5 Kitchen Improvements That Boost Home Value For You and Buyer

The kitchen is one of the most advanced rooms in your home. It is where some of your home’s technology is most condensed and interior design techniques are utilized to ensure that everything works efficiently. But as with anything else in life, there is always room for improvement, and it may be especially nice to consider making them in this room next since kitchen upgrades can add significant value to your home. 

A kitchen remodel is actually one of the biggest contributors to increased home value, averaging a return of investment of about 50% to 60% during the sale. If you don’t have the time for a complete kitchen remodel but want to improve the finer details, there are kitchen projects you can work on to do so. They range in scope, from stylistic to practical improvements, but one thing is common about all of these kitchen updates: your buyers will definitely take the hint that you love your kitchen.

1. Update Your Kitchen Cabinets, Cupboards, and Drawers

Why You Should Reface Your Cabinets Before Selling Your Home

A good place to start with a kitchen makeover is the cabinets. After all, they are the face of your kitchen and they play a huge role in setting the atmosphere of the entire room. Kitchen cabinets that look sleek and modern can easily create a more contemporary feel in your kitchen. On the other hand, if they are worn out, broken, and cracked, then your kitchen looks old and unmaintained. So, refacing your cabinets is a great place to start if you’re looking to increase your home value.

Refacing or repainting laminate cabinets costs around $2,000. If they are made of higher grade material, such as natural wood, expect to pay upwards of $7,000. But this is just a small step you can take in improving their appearance and freshening up the kitchen. You can also install a cabinet light rail if you’re going for a more classic interior or added lighting under the cupboards themselves for some added value in practicality.

Speaking of practicality, there is plenty more you can do for a kitchen cabinet makeover that will increase your home value. For one, you can install sliding shelves to make your cabinet storage easier to use. Under your cupboards, You can also install hooks to hang your kitchen utensils and mugs to make your kitchen more clutter-free. For even more delightful ergonomic bonuses, consider installing lighting in your drawers that activate when you pull them out. There are plenty of interesting and useful ways to upgrade your cabinets and make them more attractive to your prospective buyers. The sliding shelf mechanisms, for example, cost $100 to $200 each, so you can probably get away with paying around $600 to $700 to upgrade your kitchen cabinets entirely, which is about 10% to 15% of the costs of remodeling them. 

2. Invest In Backsplash

Kitchen Backsplash Ideas That Are a Bank for Your Buck

Most potential buyers aren’t going to come to your open house by themselves. They’re likely going to bring a professional home inspector along who will look at every little detail of your kitchen and give them their honest feedback. One area that home inspectors are always very careful about is waterproofing in rooms exposed to increased moisture like kitchens and bathrooms. This is very important because buyers are going to end up having more costs on their hands in the future if your kitchen is not equipped to deal with water damage. So, waterproofing is crucial when it comes to increasing home value.

One very good way to waterproof your kitchen is with a proper backsplash. The backsplash is the protective (and pretty) layer that covers the walls behind the sink, oven, and the main countertops of your kitchen. It is usually used as a way to accentuate the interior, but considering where it is situated, often also serves as a bit of extra waterproofing. Washing dishes, cooking, and other kitchen tasks will likely spray water, hot oil, and other kinds of residue all over the walls. This means you want a backsplash, be it tiled, paneled, or special wallpaper, that can withstand all this damage and retain its wholesome appearance.

Tiles are the most common option out there, as they are quite accessible, come in a variety of designs, and are very good at shrugging off moisture. The average cost of having a ceramic tile backsplash is around $500 for an average 16-square-foot wall. You also have the option of waterproof wallpaper, which is made of special material that is not susceptible to water damage. These are usually peel-and-stick, which make for an easy DIY kitchen backsplash project, but will require more maintenance than tiles. By simply refreshing your backsplash, you can get away with a smaller kitchen remodel cost and still end up with a significant upgrade in the process.

3. Faucets and Other Fixtures

How New Faucets Can Increase Home Value

Sure, you can simply keep your faucet, sink, kitchen hood, and other fixtures squeaky clean and that should be enough for most buyers to consider acceptable. But why take the gamble when replacing such small kitchen fixtures can have such a large impact on the overall appearance of your kitchen? There are many affordable options that can turn your traditional kitchen into a transitional one or simply bring some youth into the room. Let’s focus on the faucet for a second.

A simple, polished metal, the silver faucet can work beautifully in just about any kitchen and if you regularly clean it, these can look as good as new even after years of use. But why settle for this option, when there are also matte black stainless steel fixtures that fit beautifully in a contemporary kitchen? If you have darker elements that echo modern interior design philosophies, then this would work perfectly. On the other hand, if you’re looking for something more classic or vintage, a brushed nickel or bronze faucet would look great, especially on a glamorous vanity that gives off a Victorian or chic Farmhouse vibe. 

4. Consider Heated Flooring

The Simple Pleasures of Having Heated Flooring

Going in for a midnight snack or glass of water is a regular phenomenon in every household. Often we’re still half-asleep when we do so; just functional enough to open the fridge and get the sustenance we need and go straight back to sleep. Unfortunately, what also happens sometimes is that the floor is too cold and it either wakes you up completely or is simply unnecessarily unpleasant. There is a way to fix that.

Installing kitchen floor heating costs around $500 and it is one of the best investments you can make in this room. It’s a huge game-changer in several ways. If mere comfort isn’t a strong enough motivator, there are other practical uses for it that might warrant you installing heated flooring as well. First of all, heating the flooring helps you keep the kitchen warm during the winters, cutting down the need for your central heating system to do all the work. Essentially, it makes for more even distribution of heat and an eco-friendlier home.  Additionally, heated flooring is also a good way to ensure that spills don’t stay on the floor for too long, making it safer for people to walk on. 

5. Gear Up On Smart Appliances

Why You Should Invest In Smart Kitchen Appliances

We’re living in the age of convenience thanks to smart technology and nowhere is that more true than in the kitchen. Kitchen appliances have made it a breeze to do just about anything with less time and manual involvement. And while we still have not reached complete hands-free cooking, there are plenty of amazing appliances that are not only very useful but also look very attractive to buyers.

Take for example a smart coffee maker. The “smart” is mostly concentrated in its internal clockwork. But the benefits of your coffee brewing at preset times in the day without you having to go into the kitchen at all are quite tangible. You can measure how good a tech investment is by how easier it makes your life, which is the core purpose of smart technologies. By purchasing even a few fundamental smart kitchen appliances, such as a coffee maker, oven, thermostat, lighting fixtures, or fridge, you can significantly improve your home value and lifestyle without having to pay heftily for a kitchen renovation.