Prepare Your Home for Sale: Kitchen Makeover Ideas

By Jeanette Fisher

Money spent updating your kitchen rewards you better than money spent on any other upgrade to your home. When it comes to kitchens, buyers continue to demand improvement in efficiency and style, and they usually want the kitchen fully remodeled and operational when they move into a new home.

Cooks want to be in the middle of family activities so they can enjoy companionship. Newer homes place kitchens open to the family room and often have wide views of the outside. Newer homes also boast larger kitchens with more than one preparation area because cooking has become a social activity, and new homes often include a bar or buffet for entertaining.

Buyers look for a kitchen with large open areas that allow guests enough room to mingle, along with workspace for kids doing homework or even a small kitchen workspace for paying bills or making phone calls. Present your kitchen as an organized, clutter-free, versatile space that will help your buyers feel they could be productive and happy working and interacting in the heart of their new home.

You don't need to completely remodel your kitchen to sell your home. Packing and storing extra kitchen pots, pans, and utensils generates a more spacious presentation. You may also wish to invest in an attractive portable kitchen island to use as a prop for a kitchen with an open center and insufficient counter space.

Consider easy, low-cost changes that instantly upgrade a kitchen without major remodeling. These include:

Replacing your faucet with a fancier model.

Changing your cabinet hardware.

Painting cabinet faces or ugly laminate countertops. (Use Marine-grade paint.)

Design Psychology Tips for Selling Your Kitchen

Light up dark areas. Use plug-in night lights to brighten dark counters for a thrifty solution. Also, a small lamp looks great on a countertop.

Soften the hard surfaces with fabric, including window treatments and new hand towels.

Remove all appliances from the countertops. Use a bowl of fruit or flowers to brighten the space. This one step, clearing counter eye-clutter visually expands your kitchen. Each item on the countertop stops the eye for a second. Fewer accessories let the buyers' eye roam freely and they get the impression of a large countertop expanse.

If you decide the kitchen cabinets must be replaced, choose light wood or white finish to reflect light in a dark kitchen and to convey a sense of cleanliness and spaciousness. Wood cabinets in major cities recover 90-130% of the cost to put it in when you sell.

For a moderately priced home, laminate countertops mimic limestone or granite and provide a smooth surface. Upscale buyers prefer granite countertops, but large-scale ceramic tile with small grout margins produce an effect similar to granite for a fraction of the cost.

Luxury home buyers look for walk-in pantries, wood or stone flooring; built-in wine coolers water-filtration systems; built-in microwaves, and custom lighting. All buyers expect a garbage disposal, a dishwasher, and a ventilation system over the stove.

Modern, sleek kitchens don't need softening of the all-hard surfaces (countertops, flooring, cabinets, etc.). However, homes showcasing a relaxed, inviting atmosphere benefit from visually softening additions like new colorful hand towels, a carpet under foot at the sink, and pot holders on hooks near the stove.

What ever your redesign budget for preparing you home for sale, little changes like clearing the countertops and adding new dish towels and a bowl of fruit can make your kitchen entice a buyer to say, "This is my new home."

Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher