Nobody loves a good renovation project more than me but in today’s blog I want to discuss how to go about getting that “renovated” look in your kitchen without actually doing a renovation. A kitchen renovation will earn you the best ROI (return on investment) and it’s commonly said that kitchens are the most important room in a house to help it sell. So, if you’re getting ready to sell, and have limited time and budget, you can still make improvements to your kitchen without doing anything major.

A first step is to clean and declutter.  I know I mention this a lot in my blogs but it really is one of the easiest ways to improve the look of your home. In a kitchen, start by removing everything from the counters: toaster, coffee maker (wait don’t stop reading, I know this is essential – I’ll touch on this, just keep reading), knife set, blender, glasses, cake stand, cutting board, dish mat. Anything and everything. Also, remove any pictures or magnets, etc. from your fridge. Don’t worry, in your staging you can put a few items back on the counter, but it’s best to start with a clean slate. Once you have everything removed and neatly put away in your cupboards (or packed up and put in storage), then do a deep clean. Wipe the counters, backsplash, all cabinets, baseboards, sink, faucet, and all appliances. Clean your floors, clean any windows, and dust. So now that your kitchen is sparkling, it’s time to select a few (1-3 items) to put back on your counter. An obvious choice would be the coffee maker – nobody can live without that (unless you’re a tea drinker). Then maybe one or two other display type items, such as a blender or a vase with flowers. Keep it simple and the less counter space you have the less items you should be keeping on your counter. Take a look at these photos of a kitchen (my kitchen actually) before and after it’s cleaned and decluttered.

Before

After

Doesn’t the after photo feel so much more refreshing and look like somewhere you might want to entertain, cook, and spend time with your family? It’s important, especially when selling, to have potential buyers feel as though they want to spend time and live there, rather than have them focus on unnecessary things like how the home needs to be cleaned.

Another suggestion to “renovate without renovating” is to create a unique coffee or wine corner in your kitchen. This can be as simple as hanging a shelf with hooks to hang coffee mugs or a wine glass rack. If you’re creating a coffee corner, you could also put out some nice jars to keep your coffee grinds/beans and sugar in. For a wine corner, along with some wine bottles, you could also put out a nice clear jar and fill it with wine corks for decoration. Here are a couple of inspirational photos:

(Image Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/725712927424521133/)

(Image Source: http://www.howtodecorate.com/dining-rooms/#gallery/43258/526)

Another “non-renovation” project could be to create interest with a feature wall. Draw people’s eyes away from outdated cabinets or counters by creating visual interest somewhere else in the room. One way to do this is to select a small wall to wallpaper. Or your could paint with chalkboard paint and create a menu board. If choosing wallpaper, try to select something neutral that will appeal to the masses.

(Image Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/45317539978674443/)

(Image Source: http://blog.urbanelectricco.com/the-blog/2012/2/9/elle-decor-showhouse-miami.html)

In addition to real estate; design, décor, and staging are my passions. If you’re considering selling, I include free staging advice and support as part of my services as your Realtor. I will do a room-to-room walk through with you to discuss how we can get your home showing in its best light. Again, it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money or take a lot of time. Projects can be simple and also have a big impact.

Thanks for reading!

Written by:

Fiona White – REALTOR® with Sutton Group – West Coast Realty

Phone: 778-552-6246

Email: fwhite@sutton.com

Website: http://www.fiona-white.com

Facebook/Instagram: @fionawhiteatsutton