The kitchen, considered the heart of the home, is typically the most important, family-centric room for every family. To protect your investment in your home, take note of the following turn-offs that buyers hate seeing when looking to buy a house.
Real estate agents always remind sellers that a house needs to project an image to potential buyers as being a place to host a dinner party, prepare a family meal and while away a snowy winter day with holiday baking. Sophisticated buyers know it’s a straightforward thing to swap cabinet hardware or change the color of paint, but that there are other things that too big to ignore.
Here are six kitchen problems that should be addressed before putting a home on the market:
Butcher Block
As beautiful as they can be, butcher blocks are cheaper than stone, which is why so many flippers use them in renovations, says Remington Rand, a real estate agent. While these counters look great when new, they turn off buyers who know that they scar easily. Also, “around sinks, it can be challenging to seal and can allow water to creep in, causing rot,” he says.
The exception here: When butcher blocks are used as actual cutting surfaces on a small section or island, it’s practical and develops a natural patina. If you do buy a home with butcher block counters, Rand recommends you make sure you know what kind of sealant was used on the wood so you can maintain it.
Mismatched Appliances
Sellers don’t need to have the trendiest kitchen appliances to win over buyers, but the large appliances in the kitchen should at least match, says Broker Sean Adu-Gyamfi. A white refrigerator paired with a stainless-steel oven or dishwasher may seem like a minor issue, he says, but buyers will perceive clashing appliances as an extra expense to achieve the cohesive and aesthetically pleasing kitchen that they expect.
Older Appliances
Kitchen appliances have varying lifespans. So, when a buyer notices a kitchen full of outdated appliances, they’ll immediately start seeing additional dollar signs, says Ebony Boudreaux, a kitchen and bath designer. “If there are old appliances in a home, chances are they either do not work or they are on their way to the appliance graveyard,” she says. “Appliances can be a big-ticket item in a home.” Also, if those appliances are built-in, buyers could be looking at a partial or complete kitchen remodel in the future.
“Many homebuyers prefer to have a kitchen with newer appliances — even if the appliances are not high-end,” Boudreaux says. “The peace of mind in knowing that they don’t have to make this type of purchase after buying a home can be a major selling point.”
Fluorescent Box Lighting
Mood lighting is among the top kitchen trends designers are betting on to be big in 2025. Buyers tend to prefer warm lighting and can be put off by the harsh institutional lighting of fluorescent box lights, which creates an unwelcoming atmosphere and casts unflattering shadows, says Anna Tatsioni, an interior designer. Layered lighting with recessed LEDs, statement pendant fixtures, and under-cabinet lighting are all on-trend for 2025, she says.
Oak Cabinets
Popular in the 1990s, when oak cabinets age they tend to look orangey. This dates a kitchen and can lead a buyer into thinking that the entire kitchen needs a makeover. Heavy grain wood and outdated color also make a smaller kitchen feel cramped, Tatsioni says. Today’s buyers are gravitating towards cabinets that are warm white, “greige” (gray-beige), or sage green with clean lines and minimal graining. “Buyers also appreciate soft-close hardware and organized storage solutions,” Tatsioni says.
Overly Thematic
A strongly themed or over-accessorized kitchen that seems too personal gives buyers an “ick” feeling, explains designer Elissa Hall. “Most buyers go in expecting to find a blank canvas where they can picture their own family get-togethers, and excessive décor — like a brilliant red “diner-style” theme replete with fake neon signs — may destroy that idea before they’ve even had a chance to investigate the rest of the room,” she says.
Hall once saw a kitchen that was outfitted with a colorful nautical theme, including fishnet stretched over the ceiling and faux portholes on the cabinets, which distracted from the high-end appliances. It’s fine to add personality to your space but be sure to keep it more neutral when you’re hoping to sell your home and cash-in on your investment.
Brittany Anas is a former newspaper reporter in Colorado. A version of this article was previously published in Apartment Therapy.
"When preparing a house to put on the market, keep in mind that a potential buyer needs to be able to project their life into your space."