Designed To Sell: How to Keep Your Kitchen from Selling You Out

By Shannon Mitchell, San Francisco Designer

I see a lot of kitchens. Some are old, some are new and some are just plain worn out. Some are big and some are small, while others have me wondering why the refrigerator is in the pantry. No matter where your kitchen floats in this sea of adjectives, the fact remains that if you are planning to sell your home, you have to keep your kitchen from selling you down the river.

I recently met with a homeowner and his agent to give them a staging bid on their 1970’s San Francisco condo. I could tell as I walked through the home that this was a typical case of de-clutter the homeowners' items, paint neutral and refreshing colors and Stage it to the nines. But as soon as I walked into the kitchen, I stopped in my tracks.

There were floor-to-ceiling dark oak cabinets. Green laminate counter tops. Crusted brass hardware. And hideous florescent lighting! Ugh!

The tragic part was that, even with my stager-trained eye, I couldn’t see the stainless steel refrigerator, new double oven and ceramic tile floor. How would a potential buyer be expected to see these assets through the liabilities?

My biggest test came when the homeowner said that he had gotten a bid to paint the cabinets, but he decided it was too much to spend. Instead, he was going to knock down a wall, put in a pass-through to the Dining Room and leave the cabinets as they were. In his mind, the pass-through would open up the kitchen and add value.

While in some cases that is true, it was not the case for this kitchen. A big hole in the wall would amount to a big hole in his pocket. When you're on a budget, it pays to know where to spend your money. In other words: How to get the most bang for your buck.

I told myself to stay calm. You can help him avoid this sinkhole and get him to put his money in the right toolbox. In my mind, he couldn't have been farther from the truth.

The #1 Rule of Thumb when selling your home is:Kitchens Sell Houses.

I knew that for about the same amount of money as it would cost for demolition, he could have beautiful new white cabinets with brushed nickel hardware, creamy cocoa-colored walls, brand new granite counter tops and no more green-monster florescent lighting. I also knew that a seemingly brand new kitchen would pay for itself in triplicate by adding thousands of dollars in value. It took a little convincing, but it took.

A few key elements made this all possible:

1. There was very little counter top space to replace, keeping the granite costs low.
2. We got multiple bids from painters, allowing us to choose our own price.
3. We opted for a low-cost light fixture from a large hardware store.
4. There was even a little leftover in the budget to add a wine refrigerator where an old trash compactor had been!

After a short amount of time and a shallow reach into the pocketbook, this kitchen went up about seven notches in marketing code from “Quaint Kitchen” to “Light-filled Chef’s Kitchen”.

Along with a fabulous Studio D Staging, this kitchen rehab got the homeowners three offers in the first three weeks, all during a tough market!

Email Shannon
415.359.3820