Kitchen Renovation For Increasing Property Value

Kitchens are one of the rooms in the house that we can't avoid and will inevitably end up spending a lot of time in

. For this reason when looking around a flat or house, many people will consider the kitchen to be one of the major selling points or detracting points; particularly if they usually cook. In some cases a pokey kitchen can be instrumental in influencing the decision to leave in the first place. For this reason a kitchen renovation can be one of the surest ways to increase your chances of selling and to increase your property's value. If you're going to be spending the time and money on a redesign however then you'll want to make sure you make it back in the sale, so it's highly important that you design the new layout well and make a positive impact on potential buyers.

The first thing to decide when planning a kitchen renovation is what the basic layout of the appliances and kitchen cabinets will look like. For this there are essentially four options: the L-shape, the U-shape, the corridor layout and the island layout. These names reflect the arrangement of the cabinets and are fairly self explanatory. Essentially the L-shape refers to layouts where the work surfaces are one long wall and one end wall creating a right angle, the U-shape describes a layout with two opposite walls and one end wall taken up, the corridor layout describes two parallel work surfaces and the island layout describes a layout that uses a 'floating' work surface in the middle of the room and is perfect for squarer rooms.

The idea then is to pick the layout that will maximise space while providing lots of work surfaces in close proximity to allow for multitasking, for example cutting meat while peeling potatoes and washing up. The perfect 'work station' should look akin to a triangle where the chef can stand in the middle and access three separate points.

Once you've picked your layout you then need to decide how your kitchen appliances oven, hobs, microwave, sink, fridge and potentially a dishwasher are going to fit. At the same time you need to make room for kitchen cabinets and other forms of storage space to hide away pots and pans etc. It's important to do this without sacrificing workspace and a good piece of advice is to separate appliances as much as possible and make sure each appliance represents one 'point' in your work stations with a space either side to work. Keep storage out of the way under and above the sideboards.

The other aspect of kitchen renovation is the appearance and colour coordinating the flooring with the kitchen cabinets. This will be largely a matter of personal taste but there are again basic guidelines to follow. Opt for a colour that is light to create space but that won't show dirt. Sideboards and flooring with 'specks' are great for this. At the same time you need to choose flooring that won't absorb too much spillage and granite, laminate or tiles are popular choices for this reason.

by: Lesley Kuras

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