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taylor_nelson77

Selling Help with Kitchen

last year

Hi there! I am about to sell my home and would like to prevent additional painting/work i.e. painting the cabinets. How do I make my kitchen look sellable with minimum work? I need to finish painting the door and door frames white to match the other rooms but what else should I be doing? I never got to renovate it the way I wanted, otherwise it would be all white. My realtor suggested painting just the wainscoting white and leaving the rest but I feel like that might look weird. Any suggestions?

Comments (14)

  • last year

    I think that I would finish painting the trim and also paint the walls white. I would not paint the wainscoting. Removing as much as possible from the counters , and turning off the overhead light would make a world of difference.

  • last year

    I haven’t packed the kitchen yet so everything will be off the counters. Do you think the white trim against the two different colored woods will look weird?

  • PRO
    last year

    The cabinets are the best part of your kitchen. Paint the walls a light neutral. The yellow is all wrong for the house. I would purchase new plastic counters and replace the backsplash if you have the budget to do it

  • last year

    Plastic counters?

  • last year

    Think Bev, means formica. I would leave the counters and the cabinets. Its too bad you already painted the one door frame, because, otherwise the trim could stay stained like it is. Now, I think it is probably better to paint all the trim white. Leave the wainscotting the way it is. Paint the walls white and declutter, and clean and clean and clean. Fix anything that is obviously broken.

  • last year

    Any wall that is yellow, paint white. The yellow is a real turnoff and will stick out in people's minds. "Honey, which house are we visiting today?" "You know the one with the yellow kitchen." Total pain to paint, I get it, but it is very little area and will make your kitchen something people can live in without having to renovate.


    No not paint anything else. The wainscotting is close enough match to the cabinets and looks great. Do not paint it. The door to the basement is beautiful blends in and don't worry about it not matching the other door. Color in the with a stain pen the area that is worn.


    Clear EVERYTHING off of your counters including knives, canisters, appliances, plants. Add in one nice decorative objects if you want.


    Don't listen to your realtor. They think they know how to stage houses and most of them do not.

  • last year

    Maintenance, clean, declutter, clean, maintenance. Painting the yellow walls is a 50/50. If you decide to paint be sure it's a very good splatter free job!! When about to sell IS NOT the time to invest in design ideas YOU LIKE. You didn't get to the renovation because IT WASN'T THAT BAD. YOUR time is over. Your buyer is as likely to like what's there now as they are to like the changes you make! Buyers want what THEY like and you don't know what that is. Give them the freedom to renovate the counters (if they want) the back splash etc... It's horrible to hate something that was just re-done!!!! Your buyer will be bummed to waste that money! The two door frames that are painted white are unfortunate. Might be worth retrimming so they match the rest of the room. THAT will be more odd man out than the yellow paint.

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    good advice already - I’d go creamy white with the wall paint so it complements the woods - if it were me, I woukd replace the ceiling fan with a simple light fixture (be careful with wattage and bulbs, make sure there is enough wattage but not so much that it feels like a truck stop bathroom… fwiw I am overly sensitive to bad lighting lol)

  • PRO
    last year
    last modified: last year

    The elephant in the room is the blinding white of the appliances.

    It hardly matters what you do with the paint. Price the house to sell, and let the next person deal with it.

    De clutter, make all the windows sparkle, counter free of all stuff.

    Beyond that? It's a trip to Home Depot for Stainless........and REMOVE the fan for a flush mount light.

    The floor is quite gray, maybe along with stainless, you do a warm gray, walls AND trim. Otherwise.......price for selling, Everything sells at the RIGHT price which is what someone is willing to pay,. It's rarely YOUR price: )

  • PRO
    last year
    last modified: last year

    A good cleaning and IMO do it twice , declutter , that means nothing on the counters and IMO the best thing you could do is anew light fizture no fan I would do a track and honestly I see no point in painting the wainscot. I see pot lights so change those bulbs to LED 4000K to brigten the space . IMO the best thing to do when selling is clean, clean clean and a huge declutter in every space . THat wall color is not doing you any favors but repainting the whole house sounds like it is not something you want to do. Go get boxes you will need them for the move and stsrt packing all the stuff you do not need for actual day to day life . If all the window coverings are in good shape open them to get as much light as possible into the spaces . Light and airy sells homes.too. Price to sell and save the money for the next home.

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    I would replace the bossy fan, declutter and clean, clean, clean.

    I don't think you need to waste time or money painting. If you put white on the walls, you risk clashing with the appliances, door or the trim. If you paint trim, where do you stop? Paint opens a can of worms that you don't need.

  • last year

    I think just painting the yellow a white or cream color would be perfect.

    Definitely have the counters as bare as possible, save for a decorative piece or a vase with flowers.

    I think that's pretty much all that is needed. I could see, if it's not too costly and complicated, replacing the fan but I think you;re good. I think the white appliances look fine.

  • last year

    It looks like the other rooms' walls are beige. Try that beige in the kitchen to replace the yellow walls.


    The clean white appliances are fine. Let the buyers deal with any replacements after they move in. I have seen too many "renovated for selling" kitchens thrown on the front lawn en route to dumpsters after buyers move in.

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    The yellow walls are dreadful. Paint the same color as adjoining rooms.

    Remove EVERYthing from the counters. And the sink, walls, top of the cabinets, window sill, floor (especially pet bowls), etc. Keep one rug in front of the sink. Clutter makes it appear that there’s not enough space in the room for your stuff. Pack everything up like you’re moving. Because you are.

    Clean.

    Done.