Your plans sound reasonable. Would a greenhouse window work to get more light in? Although they're something of a cliche these days, they do work to get more light in, and it would be cheaper than enlarging the window.

Leave the laundry door where it is, change it out for something with more glass.

One tip: improve the lighting, if needed. Makes a HUGE difference in first impressions. Amazon's a good source for undercab lighting, if you want to install some inexpensive auxiliary lights.

can you price out solid surface...perhaps with a sale. I think a great thing would be solid surface with some butcher block inserted if you have a logical spot where that works. Makes it interesting. There are so many laminates now...if going that route I would look at the whole array and various edges available/etc. Ikea cabinets will last..up the style quotient with something other than monochromatic black. But stay classic. I don't think black laminate is as rich/welcome as soapstone or dark granite. Probably NO to cutting into brick for window.....spend on good lighting instead...that will be noticed and appreciated for sure........price out the 3 foot shift of the laundry door..then think that over......

We plan to list next March, so I'm presently assessing all the things we should do before putting our house on the market.

Enlarge kitchen window? No. There's not enough ROI on that. To allow more light into the kitchen, I'd just eliminate the upper cabs immediately on either side of the sink. If you have a lot of wall, a typical first time homebuyer will like trendy open shelves. I'd consider installing them far enough from the window that they don't cast shadows from the window light, thus allowing maximum light in.

Move pantry door? Maybe. If it is a huge benefit to the overall kitchen layout. Add second door between office and pantry? No. I don't know your home's layout, but I can't imagine you'll get a significant ROI on this. You're aware of the benefit because you live there, but it's unlikely it will make a difference in getting a sale.

Change laundry room door to a glass door? Unless the existing door is in poor condition, I'd just paint. If it's too dark in there just swap out the ceiling light fixture. If the door is in poor condition and needs to be replaced I'd do a half lite door rather than a full lite. If the homebuyers have a dog, that might be the perfect door to add a doggy door to.

I'd
do white (Veddinge) cabs with black laminate tops to bring it all
together.

I'll investigate this.
Would a greenhouse window work to get more
light in?

Hmmm. Interesting thought. I'm not sure of the answer because the single kitchen window is under a covered porch; thus, no matter what, it won't get direct sunlight. I don't know how to go about searching for an answer to this question -- any thoughts, anyone?

Is a greenhouse window under a covered porch weird? I'm sure it would be cheaper than cutting the brick /making a larger opening.

Leave the laundry door where it is, change it out for something with more glass.

Oh no, I fear I described the situation poorly -- you're answering as if only one door exists, when I was speaking of two separate doors ... here's a rather poorly drawn layout ... I should've been more clear:

The door at the base of the office leads to the breakfast room (round table) /family room (below the round table, not shown here).

You can see that entering the kitchen means walking through two rooms -- hardly ideal -- and then the small room at the back is a combination laundry /pantry. One of the things I dislike about this house is that we come in with groceries and have to walk around the wall /through the kitchen to reach the pantry.

Right now the laundry /pantry has TWO doors ... one between the room and the kitchen ... and second, exterior door that leads out to the covered back porch.

So, with that explanation, let me ask the door questions again -- and I'm sorry I didn't include drawings the first time ...

Door question 1: Would you add a new door between the office and pantry so that we could enter the house and go straight into the pantry? Note that I've added a door in this second picture -- it's not ideal because it is close to our main entrance, but it would solve a problem we have now ... and would a buyer notice this as a positive?

This would take some of the pantry storage space, but I'm thinking of making some of the cabinets into tall pantry cabinets, bringing food storage into the kitchen itself ... right now we have more counter space than we need (which is probably why I frequently say that people don't want a large kitchen; rather, they want a well-designed kitchen).

Regardless of what else we do, I'd like to move the pantry into the main kitchen (as described above) because the room is crowded as it is now, and I'd like the laundry room to appear larger ... the room is actually 7' wide, but with front loader machines on one side and 18" pantry shelves on the other, I have only about 2' of space to get to my dryer.

Door question 3: This is about the exterior door ... the door I never, ever use. Though this is only a laundry room, it is dark, and switching it out with a glass door would make this room brighter. Moving this door isn't even a possibility -- I'm 100% certain the ROI would be awful. It's not important enough to consider cutting through brick -- and it would serve no purpose.

If we make a change here, it'll be a solid door becoming a glass door.

One tip: improve the lighting, if needed. Makes a HUGE difference in
first impressions. Amazon's a good source for undercab lighting, if you
want to install some inexpensive auxiliary lights.

Lighting ... I've been thinking of natural light, but I hadn't considered light fixtures or undercounter lighting. Yes, must think about this.
can
you price out solid surface...perhaps with a sale.

I'm willing to price it, but probably not.

I was in the scratch-and-dent room today at Ikea, and they have a discontinued color of butcher block -- $40 for a long cabinet run. $120 would do my whole kitchen. I'm strongly considering going back tomorrow with the truck and buying this. Even if I don't use it here, it would be perfect for making a built-in desk ... or topping a washer /dryer ... or cutting it up for bookshelves ... or any other number of projects. I really think this is the cheapest option I'm going to find.

Totally agree that black laminate isn't special. But I'm not willing to spend big here.

To
allow more light into the kitchen, I'd just eliminate the upper cabs
immediately on either side of the sink.

I don't really like open shelves, but they would definitely be cheaper -- a plus for my purposes. I don't think they'd make any difference in terms of lighting though. Since the only light is under a covered porch, we don't get direct sunlight; thus, no shadows. Still, for budget purposes, it's an idea. No.
I don't know your home's layout, but I can't imagine you'll get a
significant ROI on this. You're aware of the benefit because you live
there, but it's unlikely it will make a difference in getting a sale.

I fear you're right about this. I didn't realize it was an issue until I lived in this house -- why should I think a buyer would notice? On the other hand, I don't think it's a very big expense, and I will continue to live in this house another year after we make these changes.

I'd do a half lite door rather than a
full lite. If the homebuyers have a dog, that might be the perfect door
to add a doggy door to.

A half-light door would work just as well -- is the price a whole lot different?

The room has one central ceiling light, and I don't see much room for improvement without significant electrical changes.

This would be an ideal spot for a doggie door. I never considered that. We taught our dog to ring a bell when he wants to go outside, and we open the door for him. He's really smart. My husband says he'd drive the car if he could reach the pedals.

Okay, much to consider. Thanks to all, and I'm open to more thoughts, especially now that I've showed you the layout.

Realize you said appliances are good and you don't want to replace them. How old are they? I think you may get a better ROI by putting in new ss appliances, even if they are dinged floor models.

We did a similar door moving and I think it really made our space better (but the previous layout was so awful). Here is the before with the door in the middle:

We shifted the door to the right where the frig was so we'd have a U shape and a straight pass-through. Changed the door to a glass pocket door:

Remember that your buyer won't be visiting the house with grocery sacks in their arms. Plus, those people will be spending perhaps 30-45 minutes max in the house and only a portion of that time in the kitchen area. Buyers won't value such a change because they won't understand the need.

If you go with the butcher block countertop, be careful around the sink. Even if you seal the countertop, leaving a wet dishrag overnight may be enough to cause the IKEA glue to fail. Perhaps they have improved the glues since I bought my bargain IKEA butcher block countertops but I wouldn't recommend doing that anywhere around water.

Consider replacing the laundry room light fixture with an LED fixture that puts out much more light. You will be surprised how much difference a new light can make in a dingy room. Couple that with a new paint job and you won't need to replace the door.

Ask a local real estate agent, or two or three, to come and take a look at your house and give an opinion of what's worth doing and what's not. Quite a bit of this is local--are white cabinets what buyers in your area are looking for? Do they expect granite countertops? Etc.

First I think a white ikea cabinet is the way to go. Black formica will work well with your black appliances. It will help tie it all together.

As for all your other ideas, I wouldn't spend the money! You'll get absolutely no return on investment. Paint the rooms if they need it.

If you want more light, add some extra high hats or under cabinet lighting. And change out any lights for LED's.

Don't go changing the structure. Not worth it and you won't recoup the price. You only want to refresh it so someone looking thinks it looks pretty and can imagine themselves living in the space.

For example, when I sold my house 6 years ago, I repainted my 1970's cabinets, added new knobs, replaced the sink, used a black formica counter, and used the least expensive white subway tile for the backsplash. The layout wasn't great, but it looked clean and fresh.

I looked at your drawings. If it's for resale, I would not move the pantry door.

I don't particularly like a U shaped kitchen, however, I know that you like them. If the cost of moving that door is worth the benefit if your pleasure for the next couple of years you should go for it. I just wouldn't expect any return on it.

Can your cabinets handle a coat of black?

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/300-later-this-rental-kitchen-is-no-longer-recognizable-237167

How dark are the kitchen and laundry rooms now? How much lighter would they be if you did the glass door and/or the enlarged kitchen window? If it's a gloomy cave now, and those changes would make it the very picture of gorgeous, glowing natural light, then I'd strongly consider that change.

Nice natural light was one of my three non-negotiables (in total they were nice natural light, affordable, and safe, walkable neighborhood) when when we were hunting for our starter home. There were homes we walked in to look at that I didn't get three steps in before turning around and leaving because they were so horribly devoid of natural light. It wouldn't have mattered what else the house had going for it, and the addition or presence of good artificial lighting does not and could not ever make up for the lack of natural light in my opinion.

That said, if these rooms in your house are just somewhat dark and your proposed changes would only improve the light situation a smidge, then that doesn't seem worth it. I'd also check with realtors in your area how much natural light is a big deal to buyers of starter homes in your area.

I second the recommendation to get a realtor's opinion. When we got our last house ready to sell, the realtor was a great resource for telling us what to improve, and what not to. We were in a very tough market at the time, and there was no room to waste money on major improvements without a good ROI.

When we re-did our old kitchen, the cabinet boxes themselves were fine, so we installed new doors, repainted, and put in new Formica counters. At the time, granite had not yet penetrated our target demographic. A fresh inexpensive sink and faucet helped, too. We were required by local code to install GFIC outlets where required.

If the room is dark, are you sure you want black Formica? Try either the butcher block or a different color Formica.

Open shelves instead of cabs? When I was a first time home buyer with no reno money, I was also a cat owner, who looked at those things as potential cat play areas -- and said NO. (Plus they are also dust collectors.)

First time home owners aren't very apt to want to display their dishes, either, if they are using hand-me-downs.

I can't imagine anyone would have wanted to buy the house I bought based on the kitchen, but I knew it was a matter of time and money before I could fix it, and that it could be made much better. I have Ikea Adel/Grimslov cabinets and wilsonart black alicante counters. Photos are here.

Also, if you are near a Costco, I replaced a bare bulb fixture in my cement block basement laundry room with a "cloudraker" light. It's not fancy, but it is fairly streamlined and it is super bright. That might help in your laundry room.

Some people asked me while I was fixing my house up (floors, kitchen, bathroom, basement) if I would get a return on my investment. Well, for me, I am planning on being here a while, barring unforeseen circumstances and it wasn't the ROI value I was interested in, it was the value added to my home life while I am living here that I was interested in. Since then the market has gone a bit nutty, and I would probably be very close to, but not quite, seeing a good return on my investment. But the value to my life, has been immeasurable.

I agree with cpartist. You just want to make the kitchen look fresh, clean and new without breaking the bank. You will never recoup the expense. If the kitchen is dark, more lighting would be helpful. The white cabinets will brighten the room up, black laminate counters are a nice contrast. Paint the walls something light too. I wouldn't do butcherblock counters, not everyone wants the upkeep of wood. I would not want the worry of water damage around the sink, I'd much prefer laminate.

Look at IKEA laminate in "concrete." I saw it in Europe and kept on running my hands over it. Really, really cool!

If you can spend under 10K on a transformation, then you might get your money back. But only if the rest of the house matches the transformed kitchen. As in it is the last room in the house that needs updating.

If the master bath has an almond cultured marble tub and surround and white tile with dark grout, and the 8' ceilings all have popcorn on them, with skimpy stained pine moldings, then nothing you do in the kitchen will make any difference at resale. Price it right and move on. Cost vs Value says you might get 83% of a 20K minor refresher back. It it fits the house and the neighborhood.

I'm guessing you won't get your money back no matter what you do, but if you're going to live in the house for a while post-update then it may be worth it to you. In any case, when considering countertops, don't forget granite tiles. They are not nearly as nice as a slab, but IMO they are 1000000000x better than laminate or butcher block, and per square foot can be nearly as cheap.

Don't do any of that stuff. Not cost effective, not a one.

How much is up for debate, but the project itself is not. The cabinets could be described as "deferred maintenance" as easily as renovation.

Realize
you said appliances are good and you don't want to replace them. How
old are they? I think you may get a better ROI by putting in new ss
appliances, even if they are dinged floor models.

The refrigerator is oldest, and it's about eight years old. No, we're not going to replace appliances that are working perfectly just to have a new finish.

Remember
that your buyer won't be visiting the house with grocery sacks in their
arms. Plus, those people will be spending perhaps 30-45 minutes max in
the house and only a portion of that time in the kitchen area. Buyers
won't value such a change because they won't understand the need.

That makes sense. I think just doing the cabinets is the most sensible choice.

Ask
a local real estate agent, or two or three, to come and take a look at
your house and give an opinion of what's worth doing and what's not.
Quite a bit of this is local--are white cabinets what buyers in your
area are looking for? Do they expect granite countertops? Etc.

Already done. A husband-wife couple from church -- both real estate agents -- came and did a walk-through for us. They're the ones who said, "Yeah, cabinets have to be changed." Not that I didn't already know it. A couple other things too, but this is the one I'm addressing at the moment.

First
I think a white ikea cabinet is the way to go. Black formica will work
well with your black appliances. It will help tie it all together.

Though the butcher block is super cheap, I'm thinking black laminate is the way to go. And, yeah, Ikea's cheapest for cabinets.

Don't go changing the structure. Not worth it and you won't recoup
the price. You only want to refresh it so someone looking thinks it
looks pretty and can imagine themselves living in the space.

Yeah, even though the cut-through door would be convenient and we'd enjoy it for about a year -- I'm thinking you're right.

Can your cabinets handle a coat of black?

No -- might work well in another kitchen, but not this one. The kitchen's already dark, and since I've decided against enlarging the window, no, I don't want to make it darker still. Especially since I have the black appliances.

If it's a gloomy cave now, and those changes would make it the very
picture of gorgeous, glowing natural light, then I'd strongly consider
that changeThat said, if these rooms in your house are just somewhat dark and
your proposed changes would only improve the light situation a smidge,
then that doesn't seem worth it.

I'd say one of each: The kitchen is "somewhat dark" and the enlarged window would make it more bright ... but the window would still be under a covered porch.

The laundry room, on the other hand has NO natural light at all, so replacing that door with a glass (or half glass) door would make the small room considerably nicer. This project might stay on the list.

Open shelves instead of cabs? When I was a first time home buyer with
no reno money, I was also a cat owner, who looked at those things as
potential cat play areas -- and said NO. (Plus they are also dust
collectors.)

I don't care for them myself, but I do like the idea that they're cheaper. I'm ruminating on this one.

If you can spend under 10K on a transformation, then you might get your money back.

I don't think you're seeing the whole picture -- it's not about getting our money back. It's about being able to sell the house. We're in an odd situation:

We are in a BOOMING area. To give you a feel, I teach high school -- and our large county has added four high schools in the last decade, and a fifth new high school will open next fall. That's just high schools. New shopping malls, hotels and restaurants are popping up everywhere. Roads are being widened. Traffic is becoming bad. And everywhere,everywhere, new construction houses. Loads of builder spec houses in the 1600-1800 sf range sitting on 1/4 acre lots, and those houses all have trendy open floorplans, tiny kitchens with granite countertops ... and not much else to recommend them. They're mostly cheaply built, but they're new and appealing.

In contrast, my 2400 sf house sits on a 1+ acre lot in an established neighborhood. All brick, mature oak and maple trees, fenced back yard, huge covered porch across the back. Ideally situated. BUT it's a typical 1970s ranch house layout -- formal living and dining, 27' family room with huge fireplace, large bedrooms with small closets, land-an-aircraft bathrooms, large kitchen -- but definitely yesteryear's layout. And no garage. Our house is in a whole different class from the average new construction house -- and that class isn't solidly better or worse, just different; as a result, we have our strengths, but we must also compete with the new-and-cheap houses.

The person who buys this house is going to do so because he prioritizes a solidly built house with plenty of space over modern style. But that potential buyer isn't going to buy "old school" AND run-down kitchen and flooring. And, as I said before, the person who'll choose this house is likely to be a first-time buyer with a family ... and probably won't have cash in his pocket to make these changes.

I feel like we need to walk a fine line between "keeping in line with the neighborhood" ... and realizing that we can literally walk to half a dozen newer neighborhoods with a whole different feel.

Thanks, all, for your thoughts. I think I've settled on changing the cabinetry as cheaply as possible ... black laminate ... and maybe changing the door in the laundry room.

(I'd take your yesteryear layout any day. Just saying. )

My opinion - if you are in a "booming" area, do nothing. Of course your RE folks said something about the kitchen. The faster it sells the less they have to work. And, if you upgrade and get a 10K increase in the sales price, that is another $500 in the RE agent's pocket.

On the other hand, if you want to do a project (and it sounds like you do) and get a few years of enjoyment, do it NOW - not in a year and just before selling.

That is my opinion after selling 7 houses and buying 8. $70K to $900K. YMMV

I would be sure to price out granite vs laminate. I have seen several people post here that their costs were less with granite. If that's the case, for resale, I would choose granite over laminate.

Custom laminate can get pretty expensive. I was shocked when I got a bid for our kitchen. The IKEA stock laminate above is only $99/~8 linear feet and even cheaper if you keep an eye on the as-is rack.

Yes, in my area, having laminate installed in a relatively small kitchen was about 200.00 less than granite with a new undermounted sink and faucet.

You are looking as 6 months or so of living in a construction zone when
you aren't even staying in the house. And you will not get back what
you put into it, whereas the really inexpensive small repairs and minor cosmetic stuff does repay itself.

I would do the minimum possible - clean it until it squeaks, make sure there are no leaks, that nothing is loose that should be tight and vice versa, that all doors open and close well, and maybe replace any tacky light fixtures, and make sure all the outlets work and aren't floppy. In other words get rid of the ugly stuff.

And paint it.

And work on the "curb appeal" by cleaning up and floofing the landscaping. De-clutter, get ready to move, and don't worry about resale.

(I'd take your yesteryear layout any day. Just saying. )

Yeah, it has advantages! My rooms are all huge -- bedrooms big enough for kids to share, 27' family room, three living areas plus the big covered back porch. But the thing is, the new houses have advantages too: For the same price, you can have NEW and choose your own colors, tiles, etc. And lots of people like the concept of very little yardwork on a tiny lot ... but access to a community pool.

Our neighborhood is the oldest in this area ... and we're surrounded by new builds popping up like mushrooms. Half of these neighborhoods are smallish houses with newer floorplans on small lots, and they are competition for us. The other half is big, expensive houses -- they're a step up from our house. As I said, I've talked to a real-estate agent couple, and I've talked to my neighbors who've sold houses in the last couple years, and they all say that the plethora of houses in our area is not our friend in terms of resale.

I
would be sure to price out granite vs laminate. I have seen several
people post here that their costs were less with granite. If that's the
case, for resale, I would choose granite over laminate.

If they were the same price, I'd go granite -- I'll investigate.

Custom
laminate can get pretty expensive.Yeah, I know you're right -- I'd go with the cheapest. I strongly dislike my current laminate, which is all scratched up.

I would do the minimum possible - clean it until it squeaks, make
sure there are no leaks, that nothing is loose that should be tight and
vice versa, that all doors open and close well, and maybe replace any
tacky light fixtures, and make sure all the outlets work and aren't
floppy. In other words get rid of the ugly stuff.

Again, I hear those of you who are questioning the project, but it isn't a choice. The cabinets are a mess and cannot be repaired: The sink cabinet is warped inside, having had a flood some time back. About half the doors /drawers do no close fully and cannot be fixed. These cabinets are a very obstacle ... and when compared to fancier new kitchens in all the new builds, they will hurt \us in terms of sale.

If your house is a tear down candidate, I would certainly do nothing. I am in an area of 1950-60 homes in a great area. Most sold now are just bought for the land as the older generation moves on. Again - it seems like you want to do the project. There is value in that. But IMO discounting the home makes more sense. Let's a young buyer make their own decisions.

That 10k you spend is actually 13k before the income is taxed. RE agent will get 7% of the 10k. So - that 10k kitchen will really cost you around 14k. Not to mention the months of PIA cost to get it done. And, in the end, it is still a gamble and you could be even more lost cash.

If you go forward, do it now so you can enjoy it.

I'd be surprised if a Veddinge and Ekbacken kitchen costs you more than $3500-4000 unless you're moving utilities. Are you going to try to take advantage of the Ikea sale that ends 11/20? If you are and want help with the planning, please post!

I don't know about your house style, but I recently looked at a 700K+ home (unrenovated larger comps about 560K) with a Tyngsryd kitchen over which everybody was oohing and aahing.

This is actually the second most inexpensive IKEA kitchen and substantially cheaper than Veddinge. However, most buyers had no clue that this was an IKEA kitchen.

mrspete - I think I'm the only one on here who gets where you are coming from. In the last 15 years, thanks to HGTV or pinterest or houzz or the fact that houses are so much more expensive than they used to be so people only stay 5 years in the first one, or something else, first time home buyers want kitchens and baths to be "done" when they buy. They are not taking on these projects. Full stop.

So if you have a house with a crappy old kitchen, it's not a matter of your house being worth $10k less than the comparable house across the street with a new kitchen. It's the fact that no one at all is going to buy your house for anything approaching what it is worth. You actually have to provide a major discount on the fmv price in order to get anyone to buy. Houses with old kitchens will sit and sit and sit on the market until the price gets so low as to be a steal.

Now the people on this site can argue about whether the new buyers are idiots for having this view. They probably are. But those idiots are the people who are making the house buying decisions, so you have to cater to that.

If your house is a tear down candidate,

No, that's not likely at all.

That 10k you spend is actually 13k before the income is taxed. RE
agent will get 7% of the 10k. So - that 10k kitchen will really cost
you around 14k. Not to mention the months of PIA cost to get it done.
And, in the end, it is still a gamble and you could be even more lost
cash.

I'm really interested in ideas about how to keep the budget low -- and I've received some good information on that subject; for example, I had neglected to consider under-cabinet lighting instead of enlarging a window. But I've got the financial part of this handled; one thing I'm REALLY good at is personal finance -- that's how I went from free-lunch kid to a member of the two-comma club. I really do know what I'm doing on the money end -- what I need is thoughts on what choices to make to keep it inexpensive and appealing to a wide audience.

Are you going to try to take advantage of the Ikea sale that ends 11/20?

No, I'm preparing but am not ready to move that fast. I never do anything 'til it's thoroughly researched. I will, however, wait for a similar sale -- they run them pretty regularly.

As a first time homebuyer, and (as you I think mentioned) one not really in the market for granite, I don't believe I would like butcher block counters, because I would assume that it wouldn't hold up and would require care. I might accept formica because that is so standard in apts. and rentals around here (in fact, I did); but I would be thrilled with solid surface -- would have felt that I was getting bang for my buck. You might be able to get it at Ikea at an acceptable price (my closest Ikea offered it). Also, in my town pre-fabricated granite counters are available at a substantial savings, in the most common/popular stones; check those out if available (I found them by googling "discount granite my city, state"). If the competition (the new, cheaply built developments) are offering granite, that might be the best choice.

Adding more lighting -- either another fixture or recessed LEDs -- is not necessarily difficult or expensive, if you have a ceiling light already, depending on your ceiling construction. It was a fairly simple job that was done in half a day in my re-do. My complication was that I couldn't use cans in part of the ceiling because of ductwork, so had to use standard boxes and the LED retrofits that work with those (I am perfectly happy with them too). I strongly second the recommendation to make the lighting the best that you can.

I would change the laundry room door to at least a half-light. It won't be really costly to do, and will add to the appeal of both the exterior and interior. Just don't put a colonial style door if the house is more modern (I see that mistake a lot!)

I'm not sure if you'd get your money back, but more food for thought?

a) the laundry room is suddenly bright

b) actually bright light is coming into the kitchen too

c) now the kitchen has light coming in on TWO sides, which may do more for how light it is than enlarging the existing kitchen window

Again, I'm not sure of the cost of the project, but that is one project that might take care of the light in both rooms and potentially do a better job of it than the two jobs (enlarging the kitchen window and swapping the laundry door) that you were considering. Possibly that would mean less bother and less expense?

Door Suggestion
You had talked about adding a door in the pantry for better traffic flow and a more natural way to get groceries into the kitchen, but what if you moved the proposed doorway to the kitchen just next to the pantry. That:

a) leaves the pink wall intact for entrance stuff (coat hooks, etc.). Depending what's on the other side in the current pantry/laundry, you could even go so far as to steal some space and create an actual coat closet there facing the entrance.

b) creates a natural place (the green wall) where shallow floor-to-ceiling pantry cabinets could go (since you wanted to move pantry storage into the kitchen)

c) makes it so no room is really a walk through. You could go into the laundry without disrupting kitchen work or go into the kitchen without tripping over piles of laundry.

d) would bring light from the front room on the left (the office/kids area) into the kitchen. I was amazed how much an opening to an adjacent room brightened up our kitchen. It was actually an opening into the darkest part of our living room, and it STILL brightened our dark kitchen noticeably.

Again, I have no idea how much this would cost you. Adding a doorway can be as little as a few hundred if it's not a load-bearing wall and has no major utilities in it.

Skylight?
I think I read somewhere in the thread that this is a ranch. If there's nothing above the kitchen, perhaps a skylight would cost the same as enlarging the kitchen window but actually provide much better, much brighter light.

Again, I don't know if this is cost-prohibitive, but food for thought in terms of getting the best light in the kitchen for your dollar.

"But those idiots are the people who are making the house buying decisions, so you have to cater to that."-i'm not sure..from existential point of view..:) I recently watched the old movie "Idiocracy"..not the movie of the century..but the main thought is kinda..you know..not that far-fetched..:)

mrspete whatever you do-keep it congruent with the rest of the house..even if it's meaning going a bit more expensive on the cabinets (for example shakers instead of slabs if it makes more sense with a house) . You can definitely save on reducing some uppers and installing shelves instead.

And yes, granite tiles are cheaper and are as indestructible as granite..have them myself right now-I forget these are actually tiles. I think I didn't even notice these were tiles when buying. I generally dislike granite and especially mine lol-but as it worked with the house it didn't bother me.

It's been a while since I shopped for IKEA fronts. Tyngsryd is surprisingly inexpensive and would look great with black appliances (if the style made sense in the home, of course.)

mrspete - I think I'm the only one on
here who gets where you are coming from. In the last 15 years, thanks
to HGTV or pinterest or houzz or the fact that houses are so much more
expensive than they used to be so people only stay 5 years in the first
one, or something else, first time home buyers want kitchens and baths
to be "done" when they buy. They are not taking on these projects. Full
stop.

So if you have a house with a crappy old kitchen, it's not a matter
of your house being worth $10k less than the comparable house across the
street with a new kitchen. It's the fact that no one at all is going to
buy your house for anything approaching what it is worth. You actually
have to provide a major discount on the fmv price in order to get anyone
to buy. Houses with old kitchens will sit and sit and sit on the
market until the price gets so low as to be a steal.

Now the people on this site can argue about whether the new buyers
are idiots for having this view. They probably are. But those idiots are
the people who are making the house buying decisions, so you have to
cater to that.

Yes, this is it in a nutshell -- expressed better than my posts. I agree that we can put some of the blame on HGTV; people look at nice, new finishes ... and not much else. We can also place some blame on society's willingness to take on debt. A whole lot of people figure, "If I'm going to borrow, why not just go ahead and get the nicer house?" Families (who will actually pay what a house is worth) will not buy a house that isn't "ready" ... flippers will buy, but they expect to practically steal it.

I'm not sure if you'd get your money back, but more food for thought?

A window in that spot is a fantastic suggestion that window would be right over the washer/dryer, and a short, wide window would look great ... if I were going to stay in the house. It would mean cutting through brick, which is pricey.

You had talked about adding a door in the pantry for better traffic flow
and a more natural way to get groceries into the kitchen, but what if
you moved the proposed doorway to the kitchen just next to the pantry.

Hmmm ... cutting an interior door is not all that expensive, and this is a better idea than my thought about cutting through the pantry. In addition to the positives you listed, it also cuts my cabinetry bill by one upper and one lower cabinet ... and I really do have too much counter space in this kitchen. This idea's a keeper!

mrspete whatever you do-keep it congruent with the rest of the
house..even if it's meaning going a bit more expensive on the cabinet

Yes, I'm on that. This is a carpet-and-linoleum type house, not a hardwood-and-granite type place, and I'm definitely not over-doing for the neighborhood.

Thanks, all, for your thoughts.

Brilliant ideas, Jillius. Further to the skylight idea...a traditional skylight can be expensive. What about this:?

Its a sun tunnel. A miniature skylight that can go through the attic and not only brings light in, but uses polished mirror-like surfaces to amplify the light. I don't know what install would cost, but this particular fixture is $169 at HD. Assuming you're in a single story house, of course.

In my neck of the woods, relatively affluent, superbusy buyers, move-in ready is King and worth a premium. And quite frankly, the cost of a renovated kitchen, if done with DIY and upscale looking features, can actually be recouped.

Who do you think your prospective buyers would be?

Who do you think your prospective buyers would be?

In this area, likely our buyer would be a first-time buyer or a family buyer with a modest budget.

Our house is something along these lines -- not our actual house, but it's dark outside, and I don't actually have a picture:

1+ acre lot, all brick, mature trees, large rooms, fenced yard. We're in a prime area with the best schools in our county, which is known for having better schools than the surrounding counties ... and its tax value is about 150,000.

Within walking distance, you can find loads of houses similar to this:

They're smaller, and they're on 1/5 - 1/4 acre lots ... but they are NEW, and people can choose their own finishes. The one thing these houses have that I don't: A garage. They're roughly the same cost as my house, and a whole lot of people prefer this over my house.

Mrspete, I'd take your house over the new ones any day of the week :)

You will definitely appeal to the "land" people...of which there are a good number. Many people have an aversion to being close to neighbors, plus your yard is much better for children & pets. Updating your kitchen to bright and fresh will make it a no-brainer for those folks to choose your house.

The garage means a ton to me. Do the cabs, put in powerful artificial lights, skylites or sola tubes if affordable, don't move doors or windows,paint, declutter, freshen landscaping. If no garage, where do you store your gardening tools? The absence of a garage would be a deal breaker for me unless your climate is easy.

I'd rather have a new garage and an old kitchen than a new kitchen and no garage. People who want land have more stuff than people who want postage stamps. What do houses on larger lots like yours go for if they have garages? That might be a renovation that could pay for itself.

The garage won't recoup it's cost if you have to build it to code. We converted a carport into a garage at our old house, and to get it to code meant digging down the carport walls to create proper foundations, new roof etc. It effectively cost as much as an addition - $35k. And there was nothing fancy about it. Just a basic garage.

I haven't read all the posts so forgive me if this has been said before, but I wanted to comment on the window. We recently priced out making a window taller (going toward the floor). The layout of the kitchen had been changed and we had a short window where the others were tall. We knew this was MUCH cheaper than widening a window because we wouldn't have to mess with the steel above the window.

After three estimates in one of the lowest areas for construction cost (bottom 5 according to the department of labor) I started realize I was in the wrong business. If I remember correctly they were over $2,000 just to lengthen a window 18" plus the cost of the actual window.

Cute houses. Looking at the homes, the Tyngsryd is probably too modern. Even Veddinge may be a bit too sleek unless you go with some more traditional features.

I would consider a granite, but one of the old stock very common granites that you can buy already cut for counter top depth. Your kitchen looks like a perfect candidate for it as it seems to have no place where you'd need a wider than standard depth. It would mean some of the earlier granite types and nothing special, but you can find those at a good price and it will likely satisfy most buyers without braking the budget. You don't look like you have a lot of counter anyways.