Want to sell your home fast? Prep the kitchen !

Want to sell your home fast? Prep the kitchen !

The kitchen is one room that greatly influences a potential buyer’s decision, so giving it a mini-makeover before putting your house on the market makes sense.

• Twitterlooks like it hasn’t been updated since the 1980s, you may have a hard time selling your home. The kitchen is one room that greatly influences a potential buyer’s decision, so giving it a mini-makeover before putting your house on the market makes sense. Here are a few ideas that’ll help the “Sold” sign go up on your front Give the walls a fresh coat

Painting is the most affordable way to instantly update the kitchen. To be more appealing to buyers, avoid a vivid color and pick a neutral instead.

“Mindful Gray is a warm, greenish gray that works great in kitchens,” says Sue Wadden, director of color marketing for Sherwin-Williams. But make sure it’ll work with the room’s other wood components like the cabinets.

“Lots of wood could make the room seem green.” If so, Wadden recommends another popular color, Accessible Beige, which has a grayish undertone and works well with many different wood tones.

Paint dated cabinets too Homebuyers will have a strong opinion of your kitchen cabinets. If they need sprucing up, grab your paint brush and get to work. “Stick to a color that will appeal to the masses, such as white or light gray,” says Wadden. “A timeless white I recommend is (Sherwin-Williams’) Dover White, which is a warm white that gives off a creamy, rich appearance and is welcoming — something a kitchen should be.” The finishing touch: modern drawer pulls in brushed nickel or stainless.

Replace worn flooring

Homebuyers are hot for hardwood flooring, and though you love it, too, replacing your floor with wood isn’t in your budget. Is a laminate the answer? No, says interior designer Katia Bates. “It’s better to use a natural material like tiles made from porcelain or install a concrete floor. Both are better than laminate and more affordable than wood.”

Upgrade the countertops

If your countertops aren’t in good working shape (too many nicks, stains and scratches) or made of a dated material, homeowners may lose interest. It may be worth shelling out the dough to replace them. Popular with buyers: quartz, granite and concrete.

Change the backsplash

If your backsplash is nonexistent or dated, updating it to shiny glass, concrete or another material will make a huge difference in your kitchen’s appearance. But as tempting as it may be to pick a splashy color like tangerine, keep the backsplash neutral to maximize its appeal to the buyers traipsing through your home.

Make it smell good

Don’t overlook the power of a bowl of fresh citrus fruit on the counter or just-baked chocolate chip cookies to seduce buyers and influence their decision.