Today's kitchen is not longer the sole domain of the woman. More and more men are spending time in the kitchen doing the cooking. In my home I prepare most of the meals, although I do admit, my wife does most of the cleaning. Men don't just grill anymore, we bake, we steam, we souffle, we cook!
What does that mean? It means the kitchen now has to appeal functionally and attractive to buyers of both genders. The counters have to appear spacious, the cabinets accessible with a lot of storage, the lighting bright, and overall, movement between prep area to cooking area to serving area clear and uncluttered.
So what are the steps to making your kitchen appealing?
- Clean your kitchen until it shines - every square inch of it, paying special attention to the stove, oven, sink, counters, floor and refrigerator.
- Take care of any maintenance issues, fix your leaky faucets, replace faulty burners, replace burned out light bulbs. Make sure your drawers and cabinets open easily and without squeaks. Replace broken or worn drawer and cabinet pulls. Make sure any exhaust fans, as well as built in appliances, such as disposal, are all in working order.
- Empty the kitchen counter surfaces of all but the most often used and needed items. The more open counter space the more appealing the kitchen.
- Empty your cabinets and only return items that you use regularly. If you have place settings for 12 but only use 4, put at least 6 in storage. Put seasonal items, like Thanksgiving platters into storage until needed. Get rid of items that you don't use (like that second toaster) or put them into storage.
- Clean out your refrigerator and pantry. Get rid of old out dated foods. In the refrigerator, get rid of any fuzzy "science projects". Make sure the shelves and surfaces are clean. Keep only enough food for a couple of days in both the refrigerator and the pantry. Keep an open box of baking soda in an inconspicuous place in your refrigerator. And don't forget to take all those post its off of the refrigerator door.
- Wash your dishes after every meal. Ok, this one might be tough, but dirty dishes in the sink detracts from the perception of the kitchen. Even if you have a dishwasher, rinse the dishes well before placing them inside of it. You don't want any food smells when someone opens the dishwasher door. Wash your dishes daily in the dishwasher.
- Clean out under the sink. Get rid of cleaners, chemicals and everything else that you store under the sink but don't use regularly. You don't want to remind anyone that your gleaming kitchen takes work to keep it that way. Make sure that you clean under there also.
- Paint your walls. Even if it means removing wallpaper. Wallpaper is an even more personal selection than paint and if a buyer sees that he or she will need to remove wallpaper it may tilt the balance against your kitchen. Use a neutral color.
- Display flowers and fresh fruit, but don't over do it. And the key word is fresh, for both the flowers and the fruit.
- Oh-Oh that smell. Be careful what you cook while your home is for sale. Many foods leave odors, even if you have gotten used to them. If you like bacon, you may be better off getting it somewhere like Denny's. Bacon and other foods can leave lingering aromas that can and do turn some people off.
- You can feed Fido but don't leave any evidence of it. Put away the water and food dishes for your pets. They make both a trip and spill hazard.
Sounds like a lot of work, doesn't it? But it really isn't and, you will like like the results when your home sells faster because you have taken care to present the most important (to the buyer) room in house in the best manner possible. Best of luck.
For information on buying or selling your home in Athens GA and the surrounding areas, call me at 706-207-5290 or click here to email me. You can visit my website, The Athens Real Estate Page to search for homes and land in and around Athens.
