Kitchen Upgrades That Sell Well:
Home design trends for 2013 offer great ideas to upgrade your kitchen.
An up-to-date Twin Cities or renovated Wayzata home and kitchen is a must for today's everyday lifestyles seeking more efficient and enjoyable times at home. If considerations of selling your home are in plans, an upgraded kitchen will be a lead point for potential home buyers and give you an edge-up as the home of top choice. Whether you hope to sell your home in the near future or plan to stay and enjoy it yourself, a kitchen remodel incorporating the following kitchen upgrades will add value to your home equity. Destiny Homes offers ideas for your Minneapolis kitchen update.
Upgraded Kitchens Pay Off In Terms Of A Higher Quality of Life
Remodels Magazine annual survey of cost vs value helps homeowners avoid sticker shock when it comes to making home upgrades. The survey isn't based on how long homeowners plan to stay in the home, which is key in considering a Minneapolis home improvement project. "When you’re truly remodeling your house to fit your lifestyle, you do so to increase your quality of life and enjoyment in your home," Butch Sprenger says. "Cost is secondary. If you’re planning to live in the same home five years or more, then upgrading your kitchen, where you spend so much time, will pay for itself in ease and the pleasure of daily use."
Kitchen Remodel Project Cost Recouped If The Home Is Sold
If you plan on living in your home at least five year, cost is relative to your enjoyment of kitchen upgrades. Dollar costs of home remodeling are secondary to the quality of life gains. However, if you are embarking on kitchen upgrades to sell your home faster, there are a few cost guidelines. Costs vary by location: area home values fluctuate and material cost are determined by local suppliers. On the high end, Zillow at one point said a kitchen upgrade in 200-square-foot kitchen with 30 linear feet of cabinetry could offer a 98.2% recoup in cost per value. Remodelers Magazine comes up with a median estimate costs vs value for a Twin Cites area kitchen remodel at $65,500 will have a resale of $41,029 at a ratio of 62.6% recoup.
Custom Kitchen Countertops:
Upgrading your kitchen workspaces by replacing the countertops to a natural stone like granite. A luxury kitchen remodel look can be obtained at a fraction of the usual cost if a remnant will fit your needs. Numerous green countertop materials continue to emerge for consumer choices with both the sustainability and style to appeal to potential buyers and help your home sell well. Man-made, engineered stone materials made from acrylic and/or polyester resins bind with 93% crushed stone obtain more consistent color and pattern. They are nearly impossible to stain and are non-porous with excellent scratch resistance, and handle heat well. Homeowner counter upgrades can choose from quartz-based stone (Cambria), marble (CompacMarble), and limestone (Terrestone).
Kitchen Accessories That Add Polish
Destiny Homes Designer Liz Sprenger re-accessorizes cabinetry in a myriad of ways to create functional and unique features for your kitchen. Adding crown molding to existing cabinets can accentuate the architectural detailing of your home's style and give your kitchen a luxury look. New cabinet hardware, featuring unique pulls can take a kitchen to a new level. Installing new knobs, pulls, and cabinet hinges with trendy replacements adds tremendous personality. From sleek and modern to classic and ornate, kitchen hardware upgrades refresh the entire look of a kitchen.
An Open Modern Kitchen
Some kitchens may seem closed off from the rest of the house and benefit from being opened up. Removing a non-weight bearing wall, or enlarging a doorway can make a kitchen space seem larger than its floor plan previously suggested. If a wall seems very much "in the way" and is necessary for the structural soundness of the home, a pass through option may serve the purpose of opening up the kitchen space. Destiny Homes architectural and build skills know what needs to stay and what in your kitchen can be updated. If the header of a weight bearing wall needs to stay, it may be converted into a stunning archway with the use of pillars, or become a row of fine cabinetry. A wall cutout deftly designed between the kitchen and living room may bring adding light and connectedness to the kitchen. Removing load bearing walls is possible by a building contractor who understand the work of putting an I-beam in the ceiling to spread the load in the other direction. Not a do-it-yourself job, and a wonderful way to gain an open modern kitchen.
Feature Your Kitchen Window - Or Add One
Kitchen layouts offers opportunities for the discerning eye to maximize your kitchen windows to create a light-filled room. Windows are so important for fresh air and bringing the beauty of the outside in. "Exhausting stale indoor air and replacing it with fresh outside air is the best way to ensure continuous indoor air quality", the Home Ventilating Institute says. If you have ever burnt a piece of toast you know how great it is to be able to quickly throw open a window. Under-cabinet LED lights are still a must-have, however, naturally lit home filled with daylight is second to none.
Consider building a kitchen window seat with flanking bookcases to add a favorite storage and sitting area.
If floor space limits your dreams for your kitchen, consider adding a bay window area. A few added feet and lots of new sunlight coming in will opens up a kitchen and makes it more cheerful.
Redo your kitchen ceiling with wood beams and added skylights for a flood on fresh light on your cooking subjects. Everything can be prepared to perfection for your next family meal or guests with clear light overhead. A kitchen with a skylight may pick up enough ambient light from outside to save you from stumbling in the dark for middle-of-the-night drink of water. Energy.gov, says that a properly installed, energy-efficient skylight can help you control heating, cooling and lighting costs; also stating that skylights can also be an excellent source of passive ventilation.
Solatube® International offers an additional affordable alternative to bring daylight into dark kitchen spaces where natural light may not seem like an option. Sola tubes are high-performance daylighting systems that use advanced optics to significantly improve the way daylight is harnessed and are less complicated to install with a home's existing insulation than a skylight is.
Create Your Kitchen's Own Unique Backsplash
A kitchen is quickly set apart with personal choices using costume designed backsplash tiles for areas around the cook stove or wherever wall surfaces need extra protection from moisture and cooking splatters. You can choose glamorous glass, antique mirrors, or mother-of-pearl mosaics, or use the earthy natural designs embedded in tumbled marbles, limestone or porcelains that outshine anything manufactured. The reflective sheen of a charcoal black glass backsplash can add a polished luxurious look to modern kitchens.
Kitchen Appliance Upgrades Add Style, Function, And Long-Term Value
Updated kitchen appliances improve a kitchen's overall look while keeping energy bills lower than before. New appliance models are not only smart looking but if they feature the Energy Star seal, current owners and potential homebuyers know that appliance exceeds Department of Energy guidelines for energy efficiency by at least 10 percent. According to a recent survey by the National Kitchen & Bath Association, energy-efficient products are among the top trends in kitchen upgrades that deliver long-term cost vs value to consumers. It is pretty nice when you can enjoy savings and style in your kitchen upgrade. Hidden appliances that blend in with your cabinetry are popular. Destiny Homes designs kitchens with options for a wood toned stove front or refrigerator with cabinetry panels, or trash compactors and mini fridges that tucked inside a kitchen island.
7) Hardwood Floors - Hardwood Floors - Pr-finished and engineered wood flooring are available in more choices than ever. They provide a kitchen with the look of real wood, eliminate the sanding dust dilemma and come with UV-cured aluminum oxide finish. Engineered wood floors are compatible with under-floor heating systems, a huge favorite in Minnesota homes and often used in luxury Wayzata home renovations.
8) Healthy Energy Efficient Kitchens - Green and sustainable kitchen designs and materials that focus on function and ease create healthy living environments that free of toxins, harsh chemicals and excessive energy consumption. Homeowners are prompted by government incentives to evaluate their home’s energy efficiency and overall performance.
Remodeling Cost Vs Value Report
Investors who are buying homes with plans to renovate them for the purpose of gaining rental income while home values rise, or homeowners who are are embarking on kitchen upgrades to sell a home faster, need a clear cost vs value expectation. Kitchen renovations range from minor upgrades to to a full kitchen home addition, and Hanley Wood's Remodeling Cost Vs Value Report offers corresponding guidelines.
Range of Kitchen Upgrades According To the Remodeling Report
MAJOR KITCHEN REMODEL -
Update an outmoded 200-square-foot kitchen
with a functional layout of 30 linear feet
of semi-custom wood cabinets, including a
3-by-5-foot island; laminate countertops; and
standard double-tub stainless-steel sink with
standard single-lever faucet. Include energy efficient
wall oven, cook-top, ventilation
system, built-in microwave, dishwasher,
garbage disposal, and custom lighting. Add
new resilient flooring. Finish with painted
walls, trim, and ceiling.
MAJOR KITCHEN REMODEL - In a functional but dated 200-square-foot
kitchen with 30 linear feet of cabinetry and
countertops, leave cabinet boxes in place but
replace fronts with new raised-panel wood
doors and drawers, including new hardware.
Replace wall oven and cook-top with new
energy-efficient models. Replace laminate
countertops; install mid priced sink and
faucet. Repaint trim, add wall covering, and
remove and replace resilient flooring.
