2020 brought about major changes to the way we live. So it’s not surprising we saw changes in kitchen design as well. After all, if you’re in lockdown, you start to notice what you like and dislike about the heart of the home. If you want to get the kitchen in your rental properties or flips on trend for 2021, here are some renovations to consider.
1. Touchless faucets
Hygiene was among the biggest changes Americans made around the house during COVID-19. Remember when you couldn’t find any retailer with disinfecting wipes?
Because of food prep, the kitchen should be the cleanest room in the house, and the biggest hygienic tech advance for home kitchens has got to be the touchless faucet. After working with raw chicken, for example, most cooks wash their hands before moving onto prepping something else. But that entails touching the faucet while your hands are still contaminated (or awkwardly trying to turn on the faucet with your elbow). Handwashing using a touchless faucet means everything, including the faucet, stays clean.
For savvy real estate investors, the best thing about this new trend is that a brand-new touchless faucet is attractive and makes for a cheap upgrade, as little as a couple hundred dollars.
You’ve no doubt used touchless faucets before, probably in public restrooms. You wave your hands in front of a sensor, and the water activates. You can also get a voice-activated faucet if you choose; not only will that device turn on the water when you tell it to, it will dispense a particular amount as well.
2. Large kitchen islands
With more people at home all day during the pandemic, flex space has become important. With people in the kitchen much of the day working or doing homework besides cooking and eating, the oversized kitchen island (which has been popular for a few years now) is more important than ever.
By oversized, we’re talking an island large enough to seat at least four people. With an island this big, not only can the home chef enjoy a surface large enough to prepare food, people can eat at the island and, when it’s not mealtime, can comfortably work or do homework there as well.
3. Warm colors
If you have a white kitchen, there’s no need to change it. White kitchens remain a perennial favorite. People tend to keep a white space cleaner because they can better see those spills and smudges. (See the hygienic trend above.)
But because people have been home more, a warm and cozy kitchen, to match the comfort food prepared there, is also appealing. If you want to add color to the kitchen, the 2021 trends are practically limitless. You can work with shades of green, blue, red, and yellow and make them work with your existing color palatte.
4. More storage
With more people preparing food at home, storage space is becoming even more important than usual. People want a dedicated pantry and clever spots to store all the new must-have appliances they’ve been amassing: the air fryer, Panini maker, toaster oven, juicer, bread maker, and Instapot.
The Millionacres bottom line
The kitchen can make or break a house sale, as it can be a huge turn on or turn off to buyers and renters. Everyone scrutinizes, or at least notices, the kitchen. If yours needs an update, it’s probably a good choice of your investment dollars to do so. And while you’re renovating, why not stay on trend? It will make a difference.