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We are getting ready to sell our house in Mass. and our realtor has advised us that our kitchen cabinets need attention. We really don't want to incur the cost of replacing them. I have been looking into alternatives and I am wondering does anybody have experience of Nhance? They advertise the exact type of cabinet renewal we are looking for but I am wondering has anybody used them. Was it as good as it looks?
Naw...it's all hogwash. Just another gimmick closely related to refacing which is a rip off. Refacing is always more expensive then new, any time, any place, any day. Refacing or that Nhance hoax is like putting a nice clean pressed suit on a dirty man wearing soiled underware. And he still has dirty pockets or insides.
You didn't say how old your kitchen is. I suspect it's like most questions I get. "My kitchen is 30 years old and in great shape, just needs a new fresh look". No my friend if your kitchen is that old it is not in great shape. It's functionally obsolete and has out lived its modern usefulness.
I don't blame you for not wanting to put money into a home which is just a depreciating asset these days. And there are almost no home buyers out there and little mortgage money available for those who need it. But.....also keep in mind that when your home is for sale, the lady makes the choice to buy or not, the man has no say. And she makes that choice based on the kitchen. You know full well that there are perhaps 2000 home choices that are close to your home on the market. The vast majority have antique painted plywood cabinets. If you were a buyer, would you choose a modern pretty kitchen or a kitchen full of painted wooden boxes?
That investment just might be worth your while. But don't get dollar signs in your eyes when you hear that horrible word "cabinets". The mere mention of that word causes eyeballs to pop out and dangle by dollar signs. That is because people go to the big box stores and get prices up to the moon. Stay the hell away from those places unless you enjoy getting raped full list price. For the sake of space I won't go into how to buy but I have posted those instructions numerous times if you care to look them up.
You are selling and the realtor said the cabinets need attention. What type do you have? If they are wood. You should be able to do yourself (if you are handy). Since you are selling. You have to be cautious about the money. You get into The counter top looks bad. Then it is the floor. Then the room needs painting. Next it is do the same to every other room because they look bad. It is like carpet. If it is falling apart you replace it. If not clean it and it is what it is. With the market being still slow and not many buyers. It is a crap shoot anyway. If people are buying, they are looking for what they want in a house. How do they look to you???
I wouldn't do anything to them. You will do the cheap way out, which is understandable and it will look it. I would just take my chances and leave them as is. Everyone has been watching to much HGTV, every kitchen cannot be updated to the mearest minute. People should be able to understand this.
There is also a buyer for everything.
PS: Now the new buyers can rip it out and put exactly what they want.
I wouldn't worry about it.
I answered this on the MA board but here's a cut and paste:
I had a similar situation with kitchen cabinets when I sold my house. They were 30+ years old but timeless as they were custom made in the style of the Christian doors that were present throughout the rest of our 200+ year old house.
I took a fine steel wool and cleaned them thoroughly, then applied, with a soft,lint free towel stain the color of the cabinets. When they dried, I buffed them and then used a coat of lemon oil polish that I also buffed. It was alot of elbow grease but well worth it. All the agents at the Broker's Open House commented on the kitchen as did the buyer. All total it cost me about $10 in supplies for the cabinets and $50 in wine for me.
I answered this on the MA board but here's a cut and paste:
I had a similar situation with kitchen cabinets when I sold my house. They were 30+ years old but timeless as they were custom made in the style of the Christian doors that were present throughout the rest of our 200+ year old house.
I took a fine steel wool and cleaned them thoroughly, then applied, with a soft,lint free towel stain the color of the cabinets. When they dried, I buffed them and then used a coat of lemon oil polish that I also buffed. It was alot of elbow grease but well worth it. All the agents at the Broker's Open House commented on the kitchen as did the buyer. All total it cost me about $10 in supplies for the cabinets and $50 in wine for me.
I have this habit of rounding down numbers....age, weight, how much things cost when telling with my husband ....
OP, if they are wood you can stain them. If they are made out of something else, pain them. Don't let someone here talk you into an expensive (no matter what they say) renovation to sell a house. We had "wood-look" cabinets in an old house that we successfully painted a lovely wedgewood green. The people that bought our house said that the kitchen was the number one reason they bought our house. You just never know. Can you post a picture so we can see what they look like now and offer suggestions?
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