i totally agree with chiflipper's suggestions. An additional idea is painting your island a neutral color that will appeal to buyers.

I think it is a great kitchen! Ditto to above. Think light, bright, clean, minimalism. Add light, clean absolutely everything sparkling. Basically neutralize everything and make it look like you have moved out. Anything left on the counters makes them look smaller, so keep everything off the counters. Remove the extra 2 chairs. Just 4 chairs around the table. Take everything off the walls, no shelves in corner, etc..

Would you replace the backsplash? or countertops? What color would you paint the island? Thank you to all if provided your input.

PS - normally it's not so cluttered... took these pictures though early Saturday morning. :) But point taken to remove more. :)

There is nothing wrong with the kitchen. It's the presentation of the kitchen. What does the rest of the house look like? Link to the listing?

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1352-Sugartown-Rd_Berwyn_PA_19312_M43210-67456

Here's the listing Sophie. Thank you.

The listing photos look appropriate for a lovely million dollar house. For the kitchen, just remove the current counter clutter and wall decor, and do as suggested above. Keep three items on the counter: one new lush plant or vase of flowers, a fancy coffeemaker if you have one, and a new kitchen towel. Remove the throw rug.

I'd replace the fan and the light over the island with transitional style fixtures in the same finish as the cabinet door pulls.

NOT the listing that I was expecting from the kitchen photo. I bet the buyers feel the same way.

The square footage, acreage, and exterior, would lead you to expect wood in all of the public areas, not carpet. And much more updated baths. But the kitchen is the BIG letdown. It's not horrible. It would be nice in a 300K house, which is what I expected. It's just way too downscale for that house.

I think you need to balance doing a BIG remodel, or a BIG remodel allowance. 100K territory to do it appropriately upscale. And the house needs wood floors. Not carpet. Another 30-40K.

How badly do you want to sell? Do the remodeling allowance.

Holy cats I did not expect that. I would want a 'YUGE' kitchen that opens onto the family room in that price range. Take Sophie Wheelers advice. Lovely acreage.

Your cabinets are a beautiful design, but I would suggest you paint them white OR sand them and then use a natural or pickled oak stain with a polyurethane sealer. If you do not want to lighten the cabinets, then I would suggest you put in a much lighter floor, nearly white, light grey, or the natural wood tone. I agree with other posters that you should remove the ceiling fan or the pendant lights. You might add two matching, flush-mounted ceiling fixtures to tackle the general lighting problem.

Thank you for the comments. Given where we live, the house is priced appropriately - it's a very affluent area. And we realize that to do the kitchen right, it requires a significant investment and that truly someone could do it on their own exactly they way they want to. But many good suggestions that are truly appreciated. More are welcome.

The issue isn't that you are over-priced, but that buyers at that level may be looking for an open, modern gourmet kitchen. When we sold my MIL's house (waterfront in Sarasota), we left the kitchen as-is, because we knew any buyer would gut it and re-do to their taste.

The problem is, you need to find a buyer with $75K spare cash and the time and interest to take on such a big project. In a family neighborhood, many people are short of spare cash and want move-in ready.

Could your kitchen be easily opened up to the family room, or is that a supporting wall? If so, and if your cabinets are in good shape, maybe you could paint them, replace the countertops and backsplash and get a more "gourmet" stove.

Thank you for the input Houzz Friends.

What is your carrying costs for a year on the market, with price reductions every couple of months? 50K? 80K? 100K? Take that amount and offer it as a remodel allowance to any buyer. Or, pull it off the market for 6 months, do some pretty intense and expensive WORK, and be able to list it for 1.1M. And SELL it then.

The issue is that the house IS overpriced for what the interior looks like compared to your competitors.

Competitor A 929K. Less money, but with hardwood floors and THIS kitchen. Pro style range. White farm sink. And wood ceiling. My second favorite of the bunch, but best kitchen.

Competitor B 1.05M With wood floors everywhere, and while not a fully updated kitchen, it at least is outdated at a high level with a separate wall oven and Cooktops and built in paneled fridge.

Competitor C. 1.095M Even this horrible hack quality flip with cheepchinesecrap cabinets has looks-like-wood laminate flooring everywhere and a separate faux built in fridge and freezer. And they have a contingent offer! Because people are clueless about quality, obviously. But it is "updated''.

Competitor D 925K, and totally my favorite because of it's charm. Marble entry, wood floors. Great historical details. The kitchen is overly ornate, and not my style, but it is upscale and suits the house. Copper farm sink. Pro style range. Copper hood. Island prep sink. Built in refrigerator. For 100K less than yours. And you can bet that their kitchen cost that 100K + that yours needs. So, you are at least 200K behind what this one offers. They have a pool too.

Your house, compared with these, and the next level down, is in the 750-800K range. It's NOT a million dollar listing without being updated. I'd put an offer in at 750, compared to the other listings. But that is because it needs that 250K worth of kitchens and baths right off the bat to be that 1M. And then I could personalize it how I wanted it, rather than being some idiot flipper's idea of cheepchinesecrap that doesn't suit the house.

IF you want to sell, you need to do what it takes to sell. Or, pull down the for sale signs and just live there.

rombar, it looks like a beautiful home and setting. The difference in real estate markets always amazes me. Your home would be on the market in our neck of the woods (Southern CA) for $4-5M.

It looks like your house has been on the market for 91 days...? Have you had any offers? What does your realtor say?

It's summer time and a lot of inventory on the market right now so we'll need to assess next steps. But feedback to date has been very positive.

Yes...spring and summer can inflate the market. Your home is lovely!

Update the lighting, take out ceiling fan, paint the island, maybe change the backsplash to something more modern like a subway tile. Add some fun cushions to window seat.
Disagree with remodel of kitchen, if I was the buyer I would rather do it myself and negotiate price.

I'm with Sophie - take some to analyze and move forward based on what you can afford to invest (or lose). I live in a high market area (new england coastal vacation town) and that kitchen is surprising. That's a 375K kitchen in my area.

The kitchen and baths and carpet are what I would expect to find in a much cheaper home. The home has the square footage. It has the curb appeal. From the beauty shot of the listing, it looks like the million dollar listing.

Inside looks like a 300K starter home. There is no way to reconcile the inside with the outside without a lot of expense. Or a price drop.

You can paint the kitchen cabinets, (7K) and remove the clutter (0), replace the ceiling fan and light (1K) and even get rid of the 80's Corian counters and terribly located island grill with a granite (5K). Buy a new slide in rsnge(2K) and do a backsplash (2K) and paint the walls and trim in there (2K).

That 20K low cost spruce up won't give you a comparable home to the other million dollar listings.

This isn't a million dollar listing. You need to have a hard conversation with your realtor. Your pricing is much too ambitious for the home. Put it in the next category down, and I'd bet you'd get offers, as is. It has the Potential to be a million dollar listing. Spend the couple of hundred thousand to update it to the hoped for comps, and it IS a million dollar listing. Or, face reality and list it for 850, hoping to get 800. But be willing to settle for 750.

My philosophy is leave it and let people remodel to their taste. Easy to rip out the old , harder to rip out new but not your taste. Just change lights and edit. Really is a lovely home

Thank you for the feedback. I really was only looking for feedback on the kitchen....

Check out the SOLD properties kitchens in your zip code for the last 6 months. People can ask 10M for a shack next to the nuclear power plant. It doesn't mean that the home will sell for that. Which is why you have to use Comps. The buyers will have to get an appraisal from the bank, and that uses the recent similar SOLD homes local to you. The bank will only loan a buyer 80% of that appraisal amount, even if a buyer wanted to pay more.

The countertops are off putting and I am not a million dollar buyer.

rombar, I would follow chiflipper's advice for the kitchen. Sometimes you can get way more than you ask for here on Houzz. I think most people are just interested and/or want to be helpful/generous with their expertise.

Three years ago we sold a home with a kitchen that needed major updating. Our realtor advised us to do nothing other than leave it sparkly clean and uncluttered. We had a bidding war going and sold it for $61K over the asking price. Glad we listened to the realtor!

Upgrade and match both ceiling fixtures, paint the island, clean, clean, clean and de-clutter. Then list it at the right price for what it is. Any new owner is going to redo the kitchen, baths and floors at a minimum. You might investigate and inform the realtor about which walls are load bearing so he/she can provide the info to interested prospects who want open concept. You said you wanted to do minimal investment, so that's as low as it goes.

After three months on market, you must have gotten some feedback on the kitchen, or you wouldn't 't be seeking advice. As you know, kitchens and bathrooms sell houses, so you are focusing on the right place!

Two other things which date your kitchen and make it look less upscale: the microwave/hood and the office desk. Maybe you could put a s/s vent hood (with backsplash tile behind it) and install a drawer microwave. If you removed the desk and couldn't match the doors, maybe a wine fridge.

Your home and grounds are beautiful, and those are tough to change, so keep the faith.

Painting all of the cabinets white and changing out the range to a Pro Style range, plus new counters would probably hold most people over for the couple of months that it would take to plan a complete kitchen redo. Most people can live with partially updated and current for that amount of time. But almost no one at that price level wants to have to plan a full home remodel before they move in unless the price of the home up front gives them the ability to account for that added expense.

How did your agent arrive at your asking price? Which specific comps were used? Have you had an independent appraisal? I think you need to delve into the process that was used to arrive at the asking price. Homes do not automatically appreciate over their purchase price. Sometimes, their value declines.

Thank you again for all your feedback. We happen to be working with top realtors in the area who know the market inside and out. I also know that our home would appraise at this value based on its last appraisal. I am completely aware of our homes strengths and weaknesses and we may stay here longer for a variety of reasons. We love our home but with children gone, are looking to downsize. Again, I truly appreciate everyone's feedback. I will certainly take much of it in consideration.

And some people are clueless when it comes to tack and go overboard on their comments.

Hi rombar,

You may consider updating your light fixtures. That is something we can certainly help you with. Our large line of light fixtures are hand built to order in New Orleans, typically ranging between $300-$800. We offer a complementary design service
and would be happy to offer scale and style recommendations based on your ceiling height/island dimensions. Feel free to email us. Happy updating! -Lindsey

Don't paint your cabinets if you are selling, please!! I want to murder the previous owners of our house who painted the cabinets. The paint scrubbed off!! We ended up with a $45,000 remodel that we didn't plan on (in a $300k house).

Beautiful exterior for the house and property. I am sure the person buying this would be buying for the exterior and would be willing to put in their upgrades rather than have you renovate then up the price. House price depends so much on where you are, where i am yours would be listed for 1.5 - 2M.

rombar gets my 'grace under pressure' award. all great advice but its hard to know the what's what from here.

houses at the right price sell; in the end that is the only universal truth there is.

Basically great kitchen with nice windows. For resale simply update the lighting to something cool and industrial.