How to Remodel Your Kitchen to Increase the Value of Your Home

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By GreenMomma
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You can add value to your home if you remodel your kitchen with these designer remodeling tips.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Step 1

The first important thing to keep in mind when remodeling your home to add value is that you want to make sure your money is well spent. That means do not spend money on anything that the new home buyer will want to change or remove.

The kitchen should be in move in condition with attention to both quality and beauty.
Step 2

You must know your home buyer for that market and what those home buyers are looking for.

A good way to know what home buyers in your area are looking for is to shop around. Going to open houses in your area will be helpful.

When visiting these homes, take careful notes of what makes these kitchens special or not special so that you may incorporate the good ideas into your kitchen remodel and avoid the bad ideas.
Step 3

A feature that will add value to any home is energy star qualified appliances. Home buyers are looking for quality energy efficient kitchens to keep costs down.

Energy star qualified appliances are more expensive their than traditional counterparts but they will save money and energy in the long run. With the idea of going green becoming more popular with the younger home buyers, these energy efficient kitchen appliances will be especially appealing. So don't forget to incorporate them into your floor plans!
Step 4

Opening up the space in small kitchens is always a good idea for any kitchen floor plan. Rather than knocking down the wall that separates the formal dining room from the kitchen, look into alternatives such as sky lights.

Sky lights can be purchased for as little as $200 and give great natural light and depth to any room and look beautiful in small kitchens.

If a sky light is not possible, sky tunnels or sun tunnels are excellent alternatives and cost about the same.
Step 5

Color choices in your kitchen are crucial. Choose neutral colors that any home owner will be happy with.

Stainless steel kitchen appliances are hot right now and believe it or not, home buyers are looking at kitchen appliances as part of the package when they are buying a home.
Step 6

Flooring is important. Home buyers are looking at kitchen floors closely because replacing a kitchen floor is expensive and sometimes difficult. Home buyers are looking for ceramic tile floors, travertine tile and wood floors.

Bamboo floors are hot for green homes today so this option should certainly be explored when designing a green kitchen or environmentally friendly kitchen. The cost is generally lower than other materials so you may find this especially appealing.
Step 7

People are paying particular attention to backsplashes and countertops.

Stainless steel, ceramic tiles, granite, glass tile, mosaic tile and engineered stone are very popular choices for backsplashes.

Engineered stone, granite, marble and recycled glass are the most desired countertops.

Concrete countertops are making their way into high end kitchen floor plans so if you are remodeling a high end kitchen, a concrete countertop may be just what you are looking for.