I like your idea of updating the hardware - you'll get a fresh look for not too much expense. Personally, I'd go with a satin nickel so it stands out against the cabinets, although dark bronze hardware would look nice on the white doors in your kitchen. Good luck!

I agree with Stone Harbor Hardware. The brushed nickel/silver will be a nice update and may be favorable for the new buyers.

Hi, not a professional, but a buyer, and not sure how the market is in your area...but I'd have a hard time with that price point, and those appliances, unless it's a sellers' market where you are.
The cabinets and countertops, I think, would be fine, but I know the sight of older appliances makes having to soon replace/expensively repair them, spring forward in my mind.

Be sur to count the number of door/cabinet/drawer handles you need before you go shopping. Even in your price point, my last 2 open kitchens required required 25 and 60 knobs. I love great hardware, but that basic number helped me keep the budget in mind. $15 -$20+ per adds up. Unless you are changing the appliances, could you find a pro to paint the yellow double ovens to black so they match?

I'm not sure if changing the hardware will make a large impact and bronze/brass is back in style. I would definitely paint the walls a lighter color (grey/blue) and then add a runner along the back of the island that complimented. I would also add two bronze/black pendants where the potlights are over the island, which will make the hardware feel more modern and also comp your appliances. Remove items from the top of the cabinets for a more modern feel and you could add bamboo roman blinds. Your kitchen might have more impact with these additions. I would speak to your real estate agent before purchasing appliances..as to whether they think spending the money will increase the sale of your home substantially. If applicances were an issue with a potential buyer, you could at that point offer to replace (if you will be getting full asking price, etc).

I like Maureen's ideas...and actually, the de cluttering/removal of little personal decor items is always a good idea when showing.
But some buyers at that price point may see the appliances as a potential headache they would rather avoid...

I would do a roman shade over the window

I think you are right-on with the color swatch you have on the wall. That will update, freshen & brighten the room instantly. I'd swap out the hardware for the brushed/satin nickel as well, and I like Maureen's ideas too.

I'm on the fence about the appliances. The fridge looks pretty new. I can't tell about the other appliances, but it sounds like they are definitely nice. Some people won't mind the all-black appliances; others will have to have stainless. I hate to see you spend $$$ on new appliances b/c you never know....the buyer may end up wanting something specific and not care what color was in there.

I think there have been some very good points made about appliances. You can get some pretty good deals on appliance bundles and a lot of manufacturers offer rebates if you buy more that 3 items. Buyers want to see stainless, even if they are not really high-end. Then buy brushed nickel knobs and paint your wall the lighter color. Your kitchen will look updated and help sell your home.

I would NOT spend a lot of money on updates a buyer might change all over again. You could replace the black appliances with stainless only to have a buyer who prefers black or white. We sold a house I was ready to update all over the place The realtor advised us not to, and just said to make sure everything was clean and uncluttered. Uncluttered was no problem since the house was empty when it went on the market. So glad we didn't do anything but clean...the house sold quickly for well over the asking price. Also, things like outdated kitchen hardware and/or paint color didn't stop us from buying a new, lovely home. That being said, I realize markets are different.

Yes, it depends on the market. Here, it is still a pretty strong buyer's market, especially at the 500k and up level...

Great for Resale!

Why are white kitchens top for 2015? Here’s a great
article: Top
for 2015

As a recent buyer I thought I would just mention that wall ovens were a deal breaker in any house we viewed. As for black appliances, we would have purchased a house with them in it if we loved the house, then just brought our own white ones with us.

-Paint color sample is good - definitely paint! Find cheapest basic brushed nickel or bronze handles/knobs

-Get rid of stuff (fake plant on top of cabinets) and all small appliances on countertops (leaving only 1 or 2 small items) to show as much counter space as possible

-Hang 2 pendant lights from recessed light sockets above bar counter. Can find very reasonable $ pendants and use conversion kit to screw into recessed socket if needed

-If you can find a runner for the floor in front of sink and or a roman shade for the window to give some pattern and color. Below are a couple of examples of transitional rugs and a roman shade. Get colors that would go with your existing scheme.

I bought a house in that price range six months ago. Don't do anything more than paint, de-clutter and clean. When looking at houses I found I was most affected by how clean and de-clutter the house was. I had trouble liking a house that was not clean. A dirty, particularly a smelly house, made me instantly take 50K off the value.

At this price range a buyer can afford to put in their own choice of appliances, counters, etc. What they are worried about is the things they can't see. A clean house signals a maintained house.

I agree, beyond cleaning and decluttering and putting down new throw rugs if necessary, I wouldn't do a thing.

Sold our house upper $500 hundreds, I DE cluttered, and painted the kitchen off white, appliances were 15 years old white, but clean and in good shape, clean, clean, and clean, organize everything in cabinets. I think the kitchen would be just fine with a paint job , I wouldn't put any area rugs down as they tend to break up a space and make it look smaller, wouldn't put anything on the window, that would block light. You could achieve a touch of color in a bowl of fruit etc. , but the light color walls will make all the difference.

Paint the walls the colour of your swatch (it's a smart choice for prepping your house for sale), de-clutter your counter-top to almost nothing, get a runner for the floor to go behind the island (I'm thinking one of those red silk ones), and get some new cabinet hardware. It sort of has French country bones, might as well play that up more with some decorations. Keep your reno's minimal. When people are shopping in this price point they tend to be able to afford their own reno's, so there is no point in breaking the bank because you won't see it returned to you. If you just want to do one thing, get rid of the green paint. People are very fussy when hunting for houses, and fresh modern paint colours easily add significant value to your home with very little money down. Your kitchen is beautiful.

When ever I go into a model home I am impressed with how clean they smell. I asked a Realtor in a home and they used vanilla plug ins. Look clean and smell clean is really a huge difference. It takes people about 20 seconds if that to decide if they like a house. Find a scent you like and then put one on each level...subtle not overpowering. Love your kitchen.

Totally agree with with above article. Agents want you to list low and list lower to sell it. Look at nieghborhood comps and see what other houses looked like that sold in your area. Will give you confidence in your lovely home. Good luck.

I agree with not changing the appliances. I would change to brushed nickel new hardware & perhaps a new sink faucet, taller & updated. Take down all wall & above cabinet décor, Paint an almost white teal color. Purchase under cabinet LED lighting & add a quality Persian runner between the sink & the island. If there were to be one major change I would change the upper portion of the island and make it all a larger counter height counter to appeal to more people. You could go with a white quartz material with a marble pattern to make it look like it belongs.

I just sold and bought a house. I would do nothing except hang 2 pendant above the island and remove absolutely everything except the bar stools from the kitchen. And clean clean clean.

The kitchen in the house we bought had just been "redone". Their counter and backsplash choices were awful. We are tearing it out and it added no value to us as we knew we would change it anyway.

Wow...all of your comments have been awesome! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and share your advice. We're at least a year away from putting the house on the market, so I have some time to make decisions and work with a realtor to decide on any updates needed for this area. We have some new construction going on in the area in this price range, so we'll need to carefully consider all of the options. Thanks again!

Oh definitely check out new homes to see the latest trends if you feel a strong need to compete. Older homes can be infinitely better than newer homes I think.

Beautiful kitchen. I agree with the clean, declutter, paint-the-walls group. Changing all the cabinet hardware might be worth it at $5-7 a pop if you choose something classic and that feels comfortable when you open the doors and drawers. I can't see the current hardware at all, perhaps it could be carefully spray painted with an oil rubbed bronze finish or black finish from Rustoleum. Try one, if it looks awful, replace them instead.

Replacing appliances in this price range is probably not cost-effective because new buyers in this range will want to choose their own (in my area).

Painting can be done just before the house goes up for sale. In a year, paint can get pretty dinged up from normal wear and tear, then you'd have to do time-consuming touch up and running around with a Magic Eraser. I'd paint over the current beige swatch with the original green and leave painting til just before you put it on the market. Use foamcore boards to test samples: the Corian counter, the wood floor and the cabinets are all lovely shades to coordinate with new paint. I suggest trying one shade darker than the Corian in an off white, linen or vanilla ice cream color.

I hear what you're saying, Al Fortunato, but as a "do it yourself" person, I completely saw the value when we were updating to sell our home. We were able to put the time into refinishing VERY dated cabinets (this is what I do for a living.) We bought discontinued tile and replaced our 1950's kitchen floor. We installed inexpensive black walnut, butcher block counter tops to replace the 1960's laminate. We bought an updated and modern-looking bathroom vanity for less than $200 to replace the particle board 1960's model. Painted, staged, and de-cluttered. We did inexpensive, neutral changes that made eye-catching impact.

We had our home appraised two years before we made these changes when we were considering staying but renovating (before the housing market crashed and values were UP.) When it was time to sell, after updates were made (after home values CRASHED,) our home value increased by nearly $15,000. We put less than $5,000 and A LOT of sweat equity (and chiropractor visits, ha!) We got asking price for our home and it sold after being on the market for only 15 days.

Again, I completely agree with what you are saying. I do NOT think that it's always the best plan to pay a contractor to make updates to a home before selling. Sometimes it is though, depending on the location, the comparables in the area, how dated the home actually is, etc.... The trend with a lot of buyers today seems to be "I want a home that's move-in ready without many updates." So I think that if you can make some smart, BIG changes with little money, you will most likely make more on that home's sale.

So happy to hear that your home sold so easily and for the asking price! Cheers!

Kitchen is very dark and changing the paint will greatly help. I personally think black appliances are very dating and that's the first thing a buyer is going to look at and start taking money off price of home. I would talk to Realtor about buying stainless steel. It would greatly improve the look. Good luck..I think that is more important than hardware.

paint those babies! it is very dark in there. just choose a color very close to the countertop or go with a grey or a light green. make sure you stay all in cool colors or warm colors thought.

yes upgrade the appliances, remove the counters, and on the island, to one level with a hang over for seating, and paint. There is a lot of good here, so the value of those things should be enough.

I would update the appliances to stainless. Paint swatch looks great. I really can't see the hardware, but it might need to be replaced once you get the appliances. "All new appliances" would look terrific on your real estate listing!

I agree with Al. Make sure it is clean. Do not purchase anything new. If you would like to give an appliance allowance to the new owners on the sale of your home, do that and then let them purchase what they like. Lighting is another thing, we just purchased in the past year and the owner wanted to take all of the lighting, I personally do not like the lights so I wish she would have, and then given us a lighting allowance. Everyone gets over excited about selling and buying. No house is perfect and everyone has to compromise even if it is a new build.

Don't buy new appliances, but expect they will deduct from your asking price.

A sell is a sell.

Fifteen percent below your asking price is still a good response.

is it common to place the refrigerator by the French doors leading to the deck

I would think it depends on the kitchen