Tuesday 13 August 2013

Kitchen's with Character

Beautiful rustic kitchen with exposed brickwork
Rustic, homely Kitchen
Vintage electrical s and Wood... dream kitchen?
Michael Allens Kitchen via Freunde von Freunden
had to sneak in this beautiful shot of the Wonderful Ashley Ording
Lovely readers I need some advice/ feedback....
I am not sure how long we are going to be staying in our current house but it 'needs a new' kitchen. The question is, in a house you may want to sell in a few years do I paint it how you want (homely and probably turquoise) or go for a standard shop brought 'clean, crisp, white' kitchen that would appeal to most people to help sell the house?

Comparing the above pictures to my mound of sterile kitchen catalogues I am pretty sure which way I am leaning, but it is still a conundrum. Do you think too much personal taste would deter you as a buyer?

21 comments:

Vix said...

Gorgeous! I can't bear fitted kitchens.
I say go with your heart. Our last house had a hand-painted turquoise kitchen and it sold within 1 hour of going on the market. x

Tess said...

Hi! I've been following your blog for a while, and I love it! It is always a source of inspiration (and boy, lately I need a lot!). If you are going to sell the house later, go for a standard shop bought kitchen. Make it yours by painting the walls in the color you want, and adding your personal touch in other items, not the cabinets. We are doing that in our current house, tho we don't have plans yet of selling it, at least not in a short term. Someone once told me that once she made up her mind of moving back to her home country, she stop personalizing items she won't be able to take with her, so she goes for items that she enjoys, but knows will be appealing to someone else.

Kath said...

Nothing would deter me if I liked the location and the feel of the house (as you might have noticed LOL).
If it were me, I would fit a wooden kitchen and paint it the colour that made me happy and when I was ready to put the house on the market, I would repaint it in a neutral colour. You can buy inexpensive "carcasses" (wait til after Xmas for the sales) and either have some tongue and groove doors made, or find inexpensive pine ones which you can paint.
I have dealt with both kitchens and bathrooms that way. By sticking to white tiles, you can introduce all the colour you want on your walls, blinds, woodwork, towels, accessories. (We fit tongue and groove to the bottom half down the walls in the bathroom and paint it). When you come to sell, pack all your lovely colourful stuff away for your new house and repaint in a neutral colour.
If the buyer doesn't like your painted doors, they can quite easily replace them.
Can't wait to see what you do! :-D

Sue said...

If you follow your instincts and heart, you will in turn attract the right buyer for your home. Why would you want to play it safe and be miserable for however long you stay when you could be delighted every time you entered your kitchen? Character, personality and the individual touches define who you are and how you live, embrace it!

Cheryl Cochran said...

Personally, I know when I was buying a home I couldn't care less what the finishings were, I'm more interested in the house's bones. But unfortunately, I know a lot of buyers can't look past the paint color.

But why not do what makes you happy?

not securely anchored said...

Lovely kitchen. Please remove the apostrophe.

Unknown said...

It's just paint, go for it!

Batavia said...

My kitchen was painted a deep eggplant color with white cabinets and grey tile. Everyone who came to the open house commented on how beautiful it looked. The house sold within the first week. You need to be happy in your environment!

Laura Harwood said...

I don't like bland sterile staged looking anything, just be your fabulous self xx

Erica said...

I just bought a house myself and did so inspite of the sterile unpersonal kitchen, which almost put me off the house. I ended up redoing the whole thing and it was a lot of fun. I would go for a kitchen after your heart, and chances are someone with similar taste as you will buy the house and continue to take care of it where you left off....

Erica

Vicki said...

I can only speak from past experience when selling houses. I've always had an "eclectic/bohemian" taste when decorating my homes. None have been bland-beige.
Colour was featured strongly throughout.
Never went to huge expense either, as I couldn't afford to. But, paint is well priced and can be very effective.
Salvaged and carefully chosen second hand pieces fit well.
Each house sold within a month of putting on the market.
The estate agents all said, they sold well because they had a "great vibe".

That's the secret.
Decorate in your own style. Love it and imbibe your home with good energies and the right people will come along when you're ready to sell... they'll feel the energy and will want to make it their own :)

With so many people looking for houses out there, there is the right place for the right people.

I'll be in the same position again in a couple of years.

BTW, a turquoise kitchen, with lovely wooden accents sounds BEAUTIFUL.
You have great taste, so I can imagine it will be a dream kitchen :)

Milla said...

I love the last one! I've got red kitchen cabinets in the same firetruck fierce color and they cheer me up every day.

Elegant Ground Water Features said...

Love the rustic feel of the kitchen in the photos :) My kitchen's similar in the sense that it gives an old country vibe, complete with rustic tabletop water features on the background.

Unknown said...

I agree with Sue. Follow your heart. You need to live and love the kitchen right now. Paint away. Your home will attract the right buyer in the future. I love your blog and the inspiration it's giving. I have a tiny kitchen so this pictures are great (I think I have the same clock as in the first one so that has made me super happy).

Anonymous said...

I once got the advice to go for a colourscheme that could fit anybody. But I decided to go with my favoritecolours and my wardrobe had all different colours inside :-), so did the shelves. The first girl that looked at it fell in love immediately and no one else got the chance, and I got what I needed.

Go with your heart!

Maria

Anonymous said...

Gabi, I'd go with what you love for the time you're in your home. I've heard of buyers completely gutting a newly remodeled kitchen in order to install one of there liking.

I've been looking at houses myself and am sick of those cookie cutter, fitted cabinets, sterile stainless steel appliances and horrid granite countertops, all installed to "sell" the house and all of which I would be paying for. I'd rather have a kitchen with vintage character that I can make my own or remodel to my own liking. But that's just me. Live for now and go with your heart.

Moon to Moon said...

Thank you for your comments guys!!
It is so hard to know what to do, but I think I will just replace the doors and paint the kitchen the colour I want. I do live in a rather Bohemian area and I suppose a kitchen that looks well used and loved will win over potential buyers rather than one that is sterile and unloved.

Shawna said...

I have recently purchased a home and the previous owner had updated it with a big white generic kitchen. I have mixed feelings about it. While a cheap white kitchen is not what I would choose, somebody else's personal taste is probably not what I would choose either. I cannot afford a kitchen re-do but personalising the white kitchen has been easier than it would be to cope with something really hard to change which I hated. I don't know how you can please a buyer, so you may as well please yourself. Perhaps when it is time to sell you could put a coat of plain white paint over the cabinets to make it more "saleable"

donaleen said...

We worked on our kitchen for 18 years, as time and money allowed. We did most of it ourselves.

http://www.studiogblog.com/garden-inspirations/before-after/before-after-a-gorgeous-retreat-emerges-from-a-modest-back-yard/

donaleen said...

Sorry, wrong url...

http://spitnvinegar.blogspot.com/2013/06/kitchen-counter-lighting.html

Anonymous said...

I would go with the clean white kitchen and just accessorize with your personal style.