What can I do to make my kitchen more appealing to buyers?

[InTheCludgie]

Hi, I am planning to put my house on the market a bit later in the year after doing a few odd jobs however I'm concerned about my kitchen. We have been here five years and its still the same kitchen as when we moved in. It's not that modern and quite drab (pics attached).

We live in an area where properties go fast and rarely stay on the market for long due to excellent local schools, but I would still like to make it a bit more appealing. Any suggestions short of ripping it out and fully replacing would be welcome! ps ignore clutter, cat dish etc these will be gone for viewings but couldn't be bothered to tidy up atm!

I’d paint the wall tiles or get those sticky cover-up tile things and change the cupboard door handles.

I would sand and repaint the cupboard doors, replace the handles and redo the sealant

Honestly I think I’d just leave it op, a buyer will likely want to replace and it will be priced based on the condition of the house, inc the kitchen.

I don’t think there is much you can do that is going to really improve it, it’s functional, just leave it as is.

Honestly, apart from a thorough clean and declutter I wouldn't do anything, nobody will notice the minor changes except you.

Put in ceramic hob, add dishwasher

I really don’t think you need to spend any money on it. Unfortunately the cabinet fronts, tiles and floor are very dated, the worktop colour clashes with the floor’s. It would be difficult to any of that change without spending quite a bit of money.

I would suggest you say to viewers “the kitchen is in need of a refurbishment, but this has already been factored in the price”.

Replace cupboard doors with something more up to date, is there space to squeeze in a tiny 2-seat table instead of that sideboard (so you can claim it’s eat-in?). That wall cupboard makes it look quite cramped. Maybe remove that unless there really is no storage anywhere else.

Assuming there is a window over the sink to the right, what is the window treatment and view?

Where’s your fridge/freezer?

Just keep it clean and clutter free. I wouldn’t try to ‘pimp’ it.

Personally it can be off putting if the kitchen is brand new and not a style I like because the sellers will understandably expect to get a premium price for it.

nothing regarding appearance - you have no idea what kind of kitchen a buyer wants. You never get money back spent on any kind of kitchen as they are so personal.

just clear worktops and make sure all handles/drawers etc work properly.

and don't diss your own house - if it all works, it is a kitchen.

The only thing that caught my eye was the bin. I'd get bin liners that fit without the overhang. Other than that, like a PP said, likely your buyer will rip out.

If properties sell easily then do nothing except make sure it's immaculate.

If I viewed a house with a kitchen like yours it wouldn't put me off. I would be thinking about how to change it to my own taste, but I wouldn't expect any kind of reduction for that. Don't waste any money on it. You could change the door handles to make it look a bit more modern, but I'd leave it mostly as it is if I were you.

I'd leave it. Whomever buys it will probably want to replace it and while repainting the fronts might make it look better it won't disguise the floor and covering the tiles with paint rarely looks that great. Just keep it really clean and uncluttered. If doors are hanging off or handles loose by all means fix them.

Thanks for all the replies! Yes the sink is over to the right and looks out into the garden. The fridge freezer is also on the right at the end of the counter, on the other side of the fridge is the door out to the back garden.

Regards the wall cupboard (which I dislike as I have banged into it a few times over the years!), if we lost this then we would probably loose too much storage space. Again, to get a dishwasher we would need to lose a cupboard under the counter. We would have done this if we were staying but don't want to remove any storage space if we don't need to.

I may repaint the wall tiles immediately before marketing so it doesn't end up looking too blistered from cooking. Good shout about replacing sealant too, the sealant round the sink is looking a bit grim.

Completely agreed with PP's. You don't need to do anything before selling.
It already looks clean and well maintained.
It doesn't look too cluttered to me. Maybe before viewings, you could remove anything from the countertops that isn't strictly necessary to give more impression of space but it all looks good to me.

A brand spanking new kitchen isn't on most buyer's essential lists. If the kitchen is a bit dated but perfectly useable (and the price reflects that) then you have the best of both worlds. If someone has a bit of cash to spare they can update it. People with a smaller budget are likely to be happy to make do with the kitchen as is and update if they want later on.

Good luck with it all!

I wouldn't change much tbh, no one really walks into a home and wants it just as it is. I would clear the counter tops, including the microwave but replace with a utensil holder or something practical, but smaller, so it doesn't look like you've done a clean sweep for space.

Don’t paint the tiles honestly it seldom looks like anything other than painted tiles and isn’t going to improve it, it will likely make it worse.

The floor clashes and the units are dated, just make sure it’s clean and tidy and leave it at that. Minor changes will just be that and there is no point spending a lot of money on it.

I'm guessing you don't want to have to do much work or spend loads of money. The kitchen looks a bit cramped, so create an optical illusion by making it appear larger:

Change the fruit bowl for a smaller plain glass one.

Swap the big red bin for one in a neutral colour and push it further back.

Clear as much clutter from the surfaces as possible, hide the toaster and all that stuff around the microwave, and put the kettle the other side of the cooker.

Put a nice bright geranium in a pot on the windowsill.

I wouldn't paint the tiles. Just have the freshly brewed coffee permeating the air at viewings. And that it's ultra-tidy and clear so that buyers can 'see' how they'd put their own stamp on it.

It looks fine, a bit dated but in good condition. Perfectly useable
If any sealant is a bit manky replace that but the rest is fine. I’d move the bin and box of washing powder.

I’d leave it too but I would clear the counters of everything but microwave and kettle.

I’d maybe change the cupboard handles but leave the rest. We had a rule of when moving house if the kitchen was brand spanking new but we hated it we couldn’t justify changing it, so would rather an older dated kitchen that we could change for us. Half will want country look and the other half want glass and sparkly and you can’t cater to everyone

Honestly I think I’d just leave it op, a buyer will likely want to replace and it will be priced based on the condition of the house, inc the kitchen.

I was going to say this too. Obviously make sure it’s clean and tidy, and don’t cook anything that smells strongly before viewings.

It’s a pretty dated looking kitchen so without spending thousands on totally replacing it, you can jazz up the doors or handles etc and cover up the tiles if you feel inclined, but it won’t fool anyone into thinking it’s anything but an old kitchen!

As long as it’s clean and liveable with, buyers will take it as it is and make any improvements as they see fit.

Please fo t paint and tiles the door foils. Painting or stockticking covers on tiles is a DIY bodge. It looks like a DIY bodge and means that a buyer then has to do something g without quickly instead of having a perfectly serviceable if plain kitchen.

We had a rule of when moving house if the kitchen was brand spanking new but we hated it we couldn’t justify changing it, so would rather an older dated kitchen that we could change for us

We had to take out a barely used kitchen, as it just wasn’t to our taste and we wanted to knock through into the dining room and move things around.

Luckily it was an old (but very well looked after) one rather than something that had been put in especially for sale, and we were able to eBay it.

Would have been annoying if it was a new kitchen that had been installed for sale, as we’d have felt obliged to keep it!

Don’t waste too much time and money on it. Just make sure everywhere else is looking at its best and allow £10k in the asking price for it to be refitted.