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So, you're thinking of remodeling your kitchen. It's a smart move if your
motivation is to improve the value of your home. (It's a smart move if you
just want a better kitchen for yourself too.) This is because kitchens are
the most important room in the house for most prospective home buyers.
If you're currently doing your cooking and food preparation in a room that's
dated, dingy, or dilapidated (or all three), it can seriously affect the
amount of money people are willing to offer when it's time to sell your
home. Unfortunately, it's easy to spend tons of money on a kitchen remodel.
Stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, dedicated pot-filling
faucets, double ovens, professional cook tops, etc. etc. etc. If you want to
buy all that stuff, you can expect to spend tens of thousands of dollars.
Some people even spend six figure sums on their kitchens.
Fortunately, it's possible to update your kitchen and make it look a lot
better without spending an arm and a leg. Let's take a peek at some of the
ways you can increase the value of your kitchen without spending a lot of
money:Paint or refinish your cabinets instead of replacing them.
Before you decide you need to completely gut and replace your cabinets,
take a good look at them. Are they sound? Are they made of good wood? (If
you live in an older home, chances are the cabinets are made from solid wood
and of a higher quality than you'll get today--most of today's low to
mid-end cabinets are made from particleboard with maple/oak/beech
"veneers".)
If they're basically in good shape, all your cabinets may need is a little
low-cost TLC. A paint job is the cheapest way to give them a new look. New
door and drawer hardware (knobs and hinges) can help bring your kitchen into
the 21st century as well, and it won't cost a lot. You might also consider
just refinishing the fronts and getting new cabinet doors.
Install granite tiles instead of solid granite countertops.
If you want the classy, upscale look of granite, you can achieve it with
granite tiles, which are less expensive than solid granite. They can also be
installed by the average do-it-yourself homeowner, whereas solid granite
countertops need to be cut to fit and installed by a professional. If you
want to save even more money, you can get laminate countertops that are made
to look like granite, marble, or other stones. (These won't likely fool
prospective home buyers though.)
Choose laminate flooring instead of hardwood
Wood flooring is popular in kitchens right now, and it'll cost you a
pretty penny to get it installed. However, you can buy laminate flooring
that looks a lot like the real deal for about half the price. Laminate is
also more forgiving of spills (wood can be damaged over time if repeatedly
exposed to moisture), and it's very easy to keep clean.
Don't spend a fortune on appliances.
If you want stainless steel, you don't necessarily have to spend a lot of
money on Aga or Viking. Many of the low to mid-end brands are putting out
high-end look-alike appliances. GE, for examples, offers stainless steel
ovens and refrigerators. True, they won't fool kitchen snobs, but let's face
it: the people looking to buy your house are more likely to be average Joes,
who just want stainless steel and granite because that's what everybody says
is in right now.
Buy new lighting.
Nothing makes a kitchen look dark and dingy like a single overhead
ceiling fixture. Lighting is a relatively inexpensive improvement, but it
goes a long ways in brightening up the kitchen and making it look good. Make
sure to buy modern fixtures. Pendant lighting over eating counters is
popular, and under-counter task lighting is smart for brightening up food
preparation areas.
To save on lighting, visit stores like Ikea, or consider doing your shopping
online. Sites like Nextag.com make it easy to compare prices on lamps and
just about anything else.
Hopefully these tips have given you some ideas on how to make your kitchen
look like its worth a lot without actually spending a ton of money.
If you are looking for a kitchen remodeling contractor in the
Raleigh/Durham area please call us
today at 800.661.8136 or use our
online service request
form.
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