Again Beth has some great suggestions . Don’t go overboard you messed it up just let it flow it’s a beautiful mid century home Great character just spruce it up a little make sure it’s not shiny and clean and state I don’t think you’ll have a problem keep us updated

Thank you so much for your help, its so nice to get other peoples opinions to bring things back into perspective and prevent more crazy thoughts of going overboard. Tweaks with daylight lighting and sprucing up what is already there is fine. And I really like the discussion on why people chose their home, you're right, not a person mentioned the kitchen!

Sorry to hear about your divorce. I think your kitchen looks fine. Have you considered talking to a realtor or two to get their input on how to prep your home to put it on the market? They may think your kitchen is fine as is (but have some other random suggestion, like repainting your front door).

Realtors will give you advice that makes their jobs easier. If you spend 50k making your kitchen into a showpiece, the realtor has less work to do- the house will probably sell faster. If you price to account for the older kitchen, you save money- because nobody is going to pay dollar for dollar what you paid to redo the kitchen.

@Rita, you may be right about some or even most realtors but FWIW, I have had realtors assess my house and make smaller suggestions based on likely ROI. I agree, I would not get dollar-for-dollar on big remodels, but (with my kitchen) updating the appliances and getting new light fixtures could help make it look less dated. I've gone to open houses where the realtor mentioned some of the work done before listing the house. It's not 50K remodels, but other smaller stuff that helps the home show better. One realtor said that some buyers are even wowed by a front door that's been repainted a fun color. So my point was small fix-ups that which could entice some buyers, the way that staging can.

Great bones
-reface cabinets
Remove brick
Ideally remove soffit
Change out all light fixture to simple clean
New appliances where needed
New hood over stove
Paint out moldings
Make stove focal point
Replace island counter to quartzite product

No need to spend 10k on the kitchen.

There will be some local market variation when it comes to these decisions, so it is probably worth talking to a real estate agent to see if there are any 'quick wins'. However, from the photos the kitchen generally looks fine and I doubt that spending 10k would make 'a big difference in selling the home'. I agree with letting the buyer spend the money and do it to suit his/her taste. Even if it makes a small difference, you need to factor in your time and energy, which I am sure are already under pressure from competing priorities. Good luck with the sale.

I would clear off the counters, except one appliance. Bring in green plants, especially on the island, by the window and by the microwave.

The kitchen has new cabinets, the countertops are in good shape and you have a light, bright and airy kitchen.

Just clean up, take everything off the counters and add bright plants.

Spend your money on hiring a stager, and painting if you need it.

Great large kitchen , change the bulbs or lamp and put a beautiful vase with flowers in the middle of countertop ..and sell "as is" ...
Don't spend the money ...you will not recoup it !

i agree with the posters who are telling you not to spend money. If the counter top has scratches get them fixed. If the vines by the stove are painted on I'd paint over them. Other than that keep it as clean and uncluttered as possible!

I agree with adding the missing shade to the island, declutter. the counters, changing light bulbs I would add under-cabinet lights, this simple steps will make it a more appealing

Nice kitchen. As a PNW Realtor, I suggest changing the light shades, add plants , clean and repair. People will gush over all the natural light!

When we sold our house less then a year ago, at the realtor’s advice we spent thousands on new carpet, fresh paint, etc. - turns out the buyer was so excited about the house they would have paid our asking price with the house as-is. (I know you don’t always have such eager buyers)
Our realtor in our new town advised us to put a huge tub in the master for future resale. Yet our builder who’s doing the renovation said in all the houses he’s built in the last year or two, no one has wanted a tub in the master- as long as there’s a tub somewhere in the house, they are happy, he told us.
So I agree with other comments that the realtor will suggest improvements bc it makes their job easier.

A good resource for me was our home appraiser -I made sure I was home during the inspection- I asked a lot of questions. He seemed to really know what features were important to buyers in each part of my city. When I asked if we should upgrade our old but pristine counters, he said no, that the buyers looking for homes in my neighborhood were here bc of the large lots and trees. Our buyers were thrilled that they could upgrade the kitchen with their own choices!

Hi Daphne,

Your kitchen is beautiful but needs new counter tops so it sells quickly. Quartz is all the rage right now so I would lean towards that. Have a designer come in and take measurements for new counter tops. They can then put you in touche with the fabricator/installer who will look at the job to tell you what you need to do with the brick arch - they may be able to work around it. It will probably cost you a good chunk of money, but you won't have to lower your price several times just to get your house sold. Happy Selling!

I wouldn't do a thing except make sure that it is clean and decluttered.

As a buyer I would be much more excited to get $10,000 credit towards doing whatever I wanted or not doing a thing.

Putting in a new expensive counter is ridiculous - again as a buyer if the counter truly needs to be replaced, I would much prefer to be able to pick out exactly the counter I wanted because my taste isn't going to necessarily be what is installed - especially since you would be putting in something that is bland and theoretically appealing to the lowest common denominator in terms of not offending anyone. I would appreciate having money to personalize to my taste.

quartz is expensive and changes nothing about the kitchen that matters to someone who wants an updated one. Would you be satisfied with quartz counters on those cabinets, in that kitchen? Of course not. The kitchen is what it is. It’s functional and fine, but not updated.

I love this kitchen! Has warmth and a great view. Repair cracks in counters and you’re good to go. Too many kitchens with white and gray look so sterile. This one looks like a happy gathering place. Good luck on your sale!

Three fixes:

1 - New light fixture over the island

2 - Up dated bar stools for staging

3 - cover over the grape vines behind the stove.

Then stick the rest of the $10K in your pocket and let the new owners update the rest to their taste.

When I sold my last house the realtor talked me into spending $12K for new paint and carpet through out the house. After they purchased it, the new owners came in and ripped out all the brand new never been walked on carpet and repainted everything. What a waste that was! I am very sure I did NOT get even half that money back in a higher sale price or a quicker sale.

I agree with the other posters. Meticulous attention to staging and cleaning, with the minor cosmetic updates mentioned. We sold our home this year. It was 15 years old, with wood shaker door cabinets, and dark granite countertops. The new owners are in the process of gutting the kitchen, and outfitting it in a new layout, to suit their specific needs. If I’d spent money to update prior to sale, I suspect I would have never recouped that investment, and it would have been ripped out anyway.

When I hear someone say quartz is all the rage, that immediately translates to quartz will be dated as heck soon, run away. Of course quartz can be thoughtfully chosen and installed, just be aware that when something is all the rage it will soon need to make room for the next thing that will be all the rage.

I agree with others that the kitchen has a classic look, and there's not much sense in spending $$ to update it. A new countertop is a total waste of money, unless you spend $60k to do the whole kitchen.

I would spend $300 on a new light fixture (I think you'll find a new lampshade will cost almost as much as a cheap, more contemporary fixture - so might as well just replace the whole thing).

Assuming the countertop has visible cracks and scuffs, i would pay to get it repaired and freshened. Agree that cracks come across as a home maintenance issue.

And to the extent it can be done without causing a domino effect of issues, I would remove the brick arch thing. I think everything in your kitchen reads "classic" except the arch, which is far too "personal" to the original homeowners. After buyers leave your house, the only thing they are going to remember is the arch. So take it down, even if it leaves behind some rough paint patching on the ceiling or stain marks on the counters. If taking it down leaves behind damage on the walls, you could stick up some really simple molding with glue to cover the damage and paint the same as your walls. I would just leave the downdraft vent - no one except the posters on Houzz would even notice the absence of an overhead vent. And try and get rid of the floral on the tiles behind it. Even if you just paint the tiles for $20. Again, it's a cheap, non-quality fix, but no one except people on Houzz would notice when they are house hunting. Point is that i think your kitchen will sell better with no arch but some minor damage/cheap fixes in its wake, versus leaving the arch.

Otherwise, i think the kitchen looks great.

I like your kitchen as it is, and agree with others that are saying skip a big remodel.

Change out the lighting, clean up, and staging is great. Save as much as you can of that 10G in case something else turns up during the sale, like needing a fix or taking a lower offer. Or IF you put your house up and get a lot of negative commentary about the kitchen that seems to be stalling a sale, then perhaps re-consider putting some more cash in.

I'd be the person buying your house that would not change the kitchen at all. I love the arch. I would probably even add some Talavera Mexican tiles. But I wouldn't expect the seller to change it out for me. That's something I would do after I buy it. Any buyer would rather change anything themselves, not undo something the seller thinks people want.

So there you have it.

Most wouldn't do a thing to the kitchen; just make sure the kitchen is clean, decluttered and staged.

Most think that putting in a new expensive counter is ridiculous; if you can repair/take out the scratches you should do so.

Many think you should spend your extra money on ensuring the house is squeaky clean and staged to present it in the best 'light'. Many others think you should pocket the money, don't install new carpets and don't paint if it doesn't help sell the house.

Good luck on selling the house. The kitchen is bright, light and airy and it will be well-liked

I just want to follow up on some comments above where people are saying that you shouldn't spend your money on the kitchen because "buyers would rather spend the money themselves to put in what they want." That's not true. Ninety nine percent of buyers want move in ready. They do NOT want to have to do any work to their kitchen. Houzz is a very specific niche of people who enjoy home renovations, and just because people on here say they would rather put in what they want, doesn't mean *most* buyers feel that way. As a seller, if you want to reach the most people as possible and sell as quickly as possible, it's your job to make the kitchen as appealing as possible to as many people as possible, spending the least money possible. Upgrading your counters won't achieve that, because it's an older kitchen, and simply upgrading the counters isn't going to trick people into thinking it's a new kitchen. That's why people are advising you not to do that upgrade. I think the arch is going to turn people off, and the fix could be diy'd in a saturday afternoon for less than $100 (or pay a professional $600) and i think that's worth it. Someone on this site might like it, or might be okay taking it out later, but *most* buyers probably would find the kitchen more appealing without it.

@H202 - I think most people would be perfectly happy with that kitchen in the real world - unless there is something not apparent from the pictures - especially if there is a $10,000 incentive so they can do what they want. I guess it comes down to what is move-in ready in the real world - for most people this kitchen is move-in ready unless there is real damage to the counter in which event it should be treated the same way damaged flooring generally is - by giving an allowance so the potential buyer can select exactly what they want

Taking the brick arch away is not going to be a $600 project because it will turn into a cascade of other issues - the counter and the drywall would need to be replaced and the backsplash would probably look incongruous without the frame. While the arch might not be completely on trend, it is not the kind of horror that causes people to flee in terror.

If anything the people on Houzz are more sensitive to trends - hence the comments on the grape vines in the background and advice regarding lighting.

Anyone looking on the market and sees your house from the outside and it catches their eye They can tell that it’s a mid century home serval people are looking for those cans of houses and when they see the inside of yours as great as it looks with so much character of that era There will be things that they want to put their Touchin and make it a myth century modern home and I found one already love them and like a lot of home for so much character I would not mess it up if you do anything thank about what Beth suggested

Thank you so much everyone for your help! there are some really good thoughtful answers, thank yoU! I'll take most everyone's advice and work with what's there. And maybe consider a new light fixture, or different lamp shades. I definitely agree that the arch is awkward looking, but without changing the countertops I'm stuck with it as it looks like it sits directly on the countertop. Do you think that whitewashing the arch would make it look better? And if I were to try to cover the grape vines (we live in wine country so I'm not sure...), what kind of tile would look best and not clash too much with the brick??

Relators I spoke to didn't have much of an opinion about changing the counter tops or leaving them, or really any other updates. (Well, except for carpet in the bathrooms and faded wallpaper!)

What you want to be careful of is that any changes you make don't make the rest of the house look dated. So each room has to be approached that the changes compliment each other.

I see 3 things that I think would make the most impact to change. Fix and repolish the counters, a new light fixture as this one looks tired and old, and even though you live in wine country the back splash over the cook top has outlived it's time. Tile with a color tile that is the same color as the Corian. I wouldn't mess with anything else and do not white wash that brick. You are opening a can of worms. The brick ties in with the warmth of the cabinets.

And declutter, declutter, declutter. As a buyer I would want to imagine myself in the kitchen without your stuff in it.

On the arch, I honestly wouldn't do anything to it. I don't think it would really work whitewashed (think about all the aerosolized grime from the stove that will no longer be able to blend in with the natural brick color), but I also think it'd be too much of an undertaking to remove it if it's just for the sale of the house. The buyer can whitewash or sledgehammer it if they so choose (less effort on your part).

Also.. carpet in the bathroom?? Remove immediately! Bottom shelf sheet vinyl would be a vast improvement. As for replacing other carpet or adding carpet, I'd not replace existing carpet - steam cleaning should be enough (the thing to do nowadays is to just rip out carpet, so no point in giving the buyer new carpet that they're still probably going to rip out). The only case in which I'd add carpet to sell a house is if the floor was irremediably damaged/degraded, because throwing down carpet is way cheaper than replacing the floor or laying on some other material.

Thank you tedbixby, I agree about making changes that make the rest of the home look more more dated. The changes you suggested make a lot of sense, what type of finish on the tile, (shiny versus matte, versus a stone, etc...) would make the most sense with the brick? Or would it matter all that much?? Also, the kitchen walls are painted in a "highly reflective white", would you change the paint color?

thanks queen victorian, good to hear form another whitewashing is a terrible idea! yes, I am almost done with the carpet removal, it certainly did not work well with potty training a little boy either! Thanks for the comments on the other carpet, even though it doesn't all match the old stuff thats left is pretty neutral and cleans up well.

I wouldn't even change the tile. And I'd leave the light fixture alone.

The only thing I'd do is fix the crack in the counter.

It's a lovely house. If some prospective buyer doesn't buy the house because they don't like the floral on the tile, they weren't going to buy it even if the floral wasn't on the tile.

Save your money.

Another poster suggested spending the money on having someone come stage the home and I think that is a good idea. We bought about a year and a half ago and even though seeing a good kitchen was very attractive, it never "sold the home" to us. The one we ended up buying had the worst kitchen of all and is terribly dated everywhere, but it had the other stuff we wanted. It was in the right location, close to a good school and town, it had land and it was a cool house, old decor not withstanding. We could see that in it's time it was high end and everything was well taken care of, that mattered most to us. I would not worry about changing a white wall, reflective or otherwise. Paint is an easy fix for a buyer and they are not likely to notice the white at all. After they move in they may, but its not the kind of thing that will stand out when looking at the house, its a waste of your time and money right now. How does your house compare to others in your neighborhood? If it has a better layout, more land, etc it's likely to sell well even dated, if it looks just like them but is more dated there might be a problem. Talk to a couple realtors, but do take their advice with a grain of salt, I've noticed they tend to tell you what you want to hear.

How much a you looking to spend on a conversion? I have a few ideas. Really is a great, traditional kitchen!!

EDITED: Oops...totally missed the note at the bottom. Spend your money elsewhere. And I don't mean on the house. xx

Save your money as much as possible for closing a deal. That $10k May finalize a closing for something else that we can’t see here. Save as much money as you can for that.
Some people will like the arch, some won’t. What DOES matter is clean, uncluttered and staged (if affordable.). Your kitchen is very large and if someone likes the layout and size, they’ll buy it.
Carpeting in a bathroom is a HUGE turn-off so remedy that.
Paint your door if it could benefit from that. Show us photos if you want ideas for color.
People buy space, neighborhood, etc. but this forum is filled with renovation obsessors- so be aware who is giving you advice.

Don't spend money that you will want to recoup.

When we viewed our current home it was distractingly full of personal stuff, e.g. a poster-size portrait of their son sitting on a stand in the living room, and the same son sitting watching TV in the family room. We bought it anyway for location, size and price. But do your best to declutter and depersonalize, since it does make it easier for the buyer to imagine their own things in the house.

For the cooktop backsplash, I wouldn't go with a stone as I feel your kitchen can go in several styles directions and keeping the backsplash a non-focal point the kitchen will appeal to a larger array of buyers. Take a trip to a tile shop and bring a bunch of samples home in the cream family. If you aren't sure of which one, post them here and we can help. Personally, I have no problem with what is there now if it didn't have the patterns on it. The other consideration would be to have a Corian backsplash of the same installed.

I wouldn't worry about painting the kitchen as long as it isn't showing any wear. Even if people won't remodel the kitchen, they will repaint to make it their own. And the color it is, makes it a non-issue for any buyer. Now if it was red or blue, we would be having a different conversation.

I'm trying to figure out whether you replace the light fixture or remove and put recessed lights in. The only reason I'm mulling this over is because the light fixture seems to be only over part of the island or is that photo distortion? Do you have any thoughts on this?

Unless you don't have any competition in your price range and houses are being sold at a record rate then you don't need to do anything but if this isn't the case then you need to refresh to get it sold and sold near the price you want.

As a former Realtor with 20 yrs experience, I'll give you my take: the cheaper the house, the more updated it has to be. Reason? A young couple buying their first home don't have the money to update. An older couple moving up or relocating will say "we'll just rip it out".

Gracie- I don't totally agree with you. I agree with the starter homes being up-dated to sell ( if it isn't being sold as one to be flipped). But"older" couples are much more busy now a days and because the high prices being asked for homes currently they aren't looking to spend time ripping it out unless the house is a "deal." Right now the inventory for resale homes is the highest it's been since 2009. By my recent research it appears that the biggest percentage of these resale homes are not the starter homes. And the ones that are dated are the ones that are not moving unless it is in a pocket where there is a high demand for housing for various reasons. Since the OP is willing to put money into her house to sell it, my guess it is not in one of these pockets. And we know that it is not a starter home...

The cabinets look like good quality workmanship. There are two ways to go here if you intend to sell. You can sell “as is” and price the house $30-$40K lower to allow for a buyer doing an entirely new kitchen. Or you can do a half-remodel, keeping the footprint and the cabinets. In the second suggestion, remove the brick arch and remove the counters. Properly repair/restore what is left when you remove the brick. Install new counters in the entire kitchen (consider half butcher block and half hard surface for the island). Then price the house to fit local valuations.

The point is that $10,000 is not enough to satisfy a home buyer who wants a trendy Christopher Peacock kitchen so why waste the money since the kitchen in its present state is going to be viewed as move in ready for many potential buyers.

In my area, homes that have had gut kitchen remodels within the past five years are gutted and remodeled by new buyers. The kitchen with minor cosmetic fixes like better lighting is either going to be move-in ready for most people or be completely gutted. My realtor friends tell me that the worst financial move is to spend money so that the potential buyer feels they have paid for the new stuff but doesn't like it and is stuck with it.

I can't imagine the numerous people who posted on this thread don't represent a reasonable cross section of people who are in the potential buying pool for whom the kitchen in its present state is just one factor to be considered and that $10,000 would be more welcome as a price reduction or allowance to be spent how they see fit.

The bathroom carpet has to go because that is an absolute ick factor. While most people prefer hardwood to carpet, if the carpet is clean it's not going to be anything other than a potential economic decision which plays into pricing but most people buying relatively upscale homes that I know are prepared to do normal stuff before move in like changing or refinishing flooring or even painting,.

I agree with the majority of the other posters, save your money. Repair any of the damaged countertop areas and leave the rest. I would not touch the arch or the tile, especially stating you live in wine country. No, it's not "in style" but it ties in with the area.

I would replace the light fixture with something that matches your cabinet hardware and maybe replace the kitchen faucet to also match. Otherwise, take everything off the counters and add a nice plant on the island and maybe one or two smaller plants/succulents around in other areas. If you have an Ikea close they usually have some good little plants you could use.

"the cheaper the house, the more updated it has to be. Reason? A young couple buying their first home don't have the money to update. "

Gracie, as a young recent first-time homebuyer, I have to strongly disagree. See, we don't have the money to do a big fancy update (at least not immediately), but that means we also don't have the money to pay the markup for the update the seller presumptuously did for us, probably in a way we don't like. And if you're talking about updating a cheap house, then the update is probably cheap as well. I'd rather live for a time with a crappy kitchen with lower house payments while saving up than pay more per month for an "updated" kitchen that I might not even like and want to redo just the same. Now it's going to take me longer to save up to do the kitchen the way I want.

The type of house that I always took to be a "starter home" is not actually a freshly updated/flipped turnkey home, but a smaller/cheaper house that might be older or a bit dated, but otherwise "move-in ready" in the sense that it's immediately habitable (roof doesn't leak, heat works, appliances present and operational, etc).

However, those types of houses, the ones in that sweet spot of habitable-but-not-so-updated in between rotten foreclosures and overpriced flips, have become frustratingly difficult to find, thanks to the pervasive practices of both flipping and "improving" houses for market and passing the cost to the buyer.

To be honest, as a buyer, I've come to find the practice of making design improvements to a house before selling it patronizing and a little insulting. Am I truly so unimaginative that I can't conceive of making my own changes to the house? That I can't look at that corian countertop and think to myself that I could put in marble or granite, or that I could paint the room a different color? Or maybe I'm an atypical buyer who'd prefer a fixer upper over a flipped turnkey house and who is put off by staging and would prefer to look at a house empty.

As I said before, OP has a great kitchen that's in good condition and I think trying to guess the buyer's tastes is a bad gamble and a waste of time and money.

Just a thought, if you have any wallpaper left removing it will be a big plus. People don't balk at the thought of repainting but removing wallpaper creates a LOT of hesitation.

I would do nothing (other than the shade and maybe fixing cracks) but I would be prepared to negotiate 10 thousand worth. I only say that because your question really depends on the price of the neighborhood and the area you live in. Here a very high end home on the river did not sell for the 400 thousand they had been paying taxes on. It did not sell for 300 it finally sold after two years for 250. It was BEAUTIFUL--for its day but it was very dated. Your brick arch brought it to mind. People want what THEY WANT not what you decided to "update". It is a beautiful space and soooo large. I can't imagine it will hold back a sale.

@queenvictorian your philosophy is exactly how and why we bought our house. I'd rather live for a time with a crappy kitchen with lower house payments while saving up than pay more per month for an "updated" kitchen that I might not even like and want to redo just the same.

We were perfectly happy to have a great location and lots of room, but live with the dated decor while we saved up for a renovation. We couldn't afford a renovated house in the same neighborhood. When we could afford it, we renovated it exactly how we wanted.

"but could maybe swing about 10,000 if it will make a big difference in selling the home. " A big difference? Maybe or maybe not.

So many factors to take into consideration- neighborhood, comparables, how new are the roof and mechanicals, curb appeal, condition of the house, etc, etc. but you also don't want to turn off potential buyer's that are thinking of all the things that they will have to do as that is going to reflect the price they are going to offer. Nor do you want to sit on it and incur carrying cost for a long period of time. I would keep looking for a GOOD Realtor that understands your market and have a discussion regarding beyond the carpet flooring, are you being realistic about the price you want for the house and would any changes in the kitchen be worth it. Though I would for sure get the counter fixed and repolished no matter what as if you don't people are going to start wondering what other things weren't kept up.

One thing that I do when I go to put a house on the market ( I've had 7) I look at it through Buyer's eyes. I also get to know what my competition is. Zillow and Realtor.com are good sources to look.) I walk through my house as if it is the 1st time and see what are the selling points and what are the negatives. Then ask yourself are the negatives and positives reflected in the selling price? Would it be worth to make any of the negatives to positives? What would the changes affect? Price, more potential buyers, etc. Then look at the competition and see what their selling points and negatives are. Then review your pricing. Is it where is should be? You need to educate yourself so when the Realtor comes with an offer, you can justify whether you take it or not based on what's going on the market and not rely on what the Realtor tells you. I've dealt with quite a few seasoned Realtor's and have learned my lesson along the way that it is always better to be your own advocate and just let them do the paperwork!

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Partim- Exactly! We would not have been able to afford a renovated house in our neighborhood either. One of our comps was the house across the street - same style, size, age, etc, but this one had been nicely remodeled and sold for 100k more than what we paid for our unrestored but otherwise comparable house. The remodels it would take to make our house as nice as the comp will probably cost us around 70k all said and done, but over a period of several years, which, last time I checked, is a good deal less than the 100k markup on the updated house.

We lucked out because our house had been languishing on the market for months at the wrong price - too expensive for flippers but not updated nearly enough for the majority of potential buyers. We swooped in with a lowball offer the day the price was reduced enough for it to be worth it and got it.