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Buying and Selling HomesDilemas de diseñoCocina
kathleen_marie84

Help! Need advice on kitchen remodel

Kathleen Marie
el último año




I have orangey honey maple cabinets and need ideas or help with counters and floors to match rest of the open concept floor plan. I plan on putting lighting under the cabinets and island pendant lights. The current counter tops are black speckled formica and there is a hole in the countertop from 20 years of use. I’m not crazy about how the Classic Gray looks in kitchen. Thoughts on kitchen?

I’ve been looking at granite countertops and luxury vinyl floors. We plan on selling soon…. this year so not sure if it’s worth it to upgrade or what to do?. We live in a very desirable area in Southern NH. raised 4 children and just didnt have the means to upgrade. Rest of house has hardwood, rugs in bedrooms and old vinyl flooring.

Respuesta destacada
  • marmiegard_z7b
    el último año

    If selling this year or even next I would not go through the huge headache of choosing finishes and contractors and risks of disappointment or disputes, and even risk finding something that had to be disclosed.
    I would focus on super decluttering, even if need a storage unit ( unless you are able to move out before listing) and super deep- cleaning ( including hiring services). Yard cleanup. Light bulbs. Simple repairs of things that are annoying and of course anything identifiably dangerous.

    You can also usually get input from a realtor ( don’t share any details or hand- wringing) for some input on the market, your neighborhood.

    The only way I’d be thinking of any tweaks is if your area is having homes languish for months unless they have “something “ — not even sure what, but say, white walls or something. Or if you were to put in new formica, not for resale return but to move it quickly if counter were in such poor condition tgst it would seem not move- in ready.
    So input/ advice/ effort/$$ regarding time on market is something that I think about if I were moving out
    and would have to maintain the home from a distance— the worry , security, keeping checking on it ( with my former home , agents sometimes left back door or gate unlocked; we had to water some areas by hand through part of a severe summer; pay for yard upkeep etc).

    Comentarios (37)

    • PRO
      BRIAN LaFRENIERE | TACOMA REAL ESTATE
      el último año
      Última modificación: el último año

      Lots of potential in that size of a space and configuration. You said you're going to sell - is it totally necessary to update to be competitive in the market? I think a buyer will probably see the possibilities and gut the kitchen themselves, customize it as they will. Might not be worth the headache but if you had to for a quick update before selling within the affordable range - plank flooring, paint cabinets (Home Depot has a Behr cabinet/trim specific white paint, I find works great), update counters (quartz) and include undermount sink, new appliances.

      Kathleen Marie agradeció a BRIAN LaFRENIERE | TACOMA REAL ESTATE
    • chicagoans
      el último año

      As a buyer, I'd rather put my own money into a kitchen done my way, so I agree with the above: declutter, speak to a realtor, and price according to current condition. Note that a realtor may advise on many upgrades - the more you spend, the more they can sell for, and the higher their commission. So get a few opinions and ask about what absolutely needs to be done to sell. (Also, check out open houses and listings near you.)

      Kathleen Marie agradeció a chicagoans
    • Usuario de Houzz-918119203
      el último año

      The only thing I would MAYBE do if you are going to sell within a year is POSSIBLY replace the counter since it has a hole in it, and touch up paint and any minor repairs. The question of whether to replace the counter is based on whether the purchaser of your home is likely to keep the kitchen or gut it, which is market dependent. In my market, the kitchen would likely be gutted because home and land values justify it, so I'd just leave it be. Even in a desirable area of southern NH, though, it may well be the case that the end user would want to keep the basics of the kitchen, in which case I would say a functional countertop is necessary.

      Kathleen Marie agradeció a Usuario de Houzz-918119203
    • deegw
      el último año

      Real estate is local so what really matters is how your home compares to other homes for sale in your area. Will the competition in your price range have new granite and new luxury vinyl floors?

      A good real estate agent, (not one that will tell you to update everything so they get their commission more quickly) can help you run the numbers. The hole in your counter indicates that replacement might be needed but you might be able to get away with new Formica rather than granite.


      If it's decided that new counters and floors are needed, I would do a simple cream for your counters. For the floors, it would be difficult to match the existing wood floor so I would do a cream tile. Not too busy, not too dark. I really like the look of slate next to wood floors but I think it might be too dark for your space.




      Kathleen Marie agradeció a deegw
    • Barany Bahar
      el último año

      Just chang the cabinets color to white paint ur kitchen will change alot and some more lighting

    • Kathleen Marie
      Autor original
      el último año



      Excuse all the clutter. Thank you for all your feedback back. I’ve been following the market and homes for the last 4 years. If its a nice home around here, it gets bought quickly. Very desirable town and school system. Most homes of this size 2240 sq ft. have updated kitchens. I know it will sell anyways even if I dont update, just looking to get the most out of the sale. Most of the appliances are new, getting a new frig to replace black one. Really dont want to paint the cabinets. The black and white floor is bugging me lol. My husband says sell it the way it is.

      I also know i need to deep clean, declutter, and depersonalize . we bought a enclosed trailer to put our stuff in. I had the yard landscaped already, The house is in great condition for its age. My husband and I keep up with the maintenance constantly. I am pretty sure our house will sell quickly, almost had it sold by myself 3 years ago, but was unable to find a suitable home in time for the buyers.

      I think a cream colored floor would go well with the red oak floors, but will it tone down the orange?. Was contemplating doing vinyl hardwood but read it wouldn’t look good next to real hardwood floors. I guess i just need to decide if it’s worth it to shell out 4-5 grand. I also have a realtor coming out to give me a market analys…

    • Usuario de Houzz-918119203
      el último año

      Just remember that most home improvements recoup 70% or less on a sale. If you are confident your home will sell as-is, I'd leave it as-is. You might make more money gross on a sale with improvements, but when you deduct the broker fees and cost of making the improvements, it's tough to break even.

      Kathleen Marie agradeció a Usuario de Houzz-918119203
    • PRO
      Debbi Washburn
      el último año

      I would engage your realtor - they are the one who needs to bring the client that will give you your price. Every market is different as to what is desirable.

      Personally - I would do nothing except change the counter since you said it is damaged. Since it is laminate now, I would replace it with the same - no need for the extra expense.

      If the market is still hot there - you will get a good offer. Just clean everything and pack your stuff up.

      Good luck and happy moving!

      Kathleen Marie agradeció a Debbi Washburn
    • Linda
      el último año

      I think it's very nice as it is now. Everything, including the floor, is cohesive. Beware asking for a realtor's opinion because the higher the sales price, the higher their commission. The only way you stand a chance to recoup your investment in an upgrade is if you can DIY and you get great pricing on materials. Also beware that you may find problems if you start tearing things apart and then you'll either be on the hook to fix them or disclose a known problem to buyers.


      I sold a 40-year-old inherited house last year and did nothing but clean. The buyer (who paid over asking price) appreciated that he could take his time and update as time and budget permits. He removed some popcorn ceilings and painted, and recarpeted the bedrooms before moving in. I could not have done that myself (bad back) and the cost to hire someone, plus the time that would have taken, would have delayed the sale at a time of rising interest rates. Within 2 days of hitting the market, I had 5 offers over asking price, all competitive with recent neighborhood sales. I have no regrets.



      Kathleen Marie agradeció a Linda
    • eld6161
      el último año

      You have nothing to lose by putting it on as is and see the interest. Be realistic in pricing.

      It looks like a well kept home and while dated, it is still move in ready.

      A hole in the counter would not be a deal breaker, if everything else is up to speed.


      Kathleen Marie agradeció a eld6161
    • Kendrah
      el último año

      Can you please show a close up of what the hole looks like, how big it is, and where on the counter it is located? There are products you can use to patch formica and blend the color. That might be an option depending on size and location.


      1.) Don't listen to any realtor. Even my friends who are smart realtors have warped perspectives. You've done your homework, you know which houses have sat on the market in your desirable location and why and how to make your home not be one of them.


      2.) Don't put in new floors and likely not new counters. Your new buyer will rip them out anyway and put in what they want. You will not recoup your money.


      3.) Do price your home accordingly. If other homes in your area are identical but with new kitchens, price your home a bit lower. You will get bids. Someone who thinks your neighborhood is just out of their price range will buy your home for a tad bit less and not care about your kitchen.


      4.) Do get out of your house at least 1/4 to 1/2 of your furniture, belongings, and wall art. Your space will photograph much better.


      5.) . Don't subscribe to the advice "You have nothing to lose by putting it on as is and see the interest." The big loss is you'll have the history of a house that was listed and has no interested buyers. That leads to raised eyebrows from buyers thinking why didn't this house sell. You are being smart by asking the right questions, doing four years of homework and taking the time to put your optimally repaired and correctly priced house on the market.


      I did all of these things an my home got 4 offers in 24 hours and had a bidding war that included offers to wave inspection. Meanwhile, the nearly identical home three doors down sat on the market for 8 weeks because they spent money fixing the wrong things and listed their house too high because they were justifying money spent on newly painted cabinets and new counters.


      Kathleen Marie agradeció a Kendrah
    • Kathleen Marie
      Autor original
      el último año

      Thank you Kendrah! I do plan on taking out half the furniture. I’ve been reading alot about home staging as well. It will be worth it to just buy a few new pieces of neutral wall art instead of my prefrence. I will not sell “as is” just like you say. It’s not a fixer upper, It is still in great shape and move in ready just not updated. 3 bedrooms 3 baths large kitchen, pantry and mudroom. Super clean home. There is emotion in selling your home and I think part of the wanting to upgrade is me being a little disapointed In never getting a chance to do it myself and to me the kitchen isn’t pleasing to the eye after the fresh coat of paint. My husband and I are both very handy and have always maintained the upkeep.

    • Kathleen Marie
      Autor original
      el último año
      Última modificación: el último año





      Kendrah , Here you go. Small hole in counter top covered with tape. Seem separating in corner.

    • Kathleen Marie
      Autor original
      el último año

      Also what color kitchen countertops if replaced? I’m thinking either an off white/cream, black or grey. white might seem to stalk with the maple cabinets?

    • Kathleen Marie
      Autor original
      el último año




      These are the pieces of granite I was given for samples. I could have the counters replaced @ $42.00 per sq. ft. which is very reasonsble. just not sure which one.

    • la_la Girl
      el último año
      Última modificación: el último año

      All great advice above - the floor is bossy so I would not add a speckled/busy counter as they won’t complement each other (those samples make the floor look really yellow) - truly I would leave it and see if you get feedback about the counter condition when you put it on the market (you could always include an allowance) -


      ETA the far right is not bad with the floor but hard to tell bc it is a small sample and might not be what actually shows up at your house for install


      I think a nice simple black soapstone would look nice but def not worth your $$ to put it in

      Kathleen Marie agradeció a la_la Girl
    • Lorraine Leroux
      el último año

      Leave it unless there is no interest. You will not get your money back from upgrading to granite since someone will certainly replace that floor and choose their own counters or even tear out the cabinets and replace. Why spend and lose money.

      Kathleen Marie agradeció a Lorraine Leroux
    • thinkdesignlive
      el último año

      I agree that a soapstone looking charcoal counter in laminate would be best if you plan to sell.

    • Usuario de Houzz-918119203
      el último año

      If you want to update your home, wait until you have a new home that you're going to stay in for a while! You're not likely to get the money back here, and the three months or whatever of enjoying new counters isn't worth thousands of dollars. Selling a home is undeniably emotional, but you need to check emotions at the door when making financial decisions about how to proceed.

      Kathleen Marie agradeció a Usuario de Houzz-918119203
    • deegw
      el último año
      Última modificación: el último año

      FWIW, if I were looking at real estate photos and saw the floor I would be suspicious that items that I couldn't see weren't updated or maintained. HVAC, chimney inspections, etc.

      Based on your comments, that is clearly not the case but people looking at real estate photos won't be privy to this thread.

      There is no need to replace it with something expensive but something more neutral that doesn't highlight the age of the home might be better. Again, that would depend on your local real estate market.

    • AnnKH
      el último año
      Última modificación: el último año

      deegw, we kept meticulous records of all the home maintenance and improvement we did in the 31 years we owned our home (thanks, Mom, for sharing with me your home maintenance notebook!). No one looking at the house had to wonder how old the garage door opener was, or when the furnace was last serviced. We bought the house new, so the entire history was available.

    • deegw
      el último año

      Ann, as I said, I know based on your comments that maintenance is not an issue. I'm saying that if I were flipping through real estate photos and saw a 20-year-old floor, it would make me wonder. YMMV.

    • Linda
      el último año

      You better not come to our house or you'll see old flooring LOL. We replaced the roof 8 years ago, furnace & a/c 9 years ago, both garage door openers, front door, updated the kitchen last year, plus lighting and interior paint. I'd be much more suspicious of what looks like a cheaply done flip than some finishes that are out of date.

      Kathleen Marie agradeció a Linda
    • btydrvn
      el último año

      Has anyone mentioned arriving at an estimate of the cost of what you would do for updates…and using up to that amount as a possible reduction in negotiations?..

      Kathleen Marie agradeció a btydrvn
    • btydrvn
      el último año

      It looks like your setting is an asset..if possible putting it on the market in the season when it looks best..could be a consideration as well..

      Kathleen Marie agradeció a btydrvn
    • btydrvn
      el último año

      Deck treatments and nice seating..even a little shade element if needed…is a draw to many people

    • Kathleen Marie
      Autor original
      el último año

      btydryn Do you mean outside deck treatment?

    • snappity
      el último año

      I would be less nervous about 20 year old flooring that was well maintained than new flipper gray LVP - the latter would make me wonder what they were covering up. before we gave up on finding a new house, my ’dream kitchen’ was ”dated but doable” - it would’ve allowed us to renovate to our own specifications and feel no guilt about tearing out a newer white on white kitchen (which would be a turnoff for me, even though it’s considered a universal favorite.)

      Kathleen Marie agradeció a snappity
    • cpartist
      el último año

      First of all your kitchen is absolutely fine. If I was in the market to buy up there, I'd be quite happy with that kitchen for the time being. It's clean and well maintained.

      If the hole is really noticeable, then replace your counters with the least expensive material. If that's formica, use formica. If it's granite, then use granite. Of the granite samples, choose the black or the dark gray one. The others don't work!

      Otherwise do nothing else other than clean and declutter. Nothing on top of the fridge or on the fridge. Only one or two small items on the counter (paper towel holder and knife block).

      And when I say clean, make sure around door knobs, light switches etc are clean with no fingerprints, etc. When I say clean, I also mean make sure closets are 1/2 empty, garage is practically emtpy, pantry is mostly empty, etc. Rent a storage locker if you need to. Once you put the house on the market, you have to change your mindset to "it's no longer your house" and it's just a showcase.

      I sold an 1898 house in the middle of the recession in 2010. I had replaced my old formica countertops with black slate look formica counters in an expensive area. I also had painted the rooms that needed it. Made sure everything was in working order and did what I suggested above about cleaning and decluttering.

      We had one full bathroom and 2 powder rooms for a 4 bedroom house and the house was 3600 square feet and had no garage! In our town (population approx 10,000) our house was the only one that sold that year and it sold for a very good price.

      Kathleen Marie agradeció a cpartist
    • Kathleen Marie
      Autor original
      el último año

      Cpartist, Thank you! I keep navigating towards the black or gray sample too if I decide to change the counters. Open concept has just been painted recently with BM classic gray, Going to do the bedrooms next and more decluttering for sure! We built the house and are the original owners. Putting 4 kids through college took president over upgrading. Although we do have new windows/ new driveway/ new hot water furnace etc. The important stuff. My grown children and friends say I'm freakishly clean.

    • cat_ky
      el último año
      Última modificación: el último año

      I agree with cpartist. There is nothing about your kitchen that would bother me, except maybe the hole in the countertop. I saw cream mentioned in this post. NO, thats not a color that will look good with your cabinets, or most anything else in your kitchen. The black you have is a perfect color for what is in the kitchen now. I would redo in black formica, if you really have to change it. It looks clean and it looks maintained, and thats what buyers want. If I were looking to buy, I would buy it, and would actually prefer it over some of the newly done ones, that are all white and hospital like.

    • PRO
      LilDesignWorks
      el último año

      I agree with the above opinion. If you want to sell do nothing. You will not recoup your investment. Most buyers will rip out all you do anyways.

    • AJCN
      el último año
      Última modificación: el último año

      A lot of people want to buy a home that has not been renovated because they want to be the one to choose everything. You probably won't re-coup your money.


      My Dad sold his house a few years ago. A young inexperienced Realtor (my sister's friend) came over and by the time they finished walking the house, she had talked him into a full $250 K renovation. After she left, I talked to him and he decided to declutter, donate a lot, clean, get carpets and tile pro cleaned, touch up paint, wash house and driveway, tidy up the yard a little bit and replace any dead plants. All told he spent less than $5,000 which also included hiring a handyman with a trailer to haul stuff to the donation centers and recycling/dump. He sold the house in 1 day, multiple offers above asking. If you're not sure about your housing market, talk to an experienced Realtor about it, not a newbie.

      Kathleen Marie agradeció a AJCN
    • btydrvn
      el último año

      It seems like timing may be the biggest consideration at this point..?…if this is the best time of year to sell…put it on the market as is…if response is disappointing you can always go back to considering upgrades…you can continue to explore and educate yourself so you are more informed on costs and timeframes …for upgrades….if you decide to take that course……lastly,…i cant remember ….if you have a quick sale ….do you have a plan in place for moving ?

      Kathleen Marie agradeció a btydrvn
    • cpartist
      el último año
      Última modificación: el último año

      Putting 4 kids through college took president over upgrading. Although we do have new windows/ new driveway/ new hot water furnace etc. The important stuff.

      And make sure your RE agent emphasizes that!

      In my adult life, I've bought 2 old houses and one condo. All three had one thing in common. They had dated interiors, but all the important stuff was updated so the houses and condo were sound.

      My grown children and friends say I'm freakishly clean.

      When we sold our condo, one of the comments we heard about was a couple who came into the condo and the wife complained about how clean and neat the place was. Her husband turned to her and said, yes that's because you can't keep anything clean.

      I made sure to wipe down the faucets, etc before anyone came to see the condo, and the two houses we sold too.

      Oh and that house we sold in 2010? The cabinets were from the 1950's or 60's. The kind that were built in place and when you opened the doors you could see the back wall.

      Bottom line is you'll never recoup the money you put into the house trying to appeal to a fictional buyer.

      Kathleen Marie agradeció a cpartist
    • cheri127
      el último año

      I agree with cpartist. People care are about the mechanicals and structural aspects of the house and an experienced realtor will include your updates in the listing. I woudn't do a thing but a deep clean, declutter and maybe paint depending on the condition of the walls. I sold my mother's house last year that was in dire need of redecorating (old discolored wall paper with borders etc!) and my brother smoked in it for over five years. However, she was scrupulous about maintaining the mechanicals. Her house sold in 2 days for asking price, inspection waived. If it doesn't sell in a few weeks, take it off the market and do some cosmetic stuff. And don't take the realtor's word as gospel. Some are more honest then others.


      I also agree with the person who said the putting in new LVP wood look plank in the kitchen would make me more suspect than leaving the floor as is.

      Kathleen Marie agradeció a cheri127
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