which granite to sell house?
We are getting ready to sell our house. We currently have cream Formica. Our cabinets are gel stained Georgian cherry. We are trying to decide between regular Saint Cecilia and Saint Cecilia white. The latter looks like a match made in Heaven with the cabinets and provides a great contrast, but I am a bit worried that the burgundy/purple flecks might be off-putting to a potential buyer. The former is still a good match but somewhat darker and just more ordinary. Thoughts? Our most likely buyer would be a retired couple moving up to northern Arizona.
Comentarios (82)
Carla
Autor originalhace 7 añosHome Interiors with Ease, thank you for your kind words. I admit to being surprised by the level of harshness, but oh well. Regarding the floors, the are currently 12 inch vinyl tiles and are really worn out. The kitchen, laundry room, and all 3 baths have the same stuff. we would love to do 18 or 24 inch tiles, but time and money are getting in the way, so after talking with several friends who say they are very satisfied, we are looking at the click-lock vinyl planks in a stone look. I am finding the selection quite limited when I exclude the wood look, but those are out of the question because the adjoining family room has maple-colored Pergo so I don't want a non-matching wood. I would certainly prefer real materials like real wood if I could.
PROHome Interiors with Ease
hace 7 añosCarla the click lock vinyl will transform the space without breaking the bank...just go with the stone look. With the least pattern and lightest color...what design did you think about using? I could take a look if that would help:)
Carla
Autor originalhace 7 añosThanks so much. I have looked at Home Depot and Floor and Decor but haven't settled on anything yet. I wanted to get the granite question settled first followed by paint. I was planning on SW accessible beige, but when I got a sample of it, I really didn't like the way it looked here, so I am trying out kilim beige, Irish cream, and lightweight beige now. I think grays don't go as well with the AZ landscape as they do elsewhere.- PRO
Home Interiors with Ease
hace 7 añosSW worldly gray...it is a warm gray no blue undertones...my entire interior is painted in it..it literally gives with everything!
- PRO
Home Interiors with Ease
hace 7 añosCarla...Saint Cecilia white is a very nice very common granite that goes great with dark cabinets and White...I am sure your buyers will like it...I have been in new builds for sale with thus combination.
D. L.
hace 7 añosI like the white.
Though I have to say that most of the people I have talked to lately have suddenly transitioned to wanting quartz. I don't know if that is true everywhere or not. I just know that it is true where I live.
Carla
Autor originalhace 7 añosThanks, D.L. I know what you mean about quartz, but if we still do something rather just leave it per the advice of so many above, I am thinking in our small town and with our ranch style house that granite is more universally liked.D. L.
hace 7 añosI would like to hear if it works.
I am pondering Wilsonart laminate I think it is called Spring Carnival versus that exact white granite versus a plain white quartz.
The laminates look so good nowadays that I am looking at those first, but the white version of the granite you chose is my second choice. The quartz is the most maintenance free and the one all the people with money are telling me to get. The Wilsonart is the one all the poor people are telling me to get and I went to Home Depot and was fooled by it even from a closer distance, but it does "feel" different.
- PRO
Home Interiors with Ease
hace 7 añosÚltima modificación: hace 7 añosVery siimilar to mine but I have White cabinets...
Carla
Autor originalhace 7 añosDL our neighbors just put in new high end laminate, and while it looks nice, in my opinion it doesn't look like real stone at all. Several people have told me how much they love their quartz, and I think it would be great in a more modern kitchen. Personally, though, I really love the warmth of granite. I just wish I could have afforded to do it for our own enjoyment instead of now when we are looking to sell.Carla
Autor originalhace 7 añosWell, Joseph, it would be hard to go to my mom for sympathy since she passed away not long ago, but thanks for trying.- PRO
Home Interiors with Ease
hace 7 añosJoseph Colette LLC.....I hope you don't talk to clients like that when face to face because you wouldn't have a job! For some reason on line people talk so rude things they would never say to a person when giving advice..please try to filter before you type.
So sorry Carla:(
suedonim75
hace 7 añosÚltima modificación: hace 7 añosNo, laminate won't look like real stone, but it would be fine in your kitchen. You really will be wasting your money installing granite. A buyer will probably end up gutting the kitchen. It's hard to hear your your work being criticized, but granite won't help the kitchen, it has too many negatives.
Lisa G
hace 7 añosIf you're sure you want to replace the counters, I would definitely do the whiter granite choice. Give your cabinets a detailed cleaning as they look pretty dirty and dusty in the photos. I agree with you to wait on the floors until the counters are done. If you do replace the floor please hire it out...it's not wise to DIY things before selling...a buyer wants to know it's been done correctly.
Carla
Autor originalhace 7 añosLisa, thank you. Yes, they are dusty right now because we just hired drywallers to come in and do the ceiling after we took out the big fluorescent lights. We put in daylight recessed LEDs and nice pendant lights.Carla
Autor originalhace 7 añosI am really surprised by the vast suppositions some of you are making about our kitchen, house, and base of knowledge based on a few quick snapshots. My husband worked his way through college doing everything from painting to drywall to tiling to welding gorgeous fences and gates. We took flat oak cabinets, added oak corner moulding and rope moulding over that, created the corner blocks, and used Georgian cherry gelstain. We also removed the cabinets between the kitchen and family room, opening up the space and brightening the kitchen. We installed new white (yikes--not stainless?) stove and dishwasher. We took down yucky old fluorescent lights and replaced them with daylight LED recessed lights and nice pendant. Now all we have left are the counters, the paint, and the floors. Not everyone here has a million dollar house. I am exasperated by those of you who call yourselves pros but have made some huge assumptions with no knowledge of our particulars. My original question was simple--which of these two granite colors would look better with cherry cabinets. I was asking for opinions, not condescension.- PRO
Home Interiors with Ease
hace 7 añosCarla...you and your husband have worked hard and I promise you....it will sell your home faster and you can be proud of the makeover.
Emily Jowers
hace 7 añosI think the white one would look nice with your cabinets and improve the whole look of your kitchen. I think your cabinets look nice and I'm impressed you did it yourself. Everyone has different opinions and different areas of the country have different styles, so don't worry if people don't like it. Focus on what people in your area would like. If you have a potential buyer, you could ask them which counter they like since it could be their home. They might be excited to see that you are willing to upgrade things for them or they may ask you not to. Could help decide what direction to go.
I don't know your price range, but here's a few click vinyls that I think could look nice in the kitchen. Can't see the other spaces though so you'll have to judge. They are all a similar color that I think would work well with your cabinets.
This one is kinda similar to what you have now: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Islander-12-in-x-36-61-in-x-0-15-in-Venetian-Sand-Grout-Line-Luxury-Vinyl-Tile-15-26-sq-ft-case-30-2-009/205809334
Here are some laminates:
The gray might look nice with the white granite. This one is also available in lighter colors: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Innovations-Ashen-Avenue-11-5-mm-Thick-x-15-45-in-Wide-x-46-56-in-Length-Click-Lock-Laminate-Flooring-19-98-sq-ft-case-FL40004/300567262
Really long...Sorry!
D. L.
hace 7 añosCarla, I agree about the warmth of granite. The Home Depot near me has a few Wilsonart model kitchens out and there are a few, though very few, of their finishes which look strikingly like granite. One is so shiny and smooth that I stood there going back and forth between the two displays. There are only a few though with that smooth shiny surface.
D. L.
hace 7 añosGranite - you get more bang for your buck visually, but the wealthier people around me probably got burned with it or something, because they really have changed to Quartz and I was on a thread on here where it was the same results.
D. L.
hace 7 añosI am wondering who sets the trends - whether it is Property Brothers or sites like this or design magazines.... that trends suddenly switch in such a random way. After years of watching HGTV and all of them used granite for every episode, suddenly they were doing some with quartz, too.
tqtqtbw
hace 7 añosÚltima modificación: hace 7 añosI think the trends pop up when home sales increase. People want to do something different. If they buy a house with granite from a prior trend phase, they might consider quartz. If you insist on installing granite, put in the lighter, more neutral one. It would look fine with your cabinets and also work if the buyer wanted to paint the cabinets white.
tqtqtbw
hace 7 añosBTW, we just put in St. Cecila with Jacobean cabinets and a light backsplash last summer. I wanted a very light granite but hubby will not stop putting his coffee spoon on the counter. Since we have lived in our house 20+ year and plan to never move, I went with the choice that preserves the peace. :-)
Carla
Autor originalhace 7 añosThank you, everyone. It looks like the consensus among those who think granite is worth doing is the St. Cecilia white, which is my husband's and my preference as well. However, many of you have made us ponder the possibility of offering potential buyers an allowance to choose their own stone counter tops or just price it a bit lower. When we bought the house almost 10 years ago, we bought it from the family of the couple who had owned it since it was new. We have done quite a bit to it but never had the time or money to do everything we had planned. Much of the value is in the land and the lovely view of Sedona. It's a nice house, but it isn't a fancy house. I appreciate all of your insights. Okay, I appreciate most of your insights. ;-)
leelee
hace 7 añosMost prospective buyers would rather have an allowance than someone else's taste that doesn't gel with theirs.
The cabinets are a perfect example. The work on the cabinets is good but it is not what most people want. So for selling the house, it's wasted effort. A couple of coats of white enamel paint would have probably been a better choice.
We are trying to save you money and effort.
PROCancork Floor Inc.
hace 7 añosIf you insist on continuing with the counter/flooring then I HIGHLY recommend you find the floor AND the counter top AT THE SAME TIME. Here's some hints to look for:
Cherry works with BLUE!!! And a "crisp" white is white with quite a bit of BLUE in it (cool huh?). If I HAD to spend $15K on this kitchen, I would choose a CRISP white counter (as white as you can stand it....like "overly whitened" teeth...the one's that glow "blue/white"). And then I would find a pretty white/blue/gray floor to match. Done.
You've already expressed the how hard it is to find "budget" vinyl-stone looking products (as soon as you get out of the Big Box stores, the sooner you find DOZENS of options). But the reverse is true with GRANITE! There are THOUSANDS of granites out there. It is only logical to find a floor FIRST and then a granite you can live with.
I HIGHLY recommend you look for flooring TOGETHER with the granite. And as someone who doesn't like dark kitchens, nor heavily accented doors, nor yellow granite, I can honestly tell you that I would not wish to purchase an updated kitchen with your choices. Even if it is at the lower end of the scale, I would bargain HARD to get some SERIOUS discounts.
I would bargain hard to get discounts with the kitchen as-is. And I would bargain JUST AS HARD if the gold granite and dark cherry cabs + vinyl floors were on offer. In other words, you would lose more money to me because I would bargain hard to get a $30K discount due to the kitchen - no matter what you did to the counters and the floors.
You can SPEND $15K to get a newer kitchen and still lose $30K (a total loss of $45K) or you can simply lose $30K (a total loss of $30K). This is what we are trying to point out.
I wish you luck. If you want to do flooring+counters then shop for them at the same time...and CRISP WHITE goes nicely with cherry.
Carla
Autor originalhace 7 añosCancord Floor, insist is the wrong word, but what you say about looking for the two together makes sense to me. FYI, the amount we are expecting to spend based on quotes from granite fabricators/installers, flooring by the square foot plus underlayment, etc., is much, much smaller than your figures. I will certainly take the idea of crisp white into account as well, though a blue-white would definitely not go well with the white Saint Cecilia if we go that route.
PROLinda
hace 7 añosIn my experience, the most value for pre-sale work is fixing broken items like dripping taps or cracked windows, cleaning and painting. Extra bright lightbulbs, shiny clean windows, and fresh paint do wonders for updating a house.
Once you start changing out dated portions, you have opened Pandora's Box and you just can't slam it shut again. Every time you do something, the next item just becomes glaringly obvious. Update that and you find another, just like finding rocks in a lake every time the water level drops.
I like bluish gray paint against the dark cabinets. I find that is one of the few colors which looks quite nice against both stained wood trim and white painted trim.
Carla
Autor originalhace 7 añosThank you, Leelee. We did the cabinets for ourselves prior to any plans of moving. In fact, they make me smile every time I see them and I wish we could take them with us. We are giving serious thought to the idea of leaving the counters as they are as I mentioned, but the floors simply must be replaced.
- PRO
Home Interiors with Ease
hace 7 añosWow Carla...for some reason this thread has really put a bee and some people's bonnet!! I am amazed with some of the posts you have received...and people seem very angry for some reason...you are really handeling all this quite well I must say:))
Carla
Autor originalhace 7 añosThanks, Linda. I know what you mean about Pandora's Box for sure. We are definitely taking care of all the little repairs that need to be done as well, and we will be very thorough in cleaning. I will admit to being rather terrified of trying to sell the house in a slow market with small children and what that will mean on a day-to-day basis to keep the house in perfect order while actually living in it.
Carla
Autor originalhace 7 añosI know, Julie. This is the first time I have ever posted on Houzz, and it seems to require a degree of courage I would not have thought necessary! Thank you so much for your kind words and support and helpful ideas. I really appreciate it, especially the knowledge that white St. Cecilia is in no way weird or to be avoided.
- PRO
Home Interiors with Ease
hace 7 añosI have been very active on house for about a year...and most are very helpful and kind with the advice and suggestions..usually it is the Pro's that are tough on each other on a thread..just crazy not sure why your thread has attracted the ornery ones!LOL:))
Remember that most people really don't want a Fixer upper and want to just move in and enjoy... and get Setteled in. After living there for a while will figure out what they love and what they want to change but I do believe first impressions sell homes.... If that wasn't true I wouldn't be hired all the time to stage homes!
- PRO
Linda
hace 7 añosCarla - Don't let the process of selling your home get you overly stressed - your children can do that all by themselves! (Right?) When you look at the Houzz site, you are talking with a small set of people who tend to be much more concerned with the details of their home than the average person.
Every property will sell at some point, for the right price. Unusual properties may take quite a while to find the buyer who appreciates the uniqueness, but it will happen if the owner is reasonable with the pricing. Not every buyer wants a designer's masterpiece with the high pricetag and the maintenance requirements. Many buyers want to be comfortable in the house without becoming a slave to the house that owns them.
If you have a clean and comfortable house with a fabulous lot and views, that is what you are selling and there are a lot of buyers who would desire that property. If you are in one of the subdivisions of similar style homes, your only hope of distinguishing the property is by updates and improvements to the house itself. Figure out your house's best features and play them up with great listing photos and let the buyers find the downsides when they come for the viewing. If your house isn't a cookie cutter property, your goal with the listing is to get a large number of buyers walking through the door.
I'm not a fan of allowances for items which are functional as it opens the door to price negotiations after the initial offer. Do you want a buyer to come back at inspection and ask for an additional $1500 as they can't find countertops they like for the allowance amount? Let fussy buyers offer less money if they don't like the countertops. If the buyer is thinking of totally redoing the kitchen, they won't be upset by the old countertops.
Carla
Autor originalhace 7 añosLinda, you are right of course regarding stress. We have done this several times before, but each time we've sold a house, we have rented before buying a new one, and we are hoping to avoid that this time around while simultaneously going from a slow market to a fast-paced one. What you say about the risks of allowances makes sense too. However, I think it is safe to say that we are trying to bring the kitchen up to par with the rest of the house. Much to think about.
User
hace 7 añosYou are not detaching emotionally from your space. You're viewing it all from a personal likes and dislikes lens. This is not ''your home'' anymore. It is a future buyer's home. And the market doesn't care about your attachment to the home or your emotions. The market is impersonal. It won't care how much work you put into a transformation if the market doesn't want old cherry cabinets and granite.
You really should post on the Buying and Selling Real Estate Forum if you want the guidance of realtors and other folks who will help you maximize the appeal for a minimal amount of effort. You're putting too much money and too many emotions in the smallest and least expensive home in the neighborhood for this to end well.
hatetoshop
hace 7 añosÚltima modificación: hace 7 añosThere's all sorts of buyers -- those who will gleefully gut a kitchen so don't care if there's new counters; those who will appreciate a new counter while they save for a kitchen reno; and those who don't care one way or another.
A new counter could very well help sell the house quickly, and that might be a major consideration for you. Good luck with the sale!
Carla
Autor originalhace 7 añosSophie Wheeler, actually you are mistaken in many of your assumptions, reading tidbits of what I have said and extrapolating in error. I am really not especially attached to this house, and I actually don't think it is unreasonable to consider spending about 1% of the property value on counter tops and approximately 2-3% on renovations overall. I have consulted realtors as well. This is only one of about 30 decisions we have to make as we prepare our house for sale. This is just one house of quite a few we have owned. We have always done well buying, fixing up, and selling houses. You appear to have very strong opinions, and I appreciate your insights, but many of them are not in keeping with the facts.
PROWilsonart
hace 7 añosCarla, there are many different options/brands to choose from when considering the product to use as your kitchen counter top. Since you are selling the house, I was wondering if Laminate would be an option? The reason I ask is due to the fact laminates have come a long way since the 70's. In addition to that, Wilsonart offers custom edges that hide the "brown line" effect that laminates are notorious for. I am providing a link to the Wilsonart website that will take you to the product availability page of a design called Spring Carnival. Should you choose to visit the website, I would recommend reviewing the pictures that show the Wilsonart finished products. The link is as follows: http://www.wilsonart.com/laminate/design-library/spring-carnival-1876. The custom edges Wilsonart offers come in two profiles, bevel and crescent. If you have any questions, we can be reached on the Wilsonart Hotline at 1-800-433-3222. Good luck with your project!!
tqtqtbw
hace 7 añosIf I were preparing a house for sale with your cabinets, I would put a light neutral tile down in the kitchen. A porcelain that looks like travertine. If the counters were in good shape, I would leave them. If not, the light granite. Make sure the light bulbs are bright enough. I didn't see anything about the your relative selling price range, but for me, click tile in the kitchen is going the first day. If no time/budget for tile, I would rather see a nice light colored sheet vinyl that would be easy to for the buyer to update. I agree that the commenters are trying to get the best for you and not agree to waste your money.
PRONexus Realty
hace 7 añosWe would highly recommend the lighter colored one. Yellowish tones are becoming a thing of the past as we hear from clients often! The brighter the space, the larger it feels, therefore giving off an open, airy, modern feel.
akabal
hace 7 añosOut of the two samples, I like the one or right (whiter one). My kitchen in in cherry as well, and I went with granite called Bianca Antico...and I love it. (see photo). Not everyone is into white cabinets, with quart countertop and grey walls (in my opinion the loook is overdone). I am in my late 30s, and prefer the look of natural stone. We have completely redone our kitchen, and I picked this look. Looking at your photo, I would recommend giving your cabinets good wash and polish. I also think that backsplash would enrich your kitchen. The wall colour has to be less warm/yellow, more on a cool side. As someone posted above, crisp white/blue white looks the best...and I see it in my kitchen as well.
akabal
hace 7 añosI would also change your handles, go for a more sleeker look, simple rectangular pulls looks more modern, in my opinion.
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