"I assume we will have to paint the cabinets and get the counters and sink replaced together? Does that sound right?"

No, you do not have to do it. Not any of it. Why will this myth just not DIE already?

1. You have no idea what a buyer - any buyer - will want. You can spend all that money and someone can walk in and think it's the ugliest kitchen or color choices they've ever seen.

2. You're more than likely not going to get your money back.

3. If it's clean and well-maintained, it's fine. Clean, clean, clean, clean again, and then clean some more. Touch up any paint that is chipped, scuffed, etc. No need to re-paint an entire house if the paint is in good shape -- refer back to #1.

4. If things just aren't in good repair or you're living in a time capsule, you'd be better off pricing it accordingly. A house that is *priced accordingly* for repairs/updates will sell. Maybe not in a day or week, but it will sell. And you don't have to deal with the grief of fixing everything to get ready to sell.

I have never had a problem selling any of my houses, and believe me they were not showplaces. They were CLEAN and well maintained, and contrary to what the TV shows and 'net lead you to believe -- those two things are what are the most important, not the fancy-schmancy updates or re-do the whole house or no-one will want it. What a load of horse-hockey that is.

ETA: Your kitchen looks just fine. If you're really itching to do something, update the boob light and fix that ceiling area (? was that a repair), and put some hardware on the cabinet doors. Boom, you're done. (Wood is coming back in a big way, BTW)

There’s a flipped house that just went on the market in my community. Floors are gray, walls are gray, exterior is gray.

If I were considering buying it, I would subtract at least $50,000 to mitigate the gray.

If you think you must paint (because it won’t come clean or it’s in rough shape), paint it white. Not pure white but with just the barest bit of color in it.

Are the cabinets already painted? If I’m viewing your pictures correctly, they’re not. The blue-cabinet-picture is just a suggestion? Don’t paint them.

(not a pro) I'd meet with a few realtors first and find out their recommendations, but then take their advice with a grain of salt because they want to make the most money with the fastest sale, so of course they're happy to tell you ways to spend your money.

Most here would recommend NOT spending money to update your kitchen, just lower your asking price accordingly. Painting cabinets professionally is expensive; doing it yourself can be difficult and not end with good results.

One thing I would consider is painting the ceiling. What's the discolored box there? Looks like there could have been water damage? Then I'd take down the valance and remove any tchotkes. I'd also consider storing the spices somewhere else and just putting a few pretty (or all white) dishes in the glass-fronted cabinet.

If it were my house, I'd replace the 'boob' light, but that wouldn't stop me from buying it.

Finally, tour other homes in your area to find out what a typical kitchen in your price range looks like. If the kitchens in your range are all updated (cabinets, counters, appliances) then I'd lower the price accordingly.

Some money spent on under cabinet lighting and better room lighting would go much further than spending 10K on having the cabinets painted. Or spending months doing the painting yourself. Because that is not a quick and easy job. And unless it is done to professional standards, you are subtracting thousands off of your selling price.

Start by talking with a local realtor (or three) to see what they recommend. They'll know how your current kitchen compares to others on the market, and what the overall heat of the market is right now. I would personally prefer a credit towards updating the kitchen to painted cabinets, but if you're in a first-time buyer market where people can't contemplate renovations quite yet, that may not be the realtor's recommendation.

I hate same-color-everywhere houses, and as a buyer would much prefer something that didn't scream "I was painted for sale!" quite so much. I think ours was actually done relatively well on that front (though it was absolutely painted for sale)--the common rooms were done three shades from the same Benjamin Moore strip so they're not identical, but they match. Each of the bedrooms was done a color, but a very light/neutral shade. The hallway is a matte version of the trim, which is the same throughout the house. Fifteen years later, we've only changed a couple of the colors--I just repainted our bedroom in the same color they picked all those years ago, Hampton Green, because it works and it's neutral enough that even though we're changing up our decor, it can go in a lot of directions. We've stayed the course with the white they picked for the trim (Acadia White) for a kitchen remodel with new cabinets because there are just too many whites to get my head around, and we like the one we have fine.

I'd pick a neutral color--greige or could even be an off-white--for hallways and anywhere else you don't want to proactively choose something, and then do a complementary soft shade of color for bedrooms--a neutral very light gray, blue, green, or yellow. (There are tons of posts on options.) I prefer public rooms like kitchens, dining rooms, and living rooms to have more personality with deeper colors, but that might not be the recommendation for selling.

I probably wouldn't paint the cabinets at all unless your realtor advises you to, but if you do, definitely a white or off-white. Really, though, the kitchen looks like it is ready for a bigger update so I'd be sure that paint is really worth the investment first. Good luck!

Such great advice. Imagine the issues with choices of colors, materials, supply chain, availability of good contractors, running into unforeseen repairs. I think it’s very hard to work through all that when it’s not a labor of live for your own needs.
If you’re moving out before putting it on the market, you have more opportunities to get it really clean, touch up any glaring issues and maybe leave in place some best staging furniture or items if you can live without for awhile . Also tidy & maintain any yard & landscape areas.
Consider going to some comparable open houses but even then, be aware, lot of cheap work, materials, semi- flipping has been going on in my area and then big price hikes. Market seems to have slowed now with the economy & interest rates so pricing lower because of not doing updates yourself , may get you more offers- lower mortgage needed. If you happen to be in a coveted location , perhaps being more modest house than the neighborhood ( or compared to aggressive renovations being done ) , then, depending on some input from realtor (s) you might be able to set price higher for location but hoping for buyers who can afford that plus major remodel and would be removing or re- doing everything anyway.

As others have said, don't do anything except clean, declutter and take care of any maintenance issues.

You say you haven't updated in 10 years but that kitchen looks as if it was older than 10 years. The large beige tiles are unattractive.

I am not of the belief that a kitchen has to be au courant and trendy but your kitchen appears to be in the last legs of useful life and doesn't have the best layout. There are no drawers and I suspect the hardware is elderly. Most people - even if they aren't trend setters don't want the cabinets that are hung above the peninsula. Painting the cabinets (as discussed) either will be expensive or will be a terrible job that will flake and chip quickly.

Change the light because it is ugly and dated in the worst way. A new light fixture is a relatively easy and inexpensive fix and will do much to improve the immediate look of the kitchen.

I don't know your market - a local realtor probably will or surely you have neighbors who se kitchens you are familiar with. There are lots of people who would prefer to pay a bit less for a clean functioning kitchen that is just a bit out of style versus having to deal with someone who made superficial changes like painting wood cabinets grey or white.

As I posted, the entirety of your kitchen is "tired" looking so you might get someone who would rather save $10,000 or so and either live with the older kitchen or gut the kitchen and have exactly the aesthetics and functionality they want. Having remodeled a kitchen relatively recently I see very few kitchens that I like as much as I like mine - both aesthetically and functionally.

This is all excellent advice, and you're absolutely right, I should consult a realtor. I guess I was wondering about the ROI. Most homes here were updated to cream/white kitchens with nickel hardware and a warmish granite counter in the last 20 years and that's kind of the basic standard. So our orange oak with laminate was dated back when we bought it. It seems like houses in our market that aren't updated don't sell quickly, even priced at a discount.

Our friends recently sold their house, in the spring when it was so hot, about a mile away. They also have young kids and the house was really beaten up (we have 7 kids, so you know, every inch is a bit beaten up!). They left and then he replaced all the light fixtures, blinds, carpeting, and faucets, and had the house deep cleaned and painted light greige with white trim. They had that updated-in-2008 white-with-warm-granite in kitchen and bathrooms. He spent 20k on those fixes. He even replaced the toilets so they wouldn't have orange rings. They asked about 90k more than I expected and got 20k over asking! I wouldn't expect that at our house, but this guy's advice was that women buy houses and they don't want projects when they move in, so if you make it look turn-key they will pay a premium. But it sounds like that's not what you would suggest? Or maybe contractors are more scarce now?

"...but this guy's advice was that women buy houses and they don't want projects when they move in, so if you make it look turn-key they will pay a premium."

I am a women, and that's insulting. Maybe *some* women don't want projects, but it's not just women -- I know some men who don't want any part of any project. I have a friend who is a top-to-bottom DIY'er (plumbing, electrical, all of it), she loves fixer-uppers; she does the work on her houses while her DH watches the kids, he wants no part of it. LOL!

I want my home to be a reflection of me, not someone else. No I don't always have the money to do everything I want all at once, but who does? Maybe a small percentage of people IDK, the rest of us live in the land of reality. If it's clean and well maintained, I'd consider it.

Take the advice about consulting a realtor with a grain of salt. Many of them are going to advise you to pour a bunch of money into updates -- they can then list for more, and potentially make more money. That money is out of YOUR pocket, not theirs, they have nothing to lose and much to gain if YOU re-do the whole nine yards.

It depends on your market. Don't fight your market. Homes here that are updated sell for much more than those that aren't. Very similar to the experience of your neighbor. It pays off here! This was well before COVID too. Younger families want homes that are updated. You can do this on a tight budget with some careful shopping. Some very successful realtors have lots of established contractor relationships who are very reasonably priced and have a quick turnaround.

Most people are not very good at visualizing change. They like turn-key. If you update your house, I would steer clear of all grey. White-painted cabinets in the kitchen are safe and desirable. Quartz countertops (you can find cheap quartz). A simple subway tile backsplash. Current fixtures from Wayfair. I would paint a greige color or white.

At the very minimum, I would get a grout pen and change the grout color on your kitchen floor to a light color blending with the tile. Remove popcorn ceilings and paint.

Remember, you are trying to appeal to the majority. Who is your buyer?

Just clean & declutter & ”de -personalize “ . Forget getting a realtor’s opinion, they juat want a quick sale. No matter what you select for updates there will be prospective buyers who dislike your choices. Neighbors of mine completely remodeled a two year old kitchen that had been remodeled by the previous owner after they moved in. They also removed & replaced brand new windows ( white ) because they wanted more trendy charcoal framed windows ! Price it appropriately considering it’s current state.

The market has changed since the spring and you won't get what your friend got no matter what you do. Paint the ceiling and walls, clean and declutter, then price accordingly. whoever buys it will update to their preference.

If I was a buyer I would rather have your kitchen than the neighbor's kitchen. I prefer the natural wood cabinets. Painted cabinets you don't know the quality of the prep and paint.

As stated above clean, declutter and fresh neutral paint on the walls. Personally I would scrub the kitchen floor well and change the grout to match the tile with Grout Renew. If your cabinets have worn areas, Old English scratch cover works wonders.

I wouldn't pay you for any kitchen updates, because the first thing I would want to do is rip out those soffits.

I do agree there’s some tension between the visual appeal of “ fresh and light” vs the practicality of how much work could be done. Buyers do scroll through the listing photos and may gravitate to updated looks. A seller who is an experienced DIY and good at sourcing good buys in products might have a different calculus on investment/ return.
Do collect some more information about your local market. I admit the 20k investment bringing 90k+ return sounds unusual to me at this time. One also really needs an agent who will get in buyers who can see the potential & the pricing advantages. I expect they may be working harder on that now that houses are not flying off the shelf as much as a year or so ago ( hoping). Good luck with your journey.

My friend remodeled her kitchen about 20 years ago. It's still in perfect condition but is dated by today's standard. She was going to replace the flooring and countertops before selling but her realtor (a friend) discouraged her -- he said updating one or two items would only make the rest of the room look dated.

As others have said, clean like crazy, repair all of the small things we often learn to live with, and declutter. Then make sure your house has the lowest asking price in the subdivision. Giving up a few thousand dollars in selling price is far better and way less hassle than spending many thousands on improvements that will only bring you pennies on the dollar. Good luck with your sale.

Do what everyone else has suggested. And declutter not only what is in the rooms but closets too.

I would change out the light and paint the ceiling. After that, consider recoloring the grout to get a close match to the tile color. 

Given that mortgage rates have been rising quickly, I would want to get the house on the market as soon as possible. Many people buy houses by determining the payment amount they can afford each month, not the contract price. Sellers care more about the final price than the buyers so hurry up and get it listed before highernrates translate into lower offers. If it doesn't attract enough interest, then you can do some more painting or just drop the price.

Normally I’d agree with all the other suggestions…fix what is broken and clean everything twice. But looking at your kitchen ceiling, you removed an old fluorescent light fixture but didn’t patch and paint the ceiling before installing the new fixture? I’m thinking your idea of beat up and most other peoples might be different.

Looks like the OP has very few areas to turn into drawers, like all the experts say are the only way. My kitchen has 0 places for drawers & there would be no way to change it\, It is what it is. I agree not many want peninsula overhanging cabinets. I took mine down. Good luck OP.

Thanks everyone for your answers; they are all good food for thought! Cleaning and decluttering are definitely not a concern. We will be completely moved out and have paid professionals to deep clean and repaint and all broken items repaired. So that's all a given. @H202 you are very right about the culture of this site, so perhaps it was foolish to ask. I was, I guess, more asking what was the style du jour that would be the best bang for the buck. But I guess I already know that by looking at what's on the market here.

It seems like knowing the local market is key. This stands out:

*Giving up a few thousand dollars in selling price is far better and way less hassle than spending many thousands on improvements that will only bring you pennies on the dollar.*

Well, of course, that's the question. To know the ROI, I need to look at comps and quotes. So I'm going to have the countertops quoted first and go from there. From what I can tell, kitchens that are vaguely acceptable (warm granite, green painted 30 year old cabinets, our exact tile) list for about 20k more than kitchens with an original kitchen. Entirely remodeled recently would go for 50k more. So I think I will collect some quotes and see what it will cost and that will tell whether it's worth it. My hunch is that $7k in improvements will bring the value of the house up 20-30k. The rest of the house outside the kitchen, with new paint, will be exactly like other houses in this area (if not even a little cuter and in a better location). I will update with what happened and what we spent. Thanks all!

The issues in the current market are supply chain issues and a shortage of construction labor, so you probably want to get a realistic idea on how long it would take to do these updates. We have been waiting 6+ months to get gutters installed on our new house. You run the risk of being caught in a never ending project, while watching interest rates rise and listing prices fall.

Hmmm. That's a good point. I guess I assumed whatever damage was going to be done by that is already reflected in lower prices compared to even just a month ago. Hmm.

Frankly - If I saw good quality stained wood painted over for a sale - I'd run fast and furious from that home. That may just be me.

There are so many types of buyers out there - and it is cheaper to paint wood than it is to un-paint it- so as long as the wood is clean and in good shape, LEAVE IT BE!

Leave this decision to the BUYER.

So many people are absolutely *desperate* for affordable housing, as long as it's halfway decent shape and they can afford it they'll consider it with no serious thought as to the cosmetics of it being a deal-breaker. It's the price that's the deal-breaker. A seller pouring tens of thousands of dollars into "upgrades", which may or may not be liked any given buyer, only increases the selling price, which in turn knocks it out of many people's price range. Lose-lose for both parties, since seller will have reduced the pool of potential buyers and will likely not recoup invested money (and you can't recoup time or negate the grief/emotional aspects associated with making upgrades), and buyers in search of affordable housing end up with even fewer choices within their given price range.

Start by talking with a local realtor (or three) to see what they recommend.

Every realtor will tell you to make all the changes you are considering and more. That is because it is your money you will be spending, not theirs. No skin off their back for you to spend money on improvements. But the kitchen is old regardless and the changes you will make will not make it look younger than its (I am guessing) 35-40 years of age. A better solution would be to price the house with the kitchen condition as part of the price. And, as others have said, the time it would take to get contractors to do the work is too long.

Nothing will save this kitchen. Save your money. Let a new owner decide if they’re any to remodel to move it into 2020s from what looks like 90s, paint, or live with it. Most I’ll paint wall

I disagree about realtors. No good realtor will have you waste your money. If your realtor is pushing needless improvements just because it is your money, then find a new realtor.

When we sold this year, my realtor walked around the house and made suggestions that he thought would be worthwhile. Mainly related to clutter, touch ups, and small things.

I agree with the comment above that nothing cosmetic will change the kitchen to look new. It looks like my old 35 year old kitchen in fact.