Making home improvements that boost your property's value is an essential part of preparing your house for sale. Given how the kitchen is considered the heart of the home, it makes sense that you'd invest your time and energy into kitchen upgrades, presenting this room in the best light possible.
After all, how the kitchen looks and feels is the primary deciding factor for many home buyers, so it pays to make a couple of investments. Below, top six kitchen updates you can make to maximize impact and your selling price.
Upgrade your lighting fixtures
Lighting can be a simple kitchen upgrade
Keeping your kitchen light and bright is the right way to win prospective buyers' hearts and boost your chances of closing a deal. Although often overlooked, lighting can completely change the tone of the room, especially if you manage to match the fixtures to the kitchen's design style.
Other than ensuring cohesiveness in terms of style, you should also make sure that your kitchen lighting is adequate for different tasks. Ideally, you'll introduce all three layers of lighting (accent, general, and task lighting). This will make sure that your kitchen is just as ready for entertaining as it is for meal prepping.
Swap out your kitchen hardware
New Hardware is an easy kitchen upgrades
A quick update that makes a huge impact, replacing the old hardware with something new and fresh is a great way to update your kitchen and make it feel brand new. From cabinet handles and door knobs to sinks and faucets, swapping out your kitchen hardware is a perfect solution for a marvelous kitchen makeover that's quick and easy.
Make sure to coordinate the hardware with countertops, backsplash, cabinets, and appliances. Stainless steel finishes, just like nickel and chrome, are timeless and never go out of style while warm metallic ones such as gold, copper, and bronze are perfect for adding a contemporary touch to a kitchen space.
Bring your kitchen appliances up to date
Kitchen Upgrades: New appliances
Appealing to home buyers is also a matter of making bigger upgrades that will pay off in the long run. Think from the perspective of your buyers. Would you rather move into a home with an out-of-date kitchen where everything needs to be replaced? Or, would you prefer a home where everything in the kitchen is new and unused?
One of the best kitchen updates you can make involves replacing old, dated models with new electrical appliances that will bring your kitchen up to date. For an even bigger impact, consider upgrading to stainless steel ones for that classic, timeless appeal. This is a definite selling point and a perfect way to sway home buyers and boost your chances of a better financial outcome.
Add open shelves and sliding shelves
Adding open and sliding shelves is one of the easiest kitchen upgrades
If you're looking to bring your kitchen cabinetry up to date but don't necessarily want to invest in expensive new cabinets, consider hanging open shelves. A low-cost solution, open shelving will eliminate the need for bulky shelving that often eats up precious space and shrinks the kitchen. Other than opening up the kitchen and making smaller spaces appear larger, installing open shelving is also ideal for showing off unique kitchen items.
On the other hand, if you happen to be working with a bigger budget, consider installing custom pull-out sliding shelves, cabinet fillers, and blind corner systems. Not only is this a great way to put every inch of your kitchen space to good use, but it's also going to result in an excellent ROI.
Declutter and deep clean
Kitchen upgrades can include a simple deep clean and declutter
In a time when there's a gadget for virtually every kitchen task, it's easy to start accumulating kitchen accessories to a point where they start to eat up your counter space, leaving little room for meal prepping. Before putting your house up for sale, try to scale back and declutter your kitchen from items you don't need or use.
The same applies to bathrooms – keeping countertops and floors clutter-free can make a small bathroom look bigger and easier to use on a daily basis. After decluttering, make sure to give your kitchen (and your bathroom) a deep clean, paying special attention to tiles and fixtures where dirt and limescale can easily accumulate.
Immaculate surfaces and neatly organized spaces will make a great first impression and let potential home buyers imagine themselves living there – which is the whole point of hosting an open house.
Accessorize
Kitchen upgrades include accessories
Sometimes, the simplest updates go a long way in changing the way a room looks and feels. A great place to start is to treat your walls to a fresh coat of paint. Neutral colors are your safest bet as they act as the ideal base for colorful accents and statement pieces. They'll also help you create a blank slate, allowing prospective buyers to envision their furniture and decor in that space.
As for the accessories, aim to depersonalize your living space. Use textiles such as window treatments, pillows, towels, and area rugs to add comfort and rely on plants and bowls of fruit to bring life and warmth. These are some quick home staging tips that will help you achieve professional results.
Wrapping up
The kitchen is the one room in your home that has the power to either make or break a home sale. If you make the right updates, you'll be able to give your kitchen a fresh, new look and boost your chances of a quick and lucrative sale.
Bo Kauffmann is a residential real estate agent with over 18 yrs experience in helping buyers and sellers achieve their goals. Inducted into the REMAX Hall of Fame in 2010 and receiving the REMAX Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019, Bo has sold over 500 houses and condos in the Greater Winnipeg market. He is an accredited buyer representative (A.B.R.) and a Luxury Home Marketing Specialist.
Bo provides exceptional service to First-Time Home-Buyers, Seniors looking to downsize and Home Sellers of all ages.
He can be reached easily By E-Mail or call/text him Call/Text Here Our Latest Web-Stories
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