Welcome back to our count down on the Top 3 Ways to Renovate for Profit.
In Part 1, we outlined the ‘Basic Cosmetic Upgrade’. This upgrade is ideally suited to people on a limited budget and focuses on those improvements that will have the largest overall impact, without costing the earth.
Number 2 in this series is ‘The Kitchen Upgrade’.
As much as we ladies (and men!) hate to admit it, the kitchen is one of the most over utilised rooms in the home (together with the laundry of course!). It is a high cost item and one that may deter buyers if it is too old or drab. When renovating with a view to selling, it’s essential that you do not overcapitalise. Sometimes, people will go to the expense of installing a brand new kitchen with high quality inclusions, thinking they will be adding an extra $100,000 or more to their final selling price. It will definitely make the home more appealing, however the majority of buyers will not fully appreciate the amount of work or money involved and will definitely not consider factoring this cost into their estimate of what price they will pay.
It’s a good idea to keep reminding yourself along the way that you are not renovating for YOU! What might appeal to you, may not necessarily appeal to the majority. Therefore, it’s best to keep finishes relatively neutral. So if you have a property to sell, and the kitchen has seen better days, here are some easy and economical ways to revamp it.
1. Lighting – Adequate lighting is an important part of any kitchen. You need to be able to see what you’re putting in the family casserole! Our tip is to add some stylish pendant light fittings above the island bench. These can easily become the new focal point of the kitchen and makes dining at the kitchen island feel special.
I love how these pendants draw your attention away from the drab kitchen cupboards, don’t you?
2. Cupboards – If your cupboards look old, damaged and outdated, it is far more economical to simply replace the doors than the entire cabinet. If they’re just looking a little tired, why not paint them white for a fresh look? And to complete the modern contemporary look, install some new hardware. See what a difference this makes?
I love this trick of creating more interest by removing the cupboard insert panels or even the entire doors and leaving the shelves open. If you need to inject some personality into your kitchen, simply paint the back wall of the cupboards in a bright colour. As long as you keep those particular cupboards extra neat and tidy, this can have a great effect and save you loads of money!
3. Benchtops – Here’s a couple of ideas for revamping your beautiful “orange” counter top:
- Paint – Yes, you heard right! This would have to be one of my all time favourites – paint that looks like granite! And it’s not that hard to do yourself. There’s loads of instructional videos available on Youtube and you can hardly tell the difference. Doesn’t it look great!
- Re-laminate – this can be done quite economically and looks like new. You can even find a stainless steel look alike.
- Keep it – If the benchtop is bright orange or even canary yellow, why not go with it and use it as the accent colour for the rest of the kitchen. You could keep the cupboards white.
4. Splashback – Resurfacing is fast becoming the quickest way to transform your old surface to look like new. Most older style kitchens have tiled splashbacks – these can easily be re-surfaced or painted over to either accent or blend in with the rest of your upgrade.
For an original approach you could even go for one of the new chalkboard paints in a soft neutral. You can have lots of fun with this finish and use the splashback to write shopping lists, make notes or write out menus.
Other options could include metal sheeting or engineered polymer panels such as Akril. These panels have been developed as an alternative to glass and is an environmentally friendly material that comes in a range of colours. It can be affixed to existing tiles and is a more cost effective alternative to glass.
A little imagination and research on ‘Google’ is all you need to find some great ideas for upgrading your kitchen. However it is important to remember that you are catering for the tastes of your particular target market. If the property is situated in an area where your market is young and funky, then you can go for it! If the area caters more for families, something a little more conservative and neutral would be best.
Over the coming weeks, we will bring you No.1 of our Top 3 Ways to renovate Your Home for Profit. It will add significant value to your overall sale price if done correctly.
In the meantime, if you’d like to find out more about how we can help you maximise your sale price, we would love to hear from you! Remember, our Vendor Advocacy service costs nothing extra and includes helping you select the best agent to represent your home.
Book in a call today to find out how it works or visit our Vendor Advocacy page for more info.
