With the holidays approaching, there’s one room in your house that is getting ready for it’s close-up: Your kitchen.
Whether it’s your year to host the family or a year to celebrate the festivities by social distancing at home alone or with your local pod, you’re going to be spending time in the kitchen—even if it’s just time spent unpacking the food you ordered and putting it on real plates.
The kitchen is where memories are made, so you may as well have a memorable kitchen you can enjoy.
Just like all your favorite recipes, the secret ingredient of a fabulous kitchen is love. So let me ask you, do you love your cabinets? If you do, hooray! If you don’t, then that’s where you want to start. Let me guide you through some different options and by the time we’re done you’ll have a kitchen that truly is the heart of your home.
Cabinets
Cabinets set the tone for your kitchen, so if you hate them, your supply of love will be running low when it’s time to sprinkle some into your grandma’s favorite pumpkin pie recipe. A high-quality semi-gloss paint job can make a huge difference, even if it’s just on the doors. Hate your doors? Keep your cabinets and get new doors. Got gorgeous dishware? Then who needs doors at all?! Remove the doors entirely and show off your treasures! If you like your cabinets, but find them a little blah and out of date, spray paint your old hardware for a new look or go with new hardware for a completely new look.
Countertops
Countertops seem like a pretty permanent part of the kitchen, but you can swap out your old one for something new. If granite and marble are out of your price range, shop around for alternatives. If DIY is your thing, there are plenty of ways to update your kitchen countertops for a look you love. Faux granite, faux marble, actual concrete, whether friend or faux, your kitchen will have a bright new look.
Faucet
It’s not always quick and easy to change out your entire sink unless you’re totally redoing your countertops, but changing out your old faucet for something new? Sign me up! Remember those days when you had to screw on a funny attachment to get your faucet to have a spray option? No more! But before you get too excited about your options, check to see if you’ve got a one-hole, two-hole, three-hole, or four-hole sink. You need a three-hole sink for a two-handle faucet and a four-hole sink for some of those accessories that keep winking at you. Once you know what options will fit with what you’ve got, go wild! Stainless! Brass! Chrome! Pull down! Touchless! Whew!
Deck the Walls
Wall paint, even if it’s just on an accent wall or two, can really liven things up and give your kitchen a whole new look. If you’ve been watching all those remodel shows and drooling over grey walls or white walls, stop drooling and start doing! Maybe you want a pop of contrasting color. Do it! The great thing about paint is that, with just a little elbow grease, you can change your look as often as you like. So go with the contrasting color or aqua accent. What have you got to lose? Another option to create a wowser of a kitchen is to put in a new backsplash. The options at your local tile store are endless! If you’re doing your backsplash yourself and the thought of grouting tiles makes you woozy, then focus on peel and stick tile options to keep it super easy.
Accents
If your kitchen is the center of activity for your home, chances are there’s some seating there, whether it’s at an island, a table, or a bar. When was the last time you really looked at those chairs? I mean, really looked at them? Have they seen better days? It could be time for a little paint and reupholstery. Then again, it could be time for completely new chairs. And how about your lighting and lighting fixtures? Take a moment to assess what you’ve got and what you want. The glow of under-cabinet lighting can make your kitchen mysterious and sexy, or they can be bright to help you see what you’re doing while you cook. You’re choice.
Boom! You did it! You spiced up your kitchen and still have money left over to splurge on expensive ingredients like saffron, white truffles, and caviar! If you still can’t love your kitchen, that’s no problem! I’m here to help you search out the perfect home that comes ready-made with your dream kitchen. After all, happy kitchen, happy home. I’m Stephen Burchard, The Desert Bowtie Realtor, taking the (k)nots out of real estate.
