The desire to remodel a kitchen can strike at any time – maybe you’ve just bought a bargain but it needs some TLC, or you’re thinking of selling and want to maximize the value of your home. And, of course, you might have been in your home for a few years and feel the kitchen has seen better days.
The importance of a kitchen to a home cannot be understated. It’s where the family gathers and, as a consequence, it can command up to 20% of the entire value of a property. It’s also the area that leaves the most significant impression with buyers and gets the most renovation dollars when a property is being prepared for sale.
Taking on a kitchen renovation is no small task, regardless of whether you call in the experts or upgrade it yourself. So, you want to be sure the challenge is worth the commitment and expense.
As an experienced local real estate agent, I know that great kitchens sell properties. But if you’ve got kitchen drawers that jam, doors hanging off their hinges and appliances from the Reagan-era, buyers smell blood. They’ll claim the kitchen will cost a fortune to fix and demand you drop the price accordingly.
An ailing kitchen is not always obvious, especially if you’ve gotten used to its quirks. So, I’ve pulled together a quick list of tell-tale signs that it’s time to upgrade.
- No storage – When cooking equipment and even food spill out of the cupboards, there’s something wrong. Storage is critical in a modern kitchen, especially as it’s currently fashionable to stow the gadgets out of sight and leave the countertop clear.
- No prep space – You don’t have to be Gordon Ramsay to get tired of chopping onions or quartering a chicken on a square foot of countertop. If this is your problem, then your kitchen needs a re-think.
- Go with the flow – Is two a crowd in your kitchen? When the fridge door opens, does that bring everything to a grinding halt? If so, you’ve got a flow problem.
- Bad lighting – There’s nothing more frustrating than not being able to see what you’re doing when trying to prepare a meal.
- Expiring appliances – Nothing lasts forever, and that’s true of appliances. You’ll do well to get 20 years out of your cooktop, and a decade from your dishwasher. Older appliances suck up the electricity, too. Buyers mark down any home with old equipment. When replacing them, make sure they’re in the same style from the same manufacturer, as this is important to many buyers.
- Cleaning is a chore – All cleaning is a chore. But if you’re wiping down chipped enamel, loose laminate, blackened grout and grungy stovetops, it’s time to move that old kitchen on.
- You just hate it – Some folks come to hate their kitchen. Nothing works, they can’t find anything, it’s always dirty, and the pleasure of cooking with love has been well and truly extinguished. If that’s the case, improve your life with a new kitchen.