It’s the hub around which the contemporary family home revolves; kitchens are the unsung heroes of modern living. Aside from their primary role of being the place from which the family’s sustenance originates, today’s kitchens have become places for entertaining and all around living. With so much time spent in them, wear and tear are inevitable.
But that’s just one of the six signs it’s time to update your kitchen.
- Cramped Counter Space
With the kitchen being called upon to fulfill so many roles these days, your countertops might also be serving as the place where you manage the household budget, your children do their homework and of course where you prepare meals. What’s more, storage space is a highly valuable commodity in the modern home. Optimizing your counter space can almost always be accompanied by the addition of more cabinets for hidden storage.
- Cleaning Is Difficult
Yes, some people genuinely enjoy cleaning things (otherwise there wouldn’t be so many shiny cars running around). But cleaning is a task born of necessity rather than pleasure for a lot of folks. The latest appliances, countertops and flooring are all designed with cleaning in mind. If your counters are comprised of tile held together with grout you’re working way too hard. Go with granite or a similar one-piece surface to make clean-ups go much faster.
- Outdated Appliances
Avocado green and mocha brown are so passé; stainless steel and black are what’s happening today. But even beyond aesthetics, older appliances use far more energy than is required. Advances in ovens, stoves, refrigerators, microwaves, dishwashers, and garbage disposals have made these devices more flexible and more efficient than those offered as recently as ten years ago. The savings you’ll achieve by switching to them will eventually pay for themselves. What’s more, older appliances can even be downright dangerous for your family. When you compare homeowners insurance rates you might find updated kitchen appliances will qualify you for a lower premium. Modern equipment is far less likely to cause fires or electrical shocks.
- Unsightly Flooring
While you might consider it folly, hardwood floors are now perfectly suited to kitchen duty. Advances in polyurethane finishes have rendered them both water and stain resistant. This means they can now add warmth to the heart of your home. Even if hardwood isn’t your thing, the broad selection of flooring options for the modern kitchen can be almost overwhelming to consider. In addition to making the room more inviting, they can make it easier to clean (see number two above).
- Aged Cabinetry
Worn finishes, loose or missing handles, rickety hinges, recalcitrant drawers, warped doors and bowed and stained shelves might seem to you like part of the charm and character of your home. But the reality is these are strong signs it’s time to update your kitchen. Cabinets are one of the main focal points of the room. If they’re looking tore up from the floor up, you can bet the rest of your kitchen does too.
- Inefficient Layout
Because today’s kitchens are called upon to support such a wide variety of functions, bottlenecks are inevitable—unless the floor plan is carefully considered. If you’re constantly tripping over people and/or find yourself going back and forth in three different directions as you work to prepare a meal; this too, is a sign your kitchen needs an update.
In addition to making your home more beautiful, heeding these six signs it’s time to update your kitchen will improve the value of your home if you ever decide to sell. One of the primary factors in most homebuyer’s decision-making processes is the nature of the kitchen. A nicely designed one with modern appliances and a sleek finish will absolutely elevate the appeal of your home.