Gone are the days of buying a home that you will live in for the next thirty or forty years. These days, home buyers and renovators, need to take several factors into consideration when selecting upgrades for their home. Kitchen countertop selections need to be based on more than just aesthetic appeal.
When you are in the process of choosing kitchen countertops, you want to take three things into consideration: potential resale value, whether the style/color choices will be easy to integrate with future decorating motifs, and their overall ease of care and maintenance.
Here are some things you will want to keep in mind when choosing your perfect kitchen countertops.
1. Consider Their Effect On Your Home's Resale Value
Our parents had it much easier when it came to selecting kitchen countertops. They assumed they would be in their house for decades to come. This meant that the trendy 1970s Olive Green 4x4 tiles were just fine. Your parents loved them, and they were the only ones who planned on looking at them everyday. Unfortunately, those days are over.
It's important that you select kitchen countertops that meet your aesthetic needs, but also create a visually appealing space for future home buyers. The average home buyer remains in their home for about 7 - 10 years. While some people enjoy fixer-uppers, most of us want to move into a live-in ready home.
Certain materials, such as Corian, quartz, and granite will add value to your home, so consider your material choices in terms of overall value. Your countertop choice now, needs to be timeless, and add as much overall value, as possible.
2. Choose Color Schemes That Can Be Worked Into Various Decorating Motifs
As mentioned before, decorating trends change. As fun as remodeling can be, kitchen countertops aren't something you want to be changing every five years. You will want to choose a color scheme that is neutral or varied enough that your decorating choices down the road will still work with what you have now.
By selecting earth tones, more neutral colors - or patterns should you go with granite - is a good way to ensure that you aren't locking yourself into a certain design scheme. It also helps to reinforce Point #1 - choose something that most people will be attracted to, in case you do choose to sell your home in the future.
3. Consider the Long-term Maintenance and Upkeep
To keep your kitchen countertops in prime condition, they are going to require routine maintenance and upkeep - or not. Maintenance should be a major factor depending on your lifestyle. Busy families might not want to select a kitchen countertop material that requires regular sealing to prevent water damage and/or staining. For others, annual homeowner maintenance is enjoyable and their kitchen countertop choices are worth it.
Some kitchen countertop materials, such as a granite slab, require sealing on a regular basis and can be expensive to repair or replace when they are damaged. However, they're also gorgeous in appearance and retain high resale values.
Or, you can opt for that same high-end look by selecting a quartz product like Cambria, and eliminate the maintenance requirements. Laminate surfaces like Wilsonart HD are always an affordable and attractive way to maintain a contemporary look without a lot of maintenance responsibility, but you are also losing out on potential resale value.
It is always a pleasure to give your home a face lift. When you take the proper things into consideration, you can enjoy the kitchen of your dreams and know that others will appreciate it just as much as you.
