Kitchen Too small

[eggofmantumbi]

I'm getting increasingly frustrated so just looking for tips or when just sympathy!

My 4 bed is on market at BV 220k. 3 bed down the road is now sold STC , after being marketed as OIRO 220k.
We've had roughly 7 viewings in 6 weeks. EVERY . SINGLE. ONE has said kitchen is too small. I've just checked and it's almost the same size as theirs, (10m squared) although their kitchen and living room are open plan. We have separate kitchen, living and dining rooms. We've also got garage set up as utility.

Basically I'm a bit at a loss. I can't make it bigger. Definitely not cluttered, and we paid 210k 3 years ago so I'm loathe to reduce asking price.

I'm frustrated as all this means my husband loves away from home for longer during the week- but other than lower the price can we do anything. And is that even likely to work???

Sometimes people say something like that rather than give the real reason they aren't interested enough to make an offer. Can you post a photo of the kitchen and the floorplan from the listing? Maybe we can suggest some ideas/solutions?

Thank you... Here's some

And measurements here

I think the open shelving makes it looks like there isnt enough cupboard space

Kitchen looks a tad small but I would be more put off from the floor plan - having to carry food from kitchen through hallway into the dining room. I guess it looks less easy to make it open plan than one where it's just knocking kitchen into dining room to make kitchen diner?

Can you paint the kitchen cupboards white? Any way to add a table and chairs to the utility room?

I’d drop the “utility room” label and just have that whole space labelled “kitchen”. From the photos it looks like one big space with an open doorway. It will make people feel differently about the kitchen.

If you've had 7 viewings in 6 weeks (I'm assuming that's a reasonable number) then it's not the pictures or the labels that's putting buyers off it's the kitchen itself.

It may be as big in square feet but in layout terms yours is poor. There's very little cupboard space, you've no table to even have a snack at. The cupboards that there are are dated and don't match, etc...

It needs a whole new kitchen or at least the one it's got needs some work on it.

I don't know how the layout compares to other houses for sale locally, but I can see that for a lot of people it might not work. I'd want to extend over the back of the garage to create a bigger dining kitchen. The utility takes up too much of the available space with an unusable wall due to the patio doors, but the two rooms aren't completely opened up to each other. However, I don't know if extending like that is doable because I can't see it. Also if that's really the only way to create a dining kitchen there's the cost of extending to consider.

It's a bit odd having the dishwasher and crockery storage in the utility rather than the main kitchen area with the washing machine where it would make more sense (to me at least) to have the dishwasher?

I can see it's the kind of house that with enough positives you would go and view so you could see how you could make it work for you. Might be worth getting drawings of an extension or even pp for one to make the house more saleable.

I'm not sure the downstairs space matches the upstairs space either.

You’ve answered your own question. The other one has sold because it already has an open plan kitchen / diner. Your kitchen is quite small, and I expect most people would be thinking they would need to factor in the cost & disruption of knocking through. It’s also a fairly dated kitchen so again people will factor in cost of replacing.

Painting the doors might help.

Also can you fit a table in the utility / breakfast room? Move that sideboard unit out perhaps. That would make a big difference.

I don’t know the other houses. But when I was viewing, we ruled out anything where the dining room wasn’t linked to the kitchen. I don’t like carrying food in the hallway. Either the dining room needed to have a door directly to the kitchen, or open plan. Also with it being next to each other, with a door between, means it’s easy to make it open plan. I like a separate dining room, but my future buyer could see the potential to knock through.

Your floor plan is poor and I think there isn’t much you can do other than reduce price or find someone who doesn’t mind the layout.

People want family kitchens these days. As you said, the house down the road had a kitchen / family room. Yours is more like a corridor. I'd be looking at ways to open it out. Maybe by blocking the door to the hallway and closing off the utility area, knocking into the living room then changing the dining room to a cosy TV room. It might cost £5k to do that and add a new kitchen, but would sell the house immediately. As it is, I think you'd need to knock 10k off to sell it I'm afraid.

OP - I've just done a search on one of the kitchen pictures and found the listing online. I really think you need to properly dress that front reception room as the dining room. Move the children's storage unit from in front of the chimney breast and put a full size dining table in the middle of the space instead of a table for two pushed to one side in the room. I think what I posted earlier is the issue: viewers don't think the downstairs space matches the upstairs with four bedrooms. That dining room needs a table and chairs for six in it.

I think you should also put a round table and chairs in the utility room in front of the doors to the garden. No point calling it a breakfast room if you can't sit and eat your breakfast in there.

Also I get what you’re saying re dropping price but if it lets you move and be together as a family...10k ends up being neither here nor there in house selling & buying terms.

The 3 bed that's sold has been dressed to sell - that has the same downstairs space as your house, but a more appealing layout imo.

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate you taking the time to reply and give advice..... so:

• Attached picture - how it was dressed when we bought it. Does that look better.

_ getting drawings or planning permission - is that costly?

• I don't think we'd want to get the work done ourselves..... it is possible (dad is a builder - but opposite ends of the country)

• modernising kitchen - what about just replacing cupboard doors

• boiler picture. This is how it currently looks. We got it done cheap in the new year and were planning on getting it tidied up as this was meant to be our forever home. Now we're a bit screwed.

• Do you think it would sell with 10k off?

Looks like it's going to be a half term of house stuff....

This was all stuff I asked the EA about and they said there was no point - I'm starting to disagree...
ARGH!!!

I don't think it would necessarily sell with £10k off - buyers either don't want the bother or have the cash to do it.

Better to try and stage it - perhaps you could put some shelves or cupboards or both in the kitchen? I think if you can make the style of both rooms more uniform that will help too - paint the doors and put on new matching handles. Box and paint the boiler - shouldn't take much, make sure there's access and that it has the correct ventilation
though.

Whilst the shelves in the breakfast area are useful, although might be better in the kitchen? All they do is emphasis the lack of storage space. There does seem room in the kitchen on the walls and by the cooker for more storage? Get a table into the breakfast room. I'd put the washer back in there and put the dishwasher by the sink - where you'd expect it to be.

Needs to be given some sparkle for todays buyer. :)

I agree that you need a table in your breakfast room rather than a cupboard, and that the dishwasher needs to be back in the kitchen. If

Hmmmmm, Dishwasher doesn't fit by sink. Door doesn't open fully (kitchen is too small! )

Definitely can do the painting and the table next week.

Need to get some quotes for boxing in the boiler. That's above my DIY capabilities....

So much food for thought.

@eggofmantmbi and all the handles need to match. Make the kitchen as much of a kitchen ie a place for preparing food as you can. If you need stuff in the breakfast room it needs to be stuff that 'displays well', not packets of cornflakes, etc. :D

It could look so much better. Maybe get down IKEA and get some more stainless steel rails and racks and kitchen bits? Whatever look you go for it needs to be uniform to make it seem like one room.

@sbplanet I wish I could employ an interior designer! This is so not my thing / something that bothers me so I find it really difficult! But it is obviously important.

I'd kind of be worried that adding tmore shelves etc would make it feel more cramped. I always thought no head height cupboards . shelves made it feel bigger.....

Or would the x3 white goods go under where the boiler is to free up the end wall for a table?

Do you know anyone who has a bit of design flair? It just needs a bit of jigging about and a bit of sparkle (only IMHO of course). Good luck.

I guess it's a fine line with having no wall cupboards for space and no storage space.

Why not go into somewhere that designs kitchens with your measurements and tell them you're looking to update - see what ideas they come up with, they might be transferable to your current spaces?

By the way - what about if we swapped the living room and dining room ~(so the dining room was next to the living room? )

@sbplanet, that's a great idea. I'll give it a go over half term and see if they've got some fab ideas. I don't think I have any interior designy friends.....I've not got many good friends nearby :(