Kitchens are a very expensive part of a reno, but they also provide the biggest bang for your buck! It would yield at least 85% return on investment. That equates to one of the top 5 returns on your investment should you sell your home.
As I’ve mentioned, I’m in the midst of a major renovation, and the kitchen is the heart of our home. I love to cook and entertain in the kitchen. It just seems any gathering or party always has the majority of the guests congregate in the kitchen. When planning the kitchen, I wanted to ensure it is the heart of the entertaining zone. Also, it was important to plan out the details of what we needed.
Stove, oven, dishwasher, and fridge, all the essentials were mapped out. I wanted to ensure we had clean sight lines, and so, we opted for a pop up range fan-no over head fan. That will be discussed in another blog entry!
The old kitchen was small, not that good a use of space or cabinetry, not to mention the laminate counter top. It was in a word ‘outdated’. See below:
Now the question is…………….do we spend about $50-60,000 on a kitchen or do we do some retrofitting. Well, being a frugal wife, I opted for the later. It was a lot less money, we got solid Maple cabinetry, but got the brand new essentials- granite counter top, large gas cooktop, large capacity wall oven, and a wine fridge. The island went from 4 ft to a wopping 11 ft! We have a breakfast seating area as well.
It is an amazing transformation. I will share the Before and After photos here.
The kitchen sink overlooks our 10 acre property. Who wouldn’t want to wash dishes looking at his view!
The island overlooks the main living area. More pics to follow with that view.
Needless to say, it is really coming along! I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on it. Please let me know what you think!