Home Improvement Dilema - what is best for resale?
Cath35
My husband and I are fixing up a home that we plan to live in for about 3 years. All our renovation decisions are based on what would be best for re-sale value. Here is our dilema. Our kitchen has a small open doorway going into the dining area (the dining area is open to the living room area (a combo)). Our kitchen doesn't have a standard pantry, so we had at first thought to build a pantry wall of cabinets with a built in microwave and a built in tv along the wall that is seperating the kitchen from the dining room (it is a blank wall). Or, we could tear down this wall to open up the space into the dining area. What would be better for resale value - a built in pantry or an open kitchen? Help!
allinatizzy
How big is your kitchen, and where do you store your food now?
catwoman708
Built-ins and TVs in the kitchen are nice, but no one likes to feel "isolated" back in the kitchen when everyone else is in the family room. Is there any way you could have a smaller pantry (perhaps a corner pantry?) but still open up the wall into the dining room, or make the opening wider but not take the wall completely out? Or separate the kitchen and dining with a bar for an open feel/look, but allow for storage/microwave underneath?Just make sure it's not a load-bearing wall if you take it out.
Cath35
It's not a huge kitchen but it's not tiny either. It's a U - shape that has a decent amount of cabinets. We store food now in two of the upper cabinets. A family of nine lived there before us and they used the garage storage room for bulk storage. With just my husband and myself we have plenty of room, but for re-sale I don't want someone to gasp if they don't see a tall pantry area. I won't do the half wall that the lady suggested after your post. It won't look symmetrical. I also hate the bar idea - very dated in my opinion. It's sort of all or none...
Shapeshifter78
I totally agree with catwoman about the bar. It can be narrow and higher on the dining room side with a work space on the kitchen side, or it could be quite wide, providing a work surface in the kitchen as well as a place to eat. The important thing is that it provides more of the open floor-plan design which is very desirable. Remove the upper cabinets, finish the gap, add some lighting and there you have it.
Jem999
Tear out the wall. Open concept is big right now. Right now being the key words. Desirability changes so often in what buyers want in homes today. Remember though that if you do take the wall down, the rooms will seem as one and should be decorated accordingly. The flooring should match as should the wall color.
brasov
It all depends how your house compares to other houses in your neighborhood. If most of those houses have modern/high end kitchens, you might consider that pantry. If houses are not that new and generally dated, it'll be a mistake to generally over improve for resale. But, generally, an open plan will give you a good return. (I'd check out the open houses in the neighborhood)
2008 Bride
Both could be great for resale depending on your particular layout. When I bought my house 2 years ago, I liked that the kitchen was partially open to the dining room. The dining room opens to the living room (it's basically all one room but you step down from the dining room to living room area). The partially open wall is nice because when we have guests over, I can see everything that's going on in the living room and dining room from the kitchen, but the rooms still look like they're in distinct spaces. If everything is too open, it may look like you're in a studio apartment on your first floor! What I loved more about the kitchen though was the ample cabinet space- and the fact that we could put a free standing pantry to supplement the cabinets. If your kitchen is severely lacking in cabinet space, then the pantry may be a better bet. But if you have a decent amount of cabinet space and extra floor space, then the future buyer could do like I did and get a free standing pantry.
Teach3grd
You mentioned that cabinet space is not an issue, therefore go with the open floorplan. Constructing a ponywall (half wall) is not a large construction undertaking. If you decide to put one in and the future homeowners do not want it, removing it is an easy demo. You may want to ask your realitor for his/her thoughts about the best resale option too before making your final decision. Good luck!
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