How to spruce up your kitchen if you're selling your house

Once the big deciding factors in buying a home have been established such as location, square footage, and amenities, the top factor in selecting a home amongst other candidates sharing the same location, size and features (ie: Pool, central air-conditioning, three-car garage) is indisputably the kitchen.

In further thinking, this is the area where families spend most of their family time during meals and meal preparation. Thus, it is important to make sure that any prospective buyer falls in love with your kitchen, barring a full remodel that may end up costing $50,000 or more. There are a few things that can be done to make your kitchen more appealing without breaking the bank.

CLEAN

Give the kitchen a very detailed and complete cleaning. That means behind the cooktop, the burner drip pans, inside the dishwasher, inside the refrigerator of course. etc.

Make sure to deodorize with some fresh smelling solution such as Pine-sol. You may become used to the aromas of your cooking but to someone just coming into your kitchen, that garlic you love to add to all your recipes may be offensive.

DECLUTTER

This is the time when you have to become very minimalistic.

Put away as much as possible. That includes countertop appliances. Doing this serves two different purposes:

• It gives the kitchen a sense of openness and it also makes your counter space seem larger.
• Small details make a huge difference such as:
  1. Going inside the cupboards and removing any outdated spices.
  2. Turning your cups to all face in the same direction.

Some of these items may seem a bit ridiculous, but we’re staging a kitchen. This is exactly the same process that developers pay professionals to do for their model homes.

PAINT

This is one of those items that requires a minimal investment but can potentially yield huge results.

Remember to select light neutral colors.

White, for example, is always a safe choice. You can always add accent colors through other items such as cabinet pulls and knobs, small tiles on the backsplash.

Even here it is important to keep it neutral. Keep in mind, you are trying to appeal to the majority of the prospective buyers, not only to people that have a fondness for that 1950s diner look or other very specific décor style.

BACKSPLASH REDO

This is an area where you can get very creative. Here, the possibilities are endless. You can use:

• Wallpaper
• Vinyl tile
• Bead board
• Glass

You can even stencil funny or inspirational food-related quotes.

CHANGE YOUR FAUCET

The cost of a kitchen faucet is minimal compared to the visual impact and appeal that it will bring to your kitchen.

Depending on the style, you can find a good kitchen faucet for under $200.00. If your décor style leans towards the contemporary, spring spout and pull-down kitchen faucets are leading the trend when It comes to kitchen faucets.

If you are more on the traditional side, there are plenty of choices including bridge kitchen faucets and even some pull-down faucets that are designed to fit into that style of décor.

The investment both in time and money will yield great returns. The only risk is that you will fall in love with your kitchen and have second thoughts about selling your home.