Kitchen Renovation – Highlighting a Key Selling Feature of a Home
There was a time in real estate when a woman looked first at the kitchen area of a home before she bothered with viewing the remainder of the property. If the kitchen was not up to her standards, there was no way she would cast her vote for purchasing the home. Nowadays, many modern career minded women do not cook regularly and have become more interested in closet space and many other home features besides the kitchen.
Even so, the kitchen is an important component of the home, and it is either a positive or negative selling feature when it comes to residential redevelopment. A kitchen remodel that increases the room’s functional space can be costly if you must make structural changes, so the best remodeling ideas are those that add to the functionality and appearance without going overboard on the budget.
Converting a Small Kitchen’s Functionality
If the kitchen is small, consider how you can produce more usable or improved storage space. Some renovation ideas you might consider include:
* If wall cabinets do not extend to reach the ceilings, consider filling that space with additional cabinets or replacing the wall cabinets entirely with units that utilize available space and reach all the way to the ceiling. This also eliminates the problem of dust accumulation on the cabinet tops.
* A separate cook top and built-in oven may be less functional from the space standpoint than a combined freestanding range.
* The microwave should be included in the range hood so it doesn’t take up valuable counter space.
* Dead end corners should be eliminated in base and wall cabinets whenever possible. Pre-manufactured cabinets often have limited access in the corners. Utilizing a cabinet design that allows access to corner areas takes advantage of what might otherwise be dead and useless space.
Modernizing a Kitchen for Selling Appeal
A home buyer wants modernized features in their kitchen, not a space that is outdated and antiquated. A successful home renovation has to take into consideration the current popular trends in style and taste.
If the existing appliances are in good working order and are not outdated in either finish or features, they are most likely fine to remain as long as they are in sellable condition, but floor coverings, wall finishes, and countertops most often need a facelift to make the kitchen more marketable.
Depending on how long the house has been inhabited, floors and counters receive a great deal of use and abuse. Solid surface countertops are a great selling feature in a remodeled kitchen. Wood or tile is a good choice for floors. A new coat of paint on the walls can work wonders for selling appeal.
Home renovation projects should not only add value to the property, but are often necessary to produce a product that is desirable to a home buyer, especially the buyers in today’s market. They want a home that is 100% finished, with nothing to do but move in. A quality yet cost sensible kitchen renovation can increase the asking price of a house and make it more sellable. Even a moderate facelift can make a big difference in a home’s selling appeal.
A qualified remodeling contractor can offer cost saving suggestions to make any home more appealing to a home buyer. If you need other ideas, check the comparable homes in your area, see what they are offering in their kitchens. You might find that you are offering something that no other homes are. Items like this can be removed if you need to save on money. Sensible and practical renovation solutions might be just the key to turning a fixer upper property quickly so that your investment doesn’t sit on the market any longer than necessary.