I’m a big fan of white kitchens when it comes to selling a house. In fact, when we bought our house, I had looked at tons of houses with new kitchens that I passed up because I wanted to renovate my own kitchen. But I didn’t want an offensively outdated kitchen either ; ) We ultimately found a home with white kitchen circa 1950’s with white counters and a white backsplash. As plain jane as you get, but something I could live with. Well, 10 years later, we haven’t gotten to the kitchen renovation, but despite all of it’s shortcomings, it doesn’t make me cringe when I am in it because the white is such a quiet backdrop.
If you are an investor, you can go one of two routes in a kitchen. You can go very trendy because you are likely to be selling the property within the current calendar year or you can go classic because it tends to appeal to many buyers. But, if you are thinking of selling in the next few years, you should think timeless. The trends of today may be long gone so you want the little black dress of kitchens for your redo because it will appeal to buyers today, tomorrow and next year.
A white kitchen actually fits both of those. The white kitchen has been the most popular for many years in the running according to the National Kitchen and Bath Association. It’s just classic, timeless and beautiful. Now, that said, when you go out cabinet shopping, you may find that you are drawn to wood cabinets because the white might feel too boring by comparison.
In fact, I just said to my husband the other day, that he needs to remind me how much I love white kitchens when we get ready to do our kitchen renovation. I fear that I will be wooed by a deeply stained cabinet (which I also love) when what my Pinterest page is full of is white kitchens.
But I digress…First, let me show you an example of what I think can make a timeless white kitchen feel dated (straight from HGTV’s website).
The two elements that make this feel outdated to me are the natural finish on the floor and granite countertop. Not all granite is timeless or right for a kitchen. This counter in no way relates to the color of the cabinets. They most likely should have been a cream color to tie in with the counters. Also, certain granites are fads and this is one of them. Gray is the trend that has been around for a while and these counters harken to the beige/brown trend of the early 90’s. Add to it that the granite feels very out of place in this country kitchen because it is a more modern finish.
On the other hand, here are some great examples of the white kitchen done incredibly well for you to model.
Industrial:
- Mid-tone to dark wood or tile flooring
- White Carrera Marble (great alternatives are Super White quartzite, Ceasarstone Misty Carrera, Cambria Torquay, Corain Rain Cloud) with an eased edge–not fancy, just timeless and classic.
- Subway tile with gray grout which is so economical
- Farmhouse sink
- Black pulls on white cabinets to tie in the black island
- Contrasting island base cabinet with same countertop as perimeter counter
Coastal:
- Light floors with yellow/orange tones
Black granite counters with an eased edge (this grounds the cabinetry since the floor is light)- Subway tile backsplash with white grout
- Polished chrome cabinet hardware
- Stainless appliances
Modern Rustic:
- Handscraped floors in a mid-tone finish ground all of the white in the space
- Marble-look counters (see above for marble alternatives)
- White mosaic tiles ( this could be trendy but they are done in white so they are more timeless than going with a colorful mosaic backsplash)
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Great and supportive information about kitchen tools. As a kitchen worker or housewife, this is a perfect blog post for me. Good explanation on cooking instruments.
Thanks for sharing this. Really helpful