Colour Scheme for kitchen?

[Truly Exotic]

so im looking at this property,

I dont have a creative bone in my body,

http://i2.au.reastatic.net/800x600/...d2f9bb152a0e474f0f3d07be5c8554c146/image6.jpg

i am more then happy to install a brand spanking new kitchen, but I see nothing wrong with it, so I am thinking of painting the walls AND painting the cabinets the same white colour as the walls

Ive done an all white kitchen before and it looked ok, but it had a black benchtop, this one is rose bench top,

do you guys think leave the cabinets as they are for character? or go the all white?

 

[Ruff investment]

I like it as is. But that is just me.

The amount of work that you do needed to reflect the purpose of the property in my eyes. If it is a rental, I'd leave it. If it is rent-able right now, it looks quite good already.

I think the biggest improvement that you could make in that kitchen is to paint the ceiling white.

 

[mrmonopoly]

Nothing wrong with it as is necessarily and depends on the demographic of the area, but I'd certainly be more inclined to paint white as it will make it look less dated.

Just make sure its a true white and done properly, none of this 'going to date in a few years shabby chic' styling rubbish.

I make a point of keeping all my investments as neutral as possible, even if I do personally find it excruciatingly sterile and boring. White evokes, clean, fresh and a blank canvass to make your own i.e Perfect for potential tenants.

 

[Truly Exotic]

thanks everyone,

im probably will use antique white USA for hte walls, and obviously the same for the cabinets,

and for $200, ill put in 2 halogens lights in the kitchen

the rent overall probably wont increase that much, maybe $40 per week, but overall yield will be still be fairly low at 6.8%-7% after a small reno

I dont think I can do much bang for buck in the kitchen

 

[vaughan]

Warning: personal rant to follow.

<rant>I hate halogen down lights. They may be low voltage but they are inefficient because they are incandescent (hot wire) and they need a transformer which itself gets hot and uses energy. They are expensive to buy, expensive to install and expensive to maintain. In a rental property I'd hate for the tenants to be changing them and risking damage to the lights and themselves, but I'd hate to be paying for a tradie to be doing it either.

Instead, put in battern-mount holders and lights, and install standard compact fluorescent bulbs. The battern-fit lights are cheap (like from $10 a light) and are marked DIY because once the battern holder ins installed a sparky isn't needed to change the fittings should they get broken or a face lift be wanted.

For $200 you could buy new lights for the whole house.</rant>

 

[Ruff investment]

I agree with Vaughn. Battern fittings all the way. That way you can just put light fittings over them, no sparky required at that point. And I tend to like the light fittings that are bell shaped downwards. Yes you do see the light globe, but they are easier to clean, and easier to change the globe than those that are ball shaped or mounted so that you need to remove the fitting to remove the globe. Potential breakages happen at this point.

I just like things simple and low maintenance.

 

[chrispy]

I would recommend not painting the cubpboards, I think it cheapens them.

I have just been through this with one of my renos, I put a clear lacquer on them and cleaned the handles. I sanded them first and cleaned them thoroughly, they came up really well.

I painted the walls in Dulux Ecru and the doors Self Destruct throughout the house, including the kitchen.

Chris

 

[vaughan]

I got the battery fittings tip from the Forums (thanks folks!) and did it in my IP. Put in 20 watt contact fluoro lights and the rooms are really bright.

 

[pennyk]

For an IP, I wouldnt paint the cupboards. They are more likely to chip and look worn.

We have just replaced all the lights in our PPOR. We used LED (warm) downlights in the kitchen.
It looks great... all the benefits of downlights, without the problems of halogen........ it just costs more!

 

[DaveM]

Paint walls, regrout tiles, new lights, new stove, perhaps a sand and re-laquer of the doors. If you wanted a visual spruce up, new benchtop.

Agree with not painting, it will look nasty.

 

[Truly Exotic]

Im starting to think that painting the cabinets might look good from far away but close up its going to look pretty crappy, so a coat of lacquer!

so ill probably just do the walls,
and replace the oven, and possibly the bench top depending on how hard it is to remove it

also, if I replace the fluro light with a normal incandescent, will a rewiring be required?

 

[Jane - Hotspace]

Good idea - as the others have said, painting cabinetry on an investment property is not a great idea. The main problem is that it is likely to chip quickly and look worn long before it should be due for an upgrade.

From a design perspective, the floor and the doors are almost the same colour so there is no contrast. If you could change the bench-top and perhaps the floor (stain it a darker colour perhaps?) then you'll have a much more modern looking kitchen. Have a look at Granite Transformations or one of those companies who will wrap your bench top with a thin layer of granite. They're not cheap but cheaper than a thick granite top - and very hard wearing.

I had a client a couple of years back who had a very similar kitchen. As you can see from the photo, they replaced the bench-top and floor tiles - and painted the wall/tiled the splash-back for a much fresher look. Could you do something like this?... http://www.hotspaceconsultants.com/sneak-peak/87-nichols-st