Kitchen, Kitchen and Kitchen | Home Design In Pound Ridge NY – Robert Paul’s blog

03/31/2011

Kitchen, Kitchen and Kitchen | Home Design In Pound Ridge NY

 

When selling a home, the kitchen is an area of vital importance. There are several reasons for this. For one thing, kitchens have a lot to do with a home's resale value, so a potential buyer should be able to see value in this area of the home.

Secondly, people generally spend a lot of time in the kitchen. If you've ever been to a party where everyone stood around the kitchen island chatting, you know what I mean! This is why kitchen design and staging are so important when selling a home.

And when you get these things right, you greatly increase your chances of selling the home quickly, and for the best possible price.

Kitchen Design and Staging

The question is, where do you start? Which kitchen design ideas should you focus on when staging your home for sale? Here are some things you can do in the kitchen to wow potential home buyers.

How to Stage a Kitchen

  • Clean your kitchen like the sale of your home depends on it, because it does. Pay extra attention to the sink, counters, stove, etc. Kitchen design is certainly important when selling a home, but cleanliness is also a must. When you stage your kitchen for a home sale, use the motto "clean and bright" as your guide.
  • Spend some extra time de-cluttering. Of all the rooms in a home, the kitchen in particular has a way of attracting clutter. Countertop appliances, coffee pots and mugs, utensil holders, baskets for bills and mail, knick knacks … these things must be moved out of sight. Don't let clutter detract from the other kitchen design ideas you've implemented.
  • Consider making upgrades to the kitchen if necessary. In a buyer's market, you should go beyond basic cleaning and actually upgrade some of the kitchen's features. Tour some model homes (or view them online) to get an idea of current trends.
  • Turn the lights on and open the curtains to showcase the sparkle. Shed some light on the subject. If you have dark areas of your kitchen, you might even consider adding supplemental lighting, such as recessed lighting around the edges. Remember your kitchen staging motto — clean and bright.
  • If your cabinets and counters are outdated or ugly, upgrading them could make a big difference in resale value. If it doesn't make sense to pour extra money into cabinetry (based on your local real estate market), you might try staining the cabinets. This can make a big improvement at a fraction of the cost.

Remember, people spend a lot of time in their kitchens, and most people realize that they are a resale value item of importance. If you spend some extra time or money anywhere while staging your home for sale, the kitchen is probably the place to do it.

The Cost of Kitchen Design & Staging

Home staging is a balance between cost and results. Sure, you want to improve your home in a way that makes it sell quicker. But you don't want to spend too much money doing it either.

This is where it pays to understand the type of real estate market you're in. For example, if you're in a buyer's market, you will have to go the extra mile to sell the home. On the other hand, if you're in a seller's market, you can get away with doing less.

This is the general rule with home staging expenses. But what about kitchens in particular? Of all the rooms in your home to put money into when selling the home, the kitchen should be at the top of the list. Investments in kitchen design and improvement typically contribute more toward resale value than improvements in the rest of the home.

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