So it makes perfect sense that remodels are so often geared toward the kitchen. What about thinking of your kitchen in the long-term sense, in terms of investment and return? Will your kitchen remodel projects be a positive contribution to your home’s value or will they erode that value? Keep it timeless and traditional with an all-white kitchen color scheme. Or take the opposite tack and go chic with a black kitchen. Feng shui-inspired kitchen colors keep things cool, relaxed, and neutral. No holds barred here: The color of your kitchen is dictated only by your imagination. Updating your kitchen cabinets doesn’t always have to mean tearing out and replacing your current cabinets, though in some real estate markets, a full replacement may be necessary. Updating your kitchen can be as simple and inexpensive as painting your cabinets. Or exercise your creative chops with fun, low-cost kitchen DIY projects like handcrafted wood cabinet pulls. A step up, both in terms of cost and buyer appeal, is cabinet refacing. Refacing means replacing cabinets’ most visually prominent area, the cabinet doors and drawer fronts. A cabinet refacing technician applies real wood veneer to the side of the cabinet boxes. The finishing touch that pulls the project together: new cabinet fixtures. Shimmering glass or metal tiles are sure to attract attention, and most can be self-installed with only a little tiling know-how. Or keep the price even lower with easy-to-do, creative do-it-yourself backsplash hacks that can be completed in a day or two: wallpaper, tile decals, laminate flooring planks, or veneer stone. Installing an eye-catching backsplash underscores the importance of the well-made kitchen as a selling device for the entire home. Kitchens are often the first major room that buyers see after they enter the house. Real estate agents tend to set up their bases of operation in the kitchen, as well, so buyers spend more time in that room than in other rooms. A hybrid of minerals and resins, quartz is a nearly perfect material for countertops. It looks like natural stone but is harder than natural stone. It is as impermeable as solid surface countertops but it won’t scratch like solid surface. This chameleon of surfaces can take on different personalities, too, adopting everything from a traditional stone-like appearance to the trendy and industrial look of concrete. Quartz countertops are expensive, so make sure your home’s anticipated sale price can support this upgrade. Kitchen pendant lights have had their trend ups and downs, but they continue to be an effective light for areas such as islands and counters. Be sure to scale the size of the pendants to your kitchen, and avoid overwhelming the space.
