So you’re thinking about upgrading your kitchen in some way?
There are many great upgrades you can do that will boost your home’s value, but it is very important to know which upgrades would be detrimental to it — and there are actually more of those than you might think there to be.
Upgrading your kitchen should boost both your home’s value and, more importantly, the value of your home.
Any upgrade should be exactly what you want for your kitchen; it should reflect your ideals and vision for what you want to see and use every day of your life. After all, it is your kitchen.
But let’s take a look at some of the upgrades you shouldn’t do in your kitchen if you want to boost your home’s resale value.
Putting epoxy on your countertops
If you want to maintain or boost the value of your home, the last thing you want to do is put epoxy on your countertops. This is definitely the case if you plan on doing the job yourself.
Applying epoxy is incredibly tedious, complicated, and time-consuming — especially if you do it all by yourself. Having a friend help you out only adds more frustration to an additional person.
Who needs that, right?
Also, if you plan on selling your home with epoxy countertops, that will be a major deal-killer for many people. Epoxy is becoming less and less popular these days.
Yes, epoxy can boost the surface itself, making it look a little better while adding a protective layer; however, it becomes less worth it considering what it takes to get it there.
Learn more about the trouble with epoxy here.
An island burden
Some people own or buy a home that has a great kitchen — nice space, nice utilization of the space — and everything seems to flow really well already.
It’s when people start seeing kitchens with islands in them, like on TV or at friends’ houses, then they start thinking they want one, too.
This could very well be a mistake, ultimately, if you ever plan on selling your home. It could be that the new island gets in the way of the original flow of the kitchen. It could be installed in an inconvenient place, getting in the way after a while.
Also, there are some people out there who prefer a more open kitchen, with big countertops, rather than an island standing in the way.
So, if you fancy yourself installing an island, make sure your kitchen really needs one. Sometimes less is more. Check out this post for some tips regarding what to consider before installing a kitchen island.
Different cabinets
Cabinets can be a difficult topic in the world of kitchen remodeling. Some people out there want to redo their kitchen, and that also means cabinets.
You could be thinking that you’re making an upgrade while knocking out those old cabinets and replacing them with new ones.
But are you, really?
Sometimes people could mistake the old cabinets as being of lesser value than the new ones. It could be, however, that those old cabinets were of better quality than the new ones you think are saving you money.
It’s hard to know unless you take the time to check it out.
It’s always a good idea to know what you’ve got. You could be sitting on a pot of gold that you thought was a bucket of dirt.
Different appliances
Again, this falls in the same line as replacing your cabinets. You should always make sure that what you already have in your home isn’t just throw-away stuff, and most of the time it’s not.
This definitely counts with all types of appliances.
If you buy a house that already has appliances installed, it might be a good idea to do some research and figure out the value of each one.
You could have a perfectly great, functioning dishwasher, yet you want to replace it? It could spell regret for you later on if you ever put your house on the market.
Always do your research if you’re doing any remodeling. You might be surprised that the fridge staring back at you is already quite valuable.
Complete kitchen overhaul
This sort of encompasses the aforementioned ideas. If you want to strip everything down and completely redo the whole thing, you might be doing yourself and your home’s value a disservice.
Depending on your new plans for your kitchen space, your new layout could hinder the space in all kinds of ways. This is especially the case if you have no architectural or design experience.
There’s a lot of care and accuracy that goes into designing a room, and — without a doubt — a kitchen is one of the most important rooms in your home.
If you plan on doing this sort of renovation, it’s a very good idea that you hire a professional to make sure space is utilized in the best possible way.
You may be spending more money, but if you want to maintain the value of your home, get somebody in there to help you see your vision through.
In conclusion
As you can see, there are all kinds of ways you could decrease the value of your home, even if you think it’s helping. Many of these projects would be best suited under the guidance and experience of a professional.
True, it will cost a little more than you thought it would, but it’s not worth the risk to not do so.
There are all kinds of positive kitchen upgrades that can be done to boost your home’s value. It’s very important to always be aware of what you want to do and how you want to do it when it comes to your home.
It’s very easy to slip up and make mistakes if any brash decisions are made in any kind of remodeling.
You may just end up downgrading when you meant to be upgrading.
Make sure to steer clear of the downgrading route!
We hope you found this article useful and informative and, as always, happy upgrading!