What do homebuyers want in a Santa Barbara kitchen? And how should that impact your style and design choices when upgrading or renovating your home?
Whenever a home buyer asks me to put together a list of homes to tour, our conversation usually begins with my client sharing her wish list of features. Things like number of bedrooms and bathrooms, ideal size and square footage, the school district, how many cars in the garage, and other easy-to- define parts of a property.
For many buyers, the kitchen is at the top of the wish list. After all, it’s the hub of activity, the gathering spot, the place that will influence your every day life for years to come? Granite countertops – check. New appliances – check. Sub-zero, almost new. Island with a sink? Island, yes. Sink, no.
Each home buyer or home owner has their own preferences when it comes to the kind of kitchen they’d like to spend time in. That’s why as a Santa Barbara home buyer, the kitchen is an area you’ll spend a lot of time evaluating.
Buyers imagine family and friends gathered in the kitchen…is the space big enough?
They’ll envision countless hours spent cooking and preparing meals there…is the layout functional?
The kitchen truly can make or break a home buying decision. So it’s no wonder that sellers preparing to list their homes explore investing in the kitchen. In my second in a series on home improvements for sellers, we’ll look at the design changes that can give you the highest return when it comes time to sell your home.
Santa Barbara Style in the Kitchen
Santa Barbara is known for having more restaurants for per square mile than almost anywhere on the planet. We are a foodie culture, a wine culture, a farmer’s market culture. Enjoying food with friends, family and loved ones is a way of life here in Santa Barbara.
Does that mean the ideal Santa Barbara kitchen is cavernous, filled with modern appliances and all the bells and whistles you might find in a new suburban housing development?
Well, probably not. For the simple reason that many of the mature neighborhoods have homes that were built in the early to mid 1900’s. They’re much smaller than you’d find in newly developed communities.
And because of nature’s boundaries – ocean on one side, mountains on the other – we don’t have a lot of new construction. For example, some of the most adorable homes in the highly sought after neighborhood of San Roque aren’t large scale.
So with this mind, here are a few of the best ways to bring Santa Barbara style to your home’s kitchen for the greatest return on investment, and create a home buyers will love.
#1: Open The Floor Plan
The “great room,” as it’s called, adjoins a family room, living room, or dining area with the kitchen to create a larger space for gathering. Opening the floor plan makes the kitchen the center and soul of the home. By making the kitchen part of the living space, your home has just become more desirable.
#2: Avoid Cabinet Overwhelm
The tendency when redesigning a kitchen is to put in new cabinets – a lot of them. Be careful not to overwhelm a kitchen with too much of a good thing. A busy kitchen needs workspace too, so be sure to balance more storage with function.
#3: Keep Things In Scale
Just like we don’t want to overwhelm a kitchen with cabinets, we don’t want to overwhelm a house with a kitchen. If you decide to invest in your kitchen, pay attention to proper scale and fit during the design phase. You want the kitchen to feel like it belongs to the house, otherwise the value is diminished.
#4: Small Space: Hire A Professional
If you have a small kitchen, it’s worthwhile to consult and hire a professional designer to rework the space. A great design can easily overcome a small space, whereas one-off improvements like new appliances or countertops aren’t as likely to influence the perception of a tiny kitchen.
Decisions
Kitchen upgrades are by far the best return on your home investment dollars. They are also among the more expensive, so it’s important to consider what creates actual financial value.
As you consider your budget and talk with designers and contractors, be sure to include a consult with a Santa Barbara Realtor like me. We work with home buyers every day, and we’re the best positioned to help you understand whether your home improvements will translate to higher value in the marketplace.
If you’d like to discuss which home improvements are best for you, I’d be happy to help! Conveniently click below for a day and time that works for you to schedule a time to talk.
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