As a home owner, remodeling a kitchen may seem like a big project, which may have you asking: Is Remodeling a Kitchen Worth It?
And the answer is pretty simple, as a remodeling contractor working in home improvement for over 30 years, we can guarantee that we have never seen a kitchen remodel that didn’t pay off in more ways than one.
Value Increase
You might have a kitchen where the cabinets look old, worn, broken, close too abruptly, or are a builder-grade veneer fiberboard made popular in the 80s-90s that screams cheap.
Your countertops may be tile (was beautiful when Home Alone came out, but it’s not the current mood!). You may even have old wallpaper or a yesteryear granite/laminate. In addition, you may even still sport an old linoleum floor!
If any or all of this is the case, you are losing precious value on your home. It doesn’t matter where the housing market is, it could be a great recession, a bull market or stagnant, but what is the only thing that increases value in all scenarios? If you guessed a beautiful kitchen remodel, you’re absolutely correct.
In addition to the bathrooms, flooring and paint, a kitchen remodel is the one single thing you can do for your home that in itself creates the most value add. Though you won’t immediately recoup the same amount in investment should you decide to sell right away. If you look at how equity increases year by year, having a brand-new kitchen keeps you top of market for years to come. So, the answer to “Is Remodeling a Kitchen Worth It” should be pretty clear.
Kitchen is the center of the home
If you’re still not convinced, let’s talk about the kitchen for a minute. The kitchen in a home is like a central area of comfort. It’s where you make your meals, run to when you’re hungry or need a snack or drink, hang out with the family. It’s where your kids play on the floor and spill, where your foodie creations come to life. All the modern conveniences of soft-close cabinets, pull out drawers for pots and pans and pantry items, spice cabinets, hidden trash cabinets, and more can truly enhance your life and offer you incredible convenience.
Open kitchen concept
Also, some people find incredible convenience in opening up the kitchen, especially if they entertain or have children. It allows you to cook and prepare food, but also have access to seeing the living area or walk directly to the dining area. You may even have an adjacent dining and kitchen island that give you several open spaces to entertain guests and see everyone at once. Before the 90s, most homes had closed off kitchens and dining areas, and it made the home also look much darker. When you open up the kitchen/dining and living area you get a lot more natural window light from the house. You can even install skylights in the kitchen if you don’t have a floor above. The possibilities of creating a beautiful new kitchen are endless. For more information you can contact us.
Quality finishings and Expert Workmanship
Many people just want to refinish cabinets and replace countertops or add backsplash. Though these changes certainly can enhance your kitchen a bit, and maybe a qualified handyman can do that project for you, the true effect of a whole well-planned and designed kitchen is infinitely more special and will raise the value considerably.
I have seen people try to pass this off as a kitchen remodel on the housing market, and it really doesn’t fly. Buyers are not convinced. Of course, budget is always a consideration, and no one should go broke remodeling their house!
However, if this is your home you plan to live in for quite some time, or you’re looking to get top dollar for a sell or refinance, it may be worth investing, financing or saving for a truly gorgeous designer new kitchen. The inside of the cabinets will give it away, and as the homeowner, that won’t feel new. When I bought my first home, the kitchen had broken cabinet doors, and was original 80’s quality, no backsplash, yellow walls, orange tone cabinets that had a dry look. Initially I had a carpenter come by to quote me for redoing the doors, but I realized the cabinet quality was just so incompatible with a nice wood door. Plus demoing the tile countertop could easily damage the base cabinets.
So, I decided to bite the bullet, get financing, and get a nice new kitchen. When I had to sell a couple years later, the value of my house was $30-40,000 over the highest comparable. People wanted that kitchen!
In conclusion, remodeling your kitchen with a brand new well-designed and convenient kitchen is definitely worth it.
