i would do the math on what it costs to put in a kitchen and what you will or will not recover in such a short time horizon. you may be better served doing nothing, particularly if it is a nominal upgrade.

you might want to post pictures of the kitchen you have on this forum for suggestions on what to do. others have done this and they have found it useful. ex: paint cabinets instead of replacing, update flooring, replace cabinet doors instead of entire cabinets... you may also want to consult with a good real estate agent before doing anything to see where the market is going in your area, what ammenities your location expects, difference in price for an as is sale vs one with an updated kitchen.

Are you sure you're going to be moving in 2-3 years? I only ask, because some of my friends have ended up staying in houses they thought were 'transitional' when the prices and values dropped. Now, they're remodeling to their tastes, with the possiblity of resale...but that's really become secondary, at least for now.

As for your kitchen, white is and has been very popular, but wood seems to be making a comeback, in my opinion. There are some beautiful posts and pictures on the forum. You might want to look through them and see if anything appeals to you. I'll try to find the post that was just on here the other day. Beautiful dark cabinets, gray floors and walls and a lovely blue granite. Sounds like it would be dark, but it's a beautiful combination! :)

Here's the link. Have fun looking for ideas :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Link

I agree with the others who say to do the math first and make sure all of the updates will make financial sense. If you can do everything diy, it helps the bottom line. Also, any improvements will help your house sell faster, if not necessarily for a lot more money.

For the kitchen itself, I would take your cues from the house. If you have an old house that already has painted woodwork, a traditional painted kitchen would flow nicely. If your house has a lot of stained trim, that you can match with the cabinets, that is the choice I would probably make.

Everyone has different opinions about what they would like their kitchen to look like. Guessing what a future home buyer wants is like playing the lottery. However, if your new kitchen matches the rest of the house, it is more likely that the new owners will love the new kitchen because they also loved the rest of the house.

One last point, decorating can be very region specific, but at least in my area there are a lot more fans of traditional styles than other choices. Also, as long as you keep it traditional and appropriate to the house, your choice will less likely be seen as trying to copy whatever was popular when the kitchen was remodeled in 2011. I always say that my antiques keeping getting better with age and will never look like "dated" furniture.

Good luck with your decisions!

Thanks, everyone, I am thinking about the math. The market around here (in Wisconsin) is not great but things are beginning to move. The fixes that I am thinking about are what kept the price of this house on the lower end to begin with. For example, the driveway is crumbling and the garage still has it original 1929 doors that are not in good shape. The floors in the house have no finish left on them.

And the kitchen -- I'll take and post some pictures, but the cabinets were an early 90's redo and a few doors are falling off because of bad hinges. The room is very badly laid out, but you are right, maybe I can reuse some of it.

As for moving, I've been in Madison for almost 4 years now. Moved here for my husband's job and have really enjoyed it here. But my husband died last summer and I don't really have deep roots here. I want to be closer to dear friends and a grown daughter back east. I'd move sooner than two years but my younger daughter is in a great special ed program and has another two years on intensive autism therapy. I am also doing some course work at the university and want to spend another year at that. I think two years is a good estimate for staying here, although I would consider moving a year from now if the circumstances presented themselves.

I want to do the renovations very soon, so that I can enjoy them as well as being good for the look of the house.

thanks for the advice.
Suzanne