METCALF MOVING BLOG

Moving? 6 Easy Ways to Spruce Up a Dated Kitchen

Are you trying to sell your home but finding it challenging because of your dated kitchen?

The kitchen is one of the primary focal points and the heart of the home. Everyone wants their kitchen to be functional yet appealing and inviting. Prospective homebuyers sometimes have difficulty looking past the flaws of a dated kitchen, making your home harder to sell.

The good news is, you don’t have to spend tens of thousands of dollars to do a full kitchen overhaul. By making a few adjustments, you can spruce up your old kitchen and get a good bang for your buck.

Here are some suggestions for bringing your kitchen up to date to help you sell your home.

1. Replace the Lighting

Many dated kitchens have anything from a 1950s light fixture to a bulky 1980s ceiling fan. Take these out and replace them with sleeker lights with a modern finish. Throw in a couple of pendant lights for good measure to add both function and ambiance.

Add some under-cabinet lighting to add to the ambient feeling.

2. Update the Cabinets

Do your cabinets need some sprucing up? There are several cost-effective and less labor-intensive options short of replacing all of the cabinetry.

• Add new cabinet pulls, knobs, and hinges. Take out that 1970s copper or brass and replace it with nice satin nickel or other contemporary hardware styles.
• Paint them. If you’ve got an old stained wood that’s past its prime, sand down the surface and paint the cabinets a bright white or another neutral shade to complement your new lighting and brighten the room.
• Sand the cabinets and re-stain. A little more labor-intensive, but the results can be excellent.
• Remove the doors. Add decorative shelf covering and update the cabinets with an open look.
• Replace cabinet door inserts. Use glass, either clear or patterned, for a dramatic change.

Just making any change to old cabinets, no matter how small, can have an incredible impact on a tired kitchen’s appearance.

3. Paint the Walls

A new coat of paint on the walls can do wonders for any kitchen. Choose a neutral color and reinvent your walls to look brand new. Hang new window treatments to add a nice contrast.

4. Add a Backsplash

There are a couple of ways you can approach this. You can add an “accent” backsplash (e.g., behind your range) or install backsplash tile above all the counters. If you don’t want to do the grout work, you can buy adhesive backings in any big box store and install them quickly to get the look of ceramic or stone.

5. Change the Faucet

Many people don’t realize how much an old faucet can drag down a kitchen’s appeal. Modern faucets look sleek and have functions older faucets don’t have to make cooking and cleaning easier. Eliminate a separate sprayer’s clutter by choosing a faucet with a nice finish and a pull-down spray feature.

6. Add a Rug

Replacing tired kitchen flooring might not be in your staging budget, but you can give it a good cleaning and then add an attractive area rug to draw the eye away from it.

Making Moving Easier

Sprucing up a tired kitchen can be a lot of work—and costly. However, it’s worth the time and a little extra money to make some updates for resale value. You might be surprised at what even a few subtle differences can do.

Follow these tips and get your house sold quicker.

Are you looking for a mover? Call us to learn about our services.