George Willison

Payback on Your Kitchen Makeover

Sometimes when you are deciding to upgrade your kitchen, you will need to consider the financial payback on your project.  Here is a framework to help you address the payback issue.

Payback on Your Kitchen Makeover

Sometimes when you are deciding to upgrade your kitchen, you will need to consider the financial payback on your project.  The obvious need to do this would be a near-term sale of the home.  Other situations would include an anticipated sale in a few years, or making a decision as to which room to remodel among several choices.

In order to give this decision some initial structure, it is helpful to zero in on the extent of the kitchen makeover that you are planning.  Here is one possible list of your choices:

A.  High Impact, Low Cost

            New Sink & Faucet

            New Cabinet Hardware

            Paint Cabinets – If DIY

            Curtains

            Lighting Fixtures

            Paint Walls

B. Medium Cost

            New Appliances – Standard

            Paint Cabinets (Professional) and New Hardware

            Wallpaper

            New Backsplash

            Under-cabinet Lighting

C. High Cost

            New Appliances – Premium

            New Cabinets

            Countertops

            Floors

            Designer Accessories

If your current kitchen is a bit dated, the financial payback will generally be higher than

if the kitchen is of current design, but you have now chosen a different look.   The A list above will have a high short-term payback in most cases.  You could do the A list for just a few thousand dollars and expect to get close to 100% payback if the changes move the kitchen appearance toward modern standards.

The B list will cost somewhere in the range of another ten thousand dollars.  Again, the return depends on how much the remodeling updates the appearance of the kitchen.  If the B list items do bring the kitchen up to more modern standards, expect an 80 % + payback on these in addition to the A list items.

The C list high cost items can have a high payback if they really modernize the kitchen.  If they primarily change the style of an appropriately designed kitchen, you will expect a lower payback on your money spent, likely in the 60% to 70% range.  The great benefit, of course, is that you have one of your most important rooms updated to your exact desires.

Article Tags: Kitchen Makeover

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