What Home Buyers Want In a Kitchen
The kitchen has the most foot traffic of any room in a house. Of all the rooms in a house the kitchen is the biggest spender when it comes to renovating and remodeling. When buyers look at potential homes they will facotor in heavily the funcionality of the kitchen.
So, what is it that buyers look for in a kitchen? What features should your kitchen have that will value add to the sale of your home? Here are a list of styles and functions that buyers look for or are subconciously impressed by.
1. SPACE
Yes space is what buyers want. Your kitchen may tick all the boxes when it comes to selling. But even if it doesn’t it is the space the potential buyer will see and formulate renovation ideas. So with plenty of space you are in a good position should your put your home on the market.
2. STORAGE
With space comes storage. Storage is the garage of your kitchen. It is where you house your food, appliances, cookware, cutlery and crockery. It can also be where you store your used dishes. Which brings us to a “scullery”. What is a scullery? Relatively speaking a scullery is a smaller kitchen. It is generally used for food preparation, cleaning, as it has a second sink and can also house a dishwasher. It will have space for food preparation, cleaning and washing. In effect it can hide all your dirty dishes. However a lot of people like preparing food and doing all the cleaning as part of their family life and entertaining.
3. KITCHEN FUNCTIONALITY
So now we have the space and the storage we need to make the kitchen functional for many purposes. The main attraction to most kitchens is the island bench. From the bench you can prepare food, wash, cook and eat. It depends on your taste but some people prefer to install their sink in the bench and other prefer to have a cooktop. The bench can also be utilised for storage including a dishwasher. But we feel the kitchen bench can also be where people eat from. Having an overhang on your benchtop will let you add at least 4 stools.
4. KITCHEN APPLIANCES
Now that we have the space, storage and funcionality all we have to do is fill it with appliances. Firstly, make sure you have multiple power outlets that can handle multiple configuarations. Kichen appliances include refrigeration, cooking and washing. The more refrigeration space you have the better. The cooktop space should be able to accommodate either an elctrical or a gas feed. Your wahing system will be improved if it has an insinkerator. And then there is the microwave, rice cooker and coffee maker. And most people prefer stainless steel appiances.
Statistically these are the 4 major functions that buyers look for when purchasing a property or designing a new home. Buyers appreciate highend appliances and fittings as they will be spending a lot of their time in the kitchen especially if it is set with an open plan to the living room.
