Remodeling Secrets Create Value

REMODELING SECRETS REVEALED
Today's Home Buyers
Looking For Updated Kitchens, Spa-Like Bathrooms

If you think back to when you were shopping for your home, you'll probably recall how important the kitchen and bath areas were in your search. Indeed, many buyers today are more inclined to consider a home that boasts an updated, well designed kitchen than a home where the kitchen seems to be almost an afterthought. Small, boxed-in kitchens with a dated design and aging appliances can scare away some buyers, who may not be willing-or financially prepared-to spend the money to bring the kitchen into the 21st century.

Happy Returns
There is good news for homeowners who are willing to spend the money on remodeling their kitchens. In its annual Cost vs. Value Report, which reveals how much of the cost of a remodeling project can be recovered at resale, Remodeling magazine found that, on average, homeowners could recoup as much as 92.9% of the cost of a kitchen remodel priced around $15,000. In fact, a minor kitchen remodel ranked highest among all other remodeling projects in the 2004 survey.

The magazine notes that it's important "to acknowledge a variety of factors that can affect both the cost of remodeling and the resale value of homes" when contemplating remodeling work.

Cutting-Edge Kitchens
What are homeowners doing to their kitchens these days? Infusing them with futuristic touches and lots of color.

"The image of the stay at home mom wearing a formal dress and apron as she prepares a three-course meal is long gone. Now it's all about letting today's modern technology make life easier, simpler and, more importantly, quicker to prepare meals for everyone's on the go lifestyle," says a spokesman for the National Kitchen & Bath Association.

To prove the point, hundreds of industry leaders showed up at the association's 2005 Kitchen/Bath Industry Show with their newest prototypes, product systems and appliances.

Is It A Bathroom Or A Spa?

These days it may be hard to tell. Consumers want to be pampered at home, something the traditional bathroom may not be equipped to handle. Industry experts say the demand for spa-like amenities is growing considerably, with homeowners adding luxury options, such as two-person whirlpool tubs, radiant-heat flooring and towel-warming drawers. For the technophile, bathroom mirrors with embedded televisions will allow homeowners to get ready for work while catching the latest news.

While homeowners seek extravagant touches, they are also opting for more streamlined and environmentally conscious amenities, such as showers and dual-flush toilets that reduce water usage without sacrificing comfort. Dual-flush toilets, pioneered in Australia, use a "wash down" flush action that pushes the water out of the bowl by the flush rather than the siphon-jet system more common in North American toilets. In fact, preliminary tests in Canada found that dual-flush toilets saved an average of 26% more water than single-flush 1.5-gallon toilets.

Among the highlights at the show were model kitchens with appliances under the counters to save space for preparing meals. Also receiving hearty ooh's and aah's were kitchens with separate stations for baking, cleaning, entertaining and cooking, so all mealtime tasks can be performed at the same time (with the added benefits of no more kitchen collisions or excuses for the whole family not to pitch in).

Stirring Things Up
In addition to space-saving design touches, Kitchen + Bath Business (K+BB) magazine has issued its list of "top 20" trends to watch. Among them:

The market for "drawer" appliances continues to grow. Manufacturers are offering microwave drawers, separate refrigerator and freezer compartments and three-in-one oven/microwave/warming combinations that blend in seamlessly with the kitchen cabinets.
Induction cooking, which transfers direct heat to cookware from an induction coil beneath the ceramic surface through a magnetic field, is back in vogue.
Stainless steel is still popular for larger appliances, but it may soon take a back seat to color. Don't be surprised to see shades of blue, green, purple, yellow-even red-on refrigerators, ovens, dishwashers, and washers and dryers.
New technologies allow homeowners to call in to their oven to tell it to start cooking. There's also a new refrigerator that lets you know when the food within has expired.
In addition to improved energy efficiency, a number of manufacturers are now offering ovens with steam cooking options for healthier food preparation and surfaces with anti-microbial finishes to prevent product contamination.
Glass, wood and metals, such as copper, are gaining in popularity in kitchen cabinetry, islands and pantries. In fact, glass is everywhere these days-right down to the kitchen sink.