with a fab kitchen - so i can start entertaining again! haha love Jason's comment..........it is a wee bit intimidating to see those kitchens and compare them to my humble abode.

Gary, Those kitchens are spectacular and Kathy took the words right out of my mouth, the kitchen is truly the heart of the home--it's definitely the room we use often most here.

MAY

2008

Gary, I agree with you - you will get your money back by updating your kitchen! Buyers don't like to spend a lot of money on a home and then have to update the kitchen.

Gary, I think each one of those kitchens are made for royalty. I love the clean lined look and the high quality granite and woods. Very pretty. I sold one last week that had a 6 foot by 6 foot open nook for a kitchen. These look like mansions! Later in the rain~Deb

Judy: I have seen them be ok in updating kitchens prior to a purchase if it is just changing countertops on their own, but sometimes the floorplan of a kitchen where walls block the view easily nix the deal. Women, and I must say men too, really appreciate a "fine" looking kitchen.

Deb: So true. Some kitchens are exquisite. As others say who haven't "moved on up", it makes you want to remodel or move to another house every five years or just to get all the cool new goodies.

MAY

2008

Gary - How'd I ever miss this post? I never thought of it this way but a kitchen IS a woman's jewel. However, more recently I have been running into more and more men who love to cook. Most are hobby cooks but my most recent buyer is a student at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA is here). For men who love to cook, a kitchen is as important as a 4 car garage with a hydraulic lift might be to a mechanic.

truth is truth... kitchen is definitely the wow of every home, I've seen great homes with marble floors and great wainscoting.. but linoleum in the kitchen.. Most people know the kitchen has to have the wow factor, it seems I get all the ones that don't... Just my luck with sellers.

Good luck in business

Carol: A lot of the women remind me ALL the time not to stereotype and many of the men out there are the cooks in the family, and hence THEY are the ones that want the primo kitchens. Nice to know you have the CIA in your backyard. You must feel very protected or else you know where all the great chefs come from.

Leo: Sounds like the ones with the linoleum could use a little remodeling only if you could get the owners to put a few bucks into it before they get it to you on the market. I had one recently that did switch laminate to granite on the island to update it.

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