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Lifestyle: How to Prepare Your Kitchen for Sale Without Redesigning It

Lifestyle: How to Prepare Your Kitchen for Sale Without Redesigning It- A major kitchen overhaul can cost a huge amount of money – money you probably will not fully recuperate when you sell. Instead of going for a full-on renovation, consider what small changes you can make to update your kitchen. Paint rather than replace cabinets, swap out hardware and roll out a rug. If the appliances are extremely out of date and you decide to replace them, don’t feel pressured into going super high-end. A clean, fresh, bright kitchen that makes the most of the space will attract buyers and does not need to cost an arm and a leg. Here are 15 tips to prepare your kitchen before you sell your home.

Signature Kitchens

Know your goals
Makeover your kitchen with purpose by getting clear on your goals right from the start. A successfully staged kitchen:

Looks, feels and smells clean and fresh.
Looks and feels spacious and light. There’s plenty of room inside cupboards and cabinets.
Is tasteful and good looking – there are no glaringly bad or out-of-date features.
Looks welcoming – it’s easy to envisage using and enjoying the space.
Shows signs of life, but is not messy.

Templer Interiors

1 Have your kitchen professionally cleaned
Having a professional thoroughly clean your kitchen is one of the best investments you can make when preparing your home to sell. Yes, you could clean it yourself, but would it really look as good? A sparkling-clean kitchen is one that looks its best.

2 Be very aware of odours
Make sure all rubbish, recycling and pet-related items are removed before showing your home, and take the time to clean inside and under the containers themselves. Run a lemon down your rubbish bin. Nothing turns off a potential buyer faster than a bad smell.

3 Consider fresh paint
Aside from cleaning, painting will give you the best value for money. Give your kitchen a new coat of paint in a hue that works with the colour of your worktops and cabinets – when in doubt, go with crisp white. Even if your kitchen was recently painted, take a close look at the walls and ceiling and touch up any imperfections, even tiny ones.

Celeste Lewis Architecture

News flash: A staged kitchen is not a practical kitchen
Staging your home is the first step in letting go… which is not always easy. If you are preparing your home to put it on the market, it’s time to make the shift from thinking about it as your home to seeing it as a property that is about to be sold. Staging, when done well, can help make your home more appealing to buyers and help it sell more quickly, and maybe even for a bit more. Isn’t it better to make the best possible impression from the beginning, and not have to live through endless viewings before making a sale? Keep this in mind as you prepare.

Signature Kitchens

4 Keep windows clean and clear
Clean the kitchen windows, inside and out. If you have heavy window coverings, consider removing them – or at the very least, be sure window coverings are completely open when you show your home.

5 Clear the worktops
A toaster and coffee-maker are just about the only things to consider leaving out on the worktops. Put everything else out of sight.

Aidan Design

6 Organise inside cupboards
Guess what? Potential buyers will be looking inside your cupboards. And if your cupboards are overstuffed, that gives the impression that there isn’t enough storage space in your kitchen. Remove excess stuff, mismatched items and anything that simply does not look good. If you still need to use these things, keep them in a box hidden on a high shelf in a wardrobe during showings.

Neat Method San Diego

7 Organise the pantry
Pull back the contents of your pantry until you have some open space on each shelf. Organise what’s left into a set of matching food storage containers or open baskets. This may mean removing a lot of food – just remember that a staged kitchen is not necessarily a practical kitchen! As with items from your cupboards, keep extra pantry goods in a box out of sight during showings if you must.

Check out these stylish modern pantries

allee architecture + design, llc

8 Style open shelving
People have a sort of love-hate relationship with open shelving. It can look great, but it can also be a challenge to keep neat. If you have open shelving in your kitchen, your goal should be to show people how it can be useful and look great. Leave some open space on each shelf, and display only matching sets of everyday dishes. You can’t go wrong with a set of white dishes and clear glasses.

Artisan Custom Homes

9 Set fancy hand soap and washing up liquid on a tray
Get rid of the tired old sponges and soap containers, and replace them with nice-looking washing-up liquid, hand soap and moisturising cream, all on a neat little tray.

10 Make the tap shine
A pretty, gleaming tap makes a good impression. And be sure to fix any leaks while you’re at it.

crbs co.

11 Accessorise the hob
A pretty casserole or kettle on the hob is a welcoming touch. Just be sure the one you choose is in good condition – no scratched-up old pans.

Kropat Interior Design

12 Add new tea towels
Brand-new tea towels should be a must on any kitchen staging shopping list. They are a great, cost-effective way to add a splash of colour and pattern, especially to white kitchens.

13 Set out fresh fruit
Anything perfectly ripe and beautiful will work here. Choose a pretty fruit bowl or set your fruit on a cake plate.

Take a look at some ideas for adding a touch of personality to your kitchen

Du Bois Design Ltd

14 Bring in fresh flowers or greenery
Like a fruit bowl, freshly cut flowers, branches or potted herbs will bring life and cheer to your kitchen. You don’t need to spend a fortune on fruit and flowers, though – take this kitchen, for example. Cheap and cheerful daisy-like flowers are plonked in a glass mason jar, and a row of lemons sit on a plain white platter. The arrangement is easy and inexpensive, but looks great.

Contemporary Kitchen Richmond, 1930's refurbishment

15 Stack your nicest cookery books
Cookbooks are accessories that make a kitchen look appealing and useful. But do edit your collection – keep just one shelf’s worth and make sure each book is in good shape. If you don’t have a shelf, a small stack of cookbooks on the worktop will work just as well.

Have you had to prepare your home for sale? What has worked or not worked for you? Share your experiences and advice in the Comments below.

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6 Things to Consider When Choosing Kitchen Cupboard Handles

Admin 13.20 kitchen Add Comment

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6 Things to Consider When Choosing Kitchen Cupboard Handles- Handles are the final touch to kitchen cabinets, whether their style is traditional, contemporary or somewhere in between. They come in all kinds of materials and finishes and can really help to establish the style and mood of the space. But how do you know which handles to choose to suit your cabinets, particularly if you want something a little away from a standard silver knob? And will something more decorative stand the test of time? Read on for the answers to these questions and more…

Simpatico Interior Design

Quality and functionality
When choosing handles, it’s important to make sure they are good quality and are well designed. Think about how many times you open and close the cabinet doors and drawers in your kitchen. You will want your handles to be as comfortable as they are stylish.

Test out the handles you intend to buy. Hold one against your cabinet doors and check how easy they are to grip and how they feel in your hand. Also ensure the handles have the right grip for those using the kitchen – such as those with bigger hands or older people who may have arthritis in their fingers.

Finally, ask your supplier which material the handles are made from and what warranty they carry.

Traditional Kitchen Northern Beaches house

Style
Think about the overall style and feel you would like to achieve. The handles you choose have a big influence on the overall feel of your kitchen and can tip the style one way or another.

For the purpose of this story, I have broken down kitchen styles into three broad categories: traditional, contemporary and transitional.

Degabriele Kitchens

Traditional
Traditional-style cabinets with profiled doors and ornate mouldings are really brought to life when adorned with decorative, old-world style handles like the ones shown here.

If you decide to use a drop handle on your drawers, then remember to select a matching knob to use on your doors.

Art of Kitchens Pty Ltd

Similarly, combining a cup handle with a matching knob creates a very sophisticated, yet still traditional, feel.

Urban Kitchens

Contemporary
Using a very simple, streamlined handle on minimalist-style cabinets with flat-fronted doors and drawer fronts invokes a very sleek, contemporary look.

Consider slim rectangular bar handles or softly curved barrel handles with clean lines. Also, look for handles that have flush ends (like the ones pictured here) as opposed to ends that stick out that you can catch your clothes or knees on as you walk around the kitchen.

See more contemporary kitchens

Kitchens by Kathie

A Combination
You may not want a completely traditional or contemporary feel in your kitchen – maybe somewhere in between suits your taste and the style of your home better.

These streamlined kitchen cabinets have a very contemporary minimalist feel, but the addition of more old-world style handles adds a traditional touch that ties the kitchen in with the formal dining setting in this home.

Kitchens by Kathie

Shaker-style cabinets are very versatile and the handles you choose can easily tip the style of these cabinets one way or another.

In this kitchen, the Shaker-style cabinets are very sleek, with clean modern lines. The handles are contemporary looking, but their curved shape adds a softer, more homely touch that perfectly ties in with the more traditional elements of this home – the plaster cornices, timber floors and tongue and groove walls.

AKL Designer Kitchens

Another option is to choose handles that are a similar style and finish as your appliance handles. In this kitchen, the cabinet handles are almost identical to those on the ovens.

The Kitchen Broker

The finish
Once you have chosen the style of handles you would like, determining the finish will be a lot easier. Traditional handles, for example, are available in a huge variety of finishes, from stainless steel to brass, pewter and even black.

Consider other feature elements of your kitchen design when choosing the finish (and style) of your handles. These black handles look so sophisticated on the light grey cabinets, and the colour ties in with the black hob as well as the black grout.

Provincial kitchens

In this kitchen, the cabinet handles have a porcelain feature that matches the handles on the sink taps. This really helps to tie the whole look of the kitchen together.

The Cabinet House

When deciding on a finish for your contemporary-style handles, again consider other elements in the kitchen. Polished chrome designs are very contemporary and stylish, and can be used alongside a polished chrome tap.

Similarly, brushed stainless-steel handles have a very sleek, modern appearance and can be matched to the stainless-steel finish on your appliances or sink.

Bradford Design LLC

Have a look at other, more unconventional finishes also – you may be surprised at what you find. These glass knobs create a real wow factor in this very ornate kitchen. Knobs are easily replaced, too, owing to the fact that you only need a screw hole in each door – so don’t be afraid to try something a bit different.

Kitchens by Kathie

Size
Some handles are available in various lengths. It’s really a personal choice and a matter of taste whether or not you mix handle lengths in your kitchen, however using the same length handle throughout, regardless of the length of the drawers you put them on, will create a less busy, more consistent look in the kitchen.

Try to go for an ‘in-between’ length handle that won’t look too short on long drawers or too long on shorter drawers. If you’re not sure how long is right, ask your kitchen designer or a supplier to suggest a size they would recommend based on the size of the cabinets in your kitchen.

Position
Ask your cabinet-maker/kitchen installer not to put the handles on until all of your cabinetry has been installed. This will give you an opportunity to stand in your new kitchen and hold your handles against the cabinet doors and drawers to try out different positions and heights. The general rule is that handles are placed horizontally on pull-out drawers and vertically on doors.

If you are creating a contemporary, streamlined look in your kitchen you could consider placing the handles horizontally on your doors also – but try out the feel of this first because it doesn’t feel as natural as opening a door with a vertical handle.

Also, make sure the handles are placed in a position where they won’t hit one another when you open your cabinets – this is something your kitchen designer should also consider if you’re adding handles to a new kitchen.

Danny Broe Architect

If you don’t want the handles to be too much of a feature in your kitchen then think about just having handles on all your base cabinets and drawers and keeping all your overhead doors free from handles. This is another way to create a less busy, more contemporary feel in your kitchen.

Art of Kitchens Pty Ltd

Totally no handles
If you would like your kitchen to be super contemporary and streamlined, consider having no handles at all on your cabinetry. This kitchen has a recessed lip at the top of each door and drawer front, which creates a channel that allows you to open them without handles. Be wary of crumbs and dust gathering in drawer channels like these.

Kitchens by Kathie

This kitchen is also completely handless, but in this case the doors and drawers are opened by a single push on them, so there is no need for a recessed lip.

Get ideas for personalising kitchen fixtures in a rented home

Art of Kitchens Pty Ltd

Push-to-open mechanisms (usually drilled into the carcass of your cabinetry) are a very simple and cost-effective way to open cabinet doors without handles.

TELL US…
What kind of handles do you like, and why? Share your thoughts and photos in the Comments below.

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11 Inspiring Ways to Style Open Kitchen Shelves

Admin 12.19 kitchen Add Comment

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11 Inspiring Ways to Style Open Kitchen Shelves- Open shelves are big style news in the kitchen and for good reason. Practically speaking, storing anything from recipe ingredients to pots and pans on open shelves keeps them easily accessible. Shelves also look less obtrusive than wall units and don’t seem to eat into space in the way wall-hung cupboards can.

When it comes to aesthetics, open shelves look wonderful, too, allowing you to display favourite pieces and bring colour and detail to the kitchen. The trick is to spend a little time styling them. A jumbled assortment of china, storage jars and pans can look scruffy, but by editing and organising what you place on your shelves, and keeping the rest out of sight in kitchen cupboards, they can become as much art installation as practical storage.

Lauren Liess Interiors

Go for a white out
A simple approach that never fails, arranging items according to one colour creates a coherent, unified look. Here, china of different shapes and sizes comes together to make an elegant display, thanks to its shared colourway.

DHV Architects

Build a recipe library
Shelves and books are a classic combination, and while we might keep our novels in the living room, recipe books belong in the kitchen. Arranging them on shelves that open out into adjoining space means the kitchen side of this deep unit is reserved for heavily used pans and crockery.

Artichoke

Celebrate a single material
This super serious cook’s kitchen celebrates that most cheffy of materials, copper. The beautiful range cooker was custom made from copper and stainless steel and the shelves are reserved exclusively for a large and gorgeously shiny collection of copper pans.

George Robinson Kitchens

Display patterned china
Kitchen shelves are a great place to display a collection of china. Choose pieces that have a vaguely culinary function – plates, jugs, small serving bowls – and have fun creating a colourful crowd of pieces, displayed across several shelves.

Day Shift Furniture

Think practically
When thoughtfully displayed, even utilitarian kitchen kit can look appealing, so don’t be afraid of reserving your shelves for purely practical objects. Position each item with a little space to breathe around it, rather than in a messy muddle, and the overall effect will be ordered and attractive.

Discover smart ways to keep the kitchen organised

Store dry goods
When stored in clear glass jars, many simple dried foods look really attractive. From rice and pasta, to colourful lentils and dried beans, food can make a lovely display. Source inexpensive glass jars and then pop a label on the back with the content’s use by date, before arranging on your shelves.

W. David Seidel, AIA - Architect

Create a monochrome scheme
Sticking to a neat scheme of black and white will give your shelves a feeling of order. This means you are then free to create a more jumbled, informal display, which will nevertheless look harmonious, thanks to the simple monochrome theme. A few items of glassware can also be incorporated. Here, dark wooden shelves help to anchor the look.

Tim Clarke Design

Reserve for pottery
A collection of earthenware looks beautiful arranged on open shelves. Large items can be lined up side by side, while small dishes look great stacked in little towers. This huge assortment of pottery looks particularly rustic and warm as it’s arranged on shelves sitting against a wood-panelled wall.

Contemporary Kitchen Contemporary Kitchen

Keep it tidy
A very neat, ordered arrangement of mainly white china creates a feeling of symmetry in this kitchen. Painting the wall behind the shelves in a dark shade helps the few items of china and glassware stand out and gives an even greater sense of the pieces being carefully curated.

Buckingham Interiors + Design LLC

Save the top for sculptures
It can be hard to reach the top shelf, so it’s not the best location for regularly used items. Instead, treat it as a space for displaying objects not necessarily associated with a kitchen. Anything goes, really – here, striking sculptures made from cymbals and wheels brings an eclectic edge to the all-white scheme.

Paul Craig Photography

Do a disappearing act
Open shelves can blend beautifully into a sleek, minimal kitchen, so long as you line them with items that match the room’s scheme. Here, a simple white kitchen contains white shelves with white and clear-glass pieces on them. These objects bring some ghostly shape and form to the space, but also seem to melt into their surroundings for a very subtle look.

See more cool, contemporary white kitchens

TELL US…
We’d love to see photos of your kitchen shelves in the Comments below.

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How to Work a Monochrome Kitchen Scheme

Admin 11.18 kitchen Add Comment

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How to Work a Monochrome Kitchen Scheme- While we’re all up to speed on the benefits of black and white bathrooms, did you know that monochrome kitchens are just as reliably chic in every period of home? From minuscule galley kitchens to large, open-plan family rooms, black and white is unavoidably clean-cut, fresh and uplifting, not just for the ultra-modernists among us but for those with more classic tastes. Here are 10 design ideas to inspire.

Thomas de Cruz Architects & Designers

Keep it simple
Open-plan living demands an easy-on-the-eye, restful palette and there’s no denying the classic, harmonious vibe that black and white can bring. With this monochrome kitchen offering such a calm, clutter-free look, there’s plenty of scope for injecting colour, personality and print throughout the rest of the room.

Browse 10 ways to nail an open-plan kitchen and living space

Boscolo Interior Design

Play around with texture
If plain monochrome is too flat for your design personality, throw in a hint of pattern (still sticking to the black and white theme) and even the plainest scheme can suddenly spark to life. There’s a real elegance to this kitchen thanks to the textural light shades and lacy wall panels adding depth and interest.

Juliette Byrne

Block it out
For modern apartments and studio flats, you can’t go wrong with an ultra-modern gloss kitchen in striking black and white. Use white on a bank of floor-to-ceiling cupboards so your storage melds into the background, then go all out on a fabulous high-shine, monolithic, black island for a jolt of glamour.

Colin Cadle Photography

Fall for a family-friendly scheme
Black and white kitchens with easy-to-clean, flat fronts are a family-friendly, stalwart for sure. This classic monochrome combo is unfussy and unpretentious, and a doddle to design. Accessorise with flashes of silvery appliances and giant chalkboards to enhance the feel-good factor.

See more cool and contemporary white kitchens

Synergy Property Group

Pepper with bold colour
Of course, another great reason to plump for a black and white kitchen is that monochrome offers the perfect neutral base for sprinkling in a vivid hue. Any paint-pot bright will work wonders, such as the toning hot fuchsia, neon pink and rich purple in this scheme.

hcdb.uk.com

Accent with black
White is, without doubt, one of the most effective design devices for making a small space appear larger. This petite kitchen has undergone a wraparound white job, with rich, dark wood timber floors adding contrast and depth. Scatter with a few black appliances for a fresh, modern tempo.

Glenvale Kitchens

Streamline your kitchen
Black and white is as unfussy as it gets and ideal for all you minimalists out there. Here, the slick, regimented lines are enhanced by the handle-free cupboards and faultless monochrome colour palette (with just a sneaky hint of red to pep things up).

Holme Design

Go for a classic look
A black and white palette might naturally suit a super-modern kitchen, but it’s also the perfect colour partnership for traditional designs. White Shaker-style cupboards with black worktops and accessories look completely at home in this traditional farmhouse kitchen amid the rustic beams and stone pavers.

LWK Kitchens London

Blend it in
Monochrome is also a great choice for large kitchens, as it can naturally harmonise different zones with ease. The enveloping white ceiling and walls unify the kitchen and dining areas, and allow the white units to blend into the room. The scheme is anchored with low-level black units and a matching island for a highly livable, un-kitcheny look.

Blakes London

Soften the look
If a black and white scheme is too brutal and unforgiving for your design palate, there are several ways to soften the look. Paint cupboards in a matt, velvety charcoal shade rather than a high-shine jet black, and choose a beautiful Carrara marble packed with natural veining rather than stark glossy white. To finish off, swap flashy silver taps and light fittings for warm metals, such as copper.

TELL US…
Are you a fan of black and white kitchens? Please share your thoughts in the Comments below.

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