We once owned a very traditional looking Cape Cod style house that had a kitchen that did not match the house. It had those old style cabinets in melamine with oak strip handles. It was awful in the space. The style of the house was very traditional, with its fancy trim package with crown molding and over-mantles. The kitchen did not go with anything else in the house.
The house was traditional and the kitchen was 1980's contemporary. It had been for sale for years when we bought it. It was in an excellent location and a great neighborhood but no one who wanted the house wanted the kitchen. They just didn't go together.
This is a big problem for homeowners when they want to sell homes. Whatever a house looks like from the street, the inside decor needs to be consistent with the exterior. You don't want to disappoint a potential buyer who likes the exterior curb appeal.
There are some classic styles of cabinets and other details that will look good in almost any house, but you need to be careful.
In kitchens, whether a house is contemporary, traditional or transitional, cabinets need to go with the style of the house.
A traditional or transitional house with a fancy trim package can look good with raised panels that are also framed or Shaker style cabinets. Raised panel doors are basically for traditional or European style houses.
A Shaker style cabinet has a flat panel with trim around the outside of the doors. It can look good in every style house, from cottages to transitional or contemporary. Shaker decor was the original minimalist style. Bead trim on a shaker style cabinet makes it more traditional and looks good in rustic or farm house style houses, even ones that are going for a European look.
Flat panel doors with no frames around the outside edges look good in mid century modern and contemporary houses. The other day I saw a Northern Colonial style house with a center hall plan that had a kitchen like this. Resale may be difficult for this traditional house just because it has a hard contemporary kitchen.
Another aspect of decor to consider is paint color. A classic style of paint for traditional homes is a flat, light wall color with white trim around all the windows and doors inside and out. But the trick is that older traditional homes like Queen Anne farmhouses were never painted with the extreme white colors available in modern paints. They were painted with whites that were more ivory or cream, not bright white. Skip wallpaper. Most buyers don't like it.
Natural wood cabinets look good in many styles of kitchen decor. Painted cabinets can look good, too. But remember to complete all the details. Finish off the ends of cabinets and the backs of islands.
Let the architecture speak for itself. Stop decorating before you reach sensory overload, especially in kitchens. Kitchens tend to be busy visually. Open shelving might sound nice, but be very careful. It can look very messy and not function well at all. If you do any cooking, everything on open shelves will get dust, dirt and grease on it. On the other hand if you only eat take out food it won't matter and you might get by with well-staged shelving.
You may not need granite and stainless steel. The appliances matter more than the counters. Ceramic or stone tiles can look great and cost less. Butcher block looks great, too. If you live in an area where granite works with high priced houses, it might be worth it, but in cheaper housing markets you will never get your hard earned money back.
The overload of doodads and stuff is a problem in kitchens. Use fresh food items and minimalist window coverings or no window coverings at all. And make sure you can put most stuff away. Professional home stagers only let you have one item out on the counter. Many people choose a coffee maker. And then you can have some fresh flowers or fruit and you can make the table. That's all. So slow down on the stuff in the kitchen and it will make your house more salable.
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Home staging plays an important role when it comes to property sale. Ensure that you stage you home well or hire the services of professional stagers when selling your home in the Colorado Springs real estate market. You may even hire the services of well established and repute Colorado Springs REALTOR to help you find the best deal. If you have any questions about Colorado Springs commercial real estate you may contact Mike Stuard.
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