A blue kitchen? I recently saw a loud kitchen and I hoped we could talk about it. Is this the new trend? Do buyers crave color? Here’s some photos, a quick interview with the investor behind this, and some takeaways.
This home is in an older area near Downtown Sacramento.
I’ve been seeing more shelves in kitchens lately too. Have you?
What do you think of that hood and vent?
The bathroom also has blue. Notice the loud tile too?
Q&A with Slavic Avetisov (owner / investor):
Why did you go with blue? The reason I went with blue was because I wanted something really trendy, something out of a magazine. I figured there is no better place to do it than near downtown. I’ve sold two other homes in the area to Bay Area buyers, so I figured if my buyers for this house were from the Bay Area they would like the blue. So I went with my gut and against everyone’s opinion, including my wife (she wasn’t liking the blue idea). But after I did she said it wasn’t bad.
Are there any other colors we need to look out for? As far as colors, hard to say. Personally if I find another house in the area, I might do green, like army green (black and green). I have to feel the house though. It depends on the feel of the house as well as market demand. I read up on blue before doing it, and all those architectural digest magazines were writing how a blue bathroom would add 5k to sell off your house. But you can’t just paint it blue and call it a day. Everything had to be properly put together.
What sort of feedback did you get about the cabinets? It wasn’t on the market long enough to get feedback (had a quick full price offer). However, I was looking at a house in the neighborhood to flip, and the sales agent was running my ear off about my house until I told her that I did it. She replied by saying she’s been telling everyone about it. As far as comments in regards to not having enough kitchen space, my thoughts were: 1) Bay Area buyers are used to being in a small apartment or a room rental so they won’t have lots of stuff; 2) People that want to live in that area, downtown, midtown etc… aren’t going to be doing much cooking, but more going out. That’s why I proceeded with open shelves on top & no cabinets. The brick and the exhaust hood vent pipe gave it a loft feeling. I think the butcher block complimented the house age and gave the blue a tone down & a good feel rather than granite or quartz.
TAKEAWAYS:
1) The color trend: I’ve seen a shade of blue in three different kitchens recently. Design magazines earlier this year were talking about seeing more color in the kitchen. Were they right?
2) Location: Certain upgrades and types of architecture work well in some areas and not in others. I suppose the shade of blue matters too. Anyway, a trendy area might favor a colorful kitchen, but a 55+ community might completely reject it. At the end of the day location means everything.
3) The market doesn’t care if we like it: The market doesn’t care if we personally like something or not. This is why we need to remain objective when valuing properties. What will the market pay? That’s the only relevant question.
UPDATE: Props to the multiple real estate agents who emailed me photos of a blue kitchen in a model home in the Folsom Ranch neighborhood. The blue trend is alive.
A closing blended example:
This is quite the mishmash, right? Either you love it or hate it. Is it okay to blend architectural styles? Is it beautiful or a travesty? A friend on Twitter said, “Wow, the elusive Rustic Modern Dutch Colonial.” Thank you to a colleague in Boston for letting me use this photo (he didn’t want to be identified).
The point: From a value perspective the only thing that matters here is what buyers are willing to pay.
NEW FALL VIDEO: Last week I made a quick video to talk through the fall season (inventory, sales volume, price, and days on market). Enjoy if you wish.
Questions: What do you think of blue kitchens? Could blue be worth more? What’s the big takeaway here in your mind? I’d love to hear your take.
If you liked this post, subscribe by email (or RSS). Thanks for being here.
It surprises me but I really like the blue cabinetry and what the investor did in general with that home. My preference is always at least one design feature that sets the property apart from others. You are correct, however, that location is key. A home like that would not do so well in, say, Roseville. I prefer the East Sac and surrounding areas, which tend more toward these types of homes with more individuality. The fact that the home went as quickly as it did for the price it did indicates his instincts were spot on!
Thanks Alice. There was definitely an element of risk here, but it paid off. Props to the investor for that. This goes to show we have to know the market and make decisions for properties based on location. Just yesterday I was talking to someone who is from a high-end coastal area of California and this person is doing a remodel in Sacramento. My advice was to be sure to upgrade for Sacramento rather than the coast of California…
Sound advice! Depending upon where the property is located in Sacramento is something to consider as well.
Interesting article, Ryan…. I am not a fan of the blue but then again there are a lot of other colors I am not a fan of but are popular. I don’t think color adds or subtracts much to the value of the home. Most of my clients state, “paint is cheap”. It may cause it to sell faster, (because it is “trendy”), but not necessarily more. I do have an issue with the stove vent and lack of kitchen cabinets. Shelves may be a trend right now but “fads” come an go. In the 90’s a “cable ready” home was all the rage. The other day I was showing a buyer a home she asked what that was? Today it functionally obsolete with no value. I do think the lack of cabinets is a negative factor due to their functionality and the cost to replace to the new owner. But, maybe I am old school… I would love to see this home after the buyer lives in it for a year. I see clutter all over the place and things falling of the shelves. Of course, location, location and location always has and always will drive value.
Thanks John. I appreciate your take very much. This kitchen is definitely not for everyone because of the color and the design. This sale was around $300,000, which is below the median price in Sacramento County. Just in case it mattered to anyone. I’ve also seen shelves at higher price ranges too.
It’s amazing how trends come and go. It’s easy to walk into a kitchen built in 2005, for example, and quickly recognize it feels out of style already. The darker cherry cabinets and bullnose granite counters are just not what people do any longer. Or it used to be in style to have soffits between cabinets and the ceiling, but now we want cabinets to go all the way up to the top of the ceiling.
For any onlookers, someone just emailed me to say a builder (Taylor Morrison) went blue in one of their developments in Folsom Ranch. The blue is not vibrant like the kitchen in my post. It feels much softer.
Hi Ryan! I enjoyed you post! I personally like the blue color but I feel like it would get old fairly quickly. I do enjoy seeing something different like this though. I have seen this new open shelving style in kitchens. I love the look. I don’t think it would work as well for families with children, where there are tons of coffee mugs for the parents and sippy cups and stuff for the little ones. But I love the concept. I think as long as there was some other places to store things, it would be cool. To your point it’s all about what the market likes in the area.
Thanks Jamie. Storage is definitely something to consider. I think when there is a lack of storage it can prod us to embrace a lifestyle of minimalism or just become a hoarder. Either extreme… 🙂
Haha! That is so true! I prefer minimalism.?
I actually rather like the blue, and think the investor was on point with the butcher block as well. Down the road the buyer can add matching white cabinets when they decide they need more space, and that’ll keep the blue as an accent instead of overkill. On a side note I’ve started planning my dream kitchen remodel and was planning on white cabinets with cobalt blue appliances…. Blue Star appliance manufacturers will make your appliance any color and any shade you choose…. For a price. I saw a kitchen remodel from a local design store that had natural wood cabinets, dark counters and a red range. I definitely think that people are willing to pay for homes that are not as homogenous as tract homes, if when they walk in and identify with the style.
Thank you Corinah. I appreciate hearing your take. I like your idea about something that stands out too. It does get old to see such plain colors. I personally like all the gray tones still, and they are definitely prominent in the market, but when a home is only gray it feels drab to me. There’s nothing wrong with a little color.
On a side note I’m going to build a new kitchen island for my house in a few weeks. I’m likely going to paint the cabinet some shade of blue (not as vibrant as this though). I also will be installing a walnut butcher block counter. We’ll see how it turns out. I’m confident in my DIY skills, but I’m a little nervous too. Fingers crossed. 🙂
Quaint, modern, love it! Our friends just built a home with blue lowers and handmade butcher block… Again, quaint and modern. As an appraiser, I don’t think it detracts or adds, and I don’t think it narrows or widens the market. Condition is what sells in my area of Florida.
Thanks Jim. I appreciate hearing your perspective. Zillow had their article last year stating blue bathrooms would add nearly $6,000 in value, but that’s off-base. I think you’re right that it’s not just about color. Condition and quality are certainly huge factors.
Great post Ryan, but there is no way that a 55 and over community would reject the blue and white kitchen. They love that stuff and 55 is the new 40.
Thanks Gary. Yeah, 55 is not old. I think in my mind I was picturing a much older demographic when I typed this, though I used the younger sounding title of “55+ community.” To your point, someone actually emailed me to say she is painting some of her cabinets blue in her 55+ community, so clearly blue is not off limits there. Whatever the case, the big takeaway is that blue may not work in every market niche.
Hey Ryan, it was really nice to meet you at AppraiserFest and glean a little of your expertise. As far as ‘loud’ kitchens and bathrooms, that’s fairly trendy in my market right now – Utah – although most of the colors have a more earthy or neutral shade than that Royal Blue tone. The trendiest kitchens often have 2-tone color schemes, the wall cabinets will be one shade (usually a gray or white) and the island will be a loud accent color – navy blue is very trendy right now – and gold hardware is very in style too! As far as floating shelves, those are also very trendy in my market, in fact I have them in my home! Aside from Pinterest, a lot of Utah area homeowners get their ideas from the much-heralded Parade of Homes (Park City’s is called Showcase of Homes, but same concept). Builders (and Subs) put their best work on display in these homes and they are available for the Public to walk through for a period. If you want, check it out at https://uvparade.com/view-homes/ but the idea is that through these Parades and Showcases many buyers often mimic and imitate the trends they see on Parade!
Hey Jacob. It was really nice to meet. I’m so glad we got to talk a few times at AppraiserFest. Thanks for the kind words too.
It seems like some trends are very local while others are more widespread. This is definitely one of those that transcends geography to some extent. While we might not see loud colors everywhere, it’s certainly showing up in pockets throughout the country. I concur about multiple colors too in that the kitchen island might be loud while the rest of the cabinets are more subdued. The open shelves are also present in my market. Thanks for the link. That’s pretty cool.
More critical than blue cabinetry is the fact that the market is currently in the beginning stage of a crash.
Not even blue cabinets will save any of these floppers.
Nice zinger. The market indeed is more powerful than any upgrade. More than anything, what the market is doing can end up being the X-factor when it comes to value. It’s hard for owners to outpace a market when it is going up or down rapidly. Let’s keep watching to see what happens. The market indeed is changing. I’m anxious to pull stats in a few days and share them next week.
With data and history as my guide I do not need to wait and see anything. The crash is already in motion.
But I will be tuning into your site nonetheless!
Thanks for tuning in. I appreciate it. I would say we do need to wait and see because there is no guarantee of the future. I hear many people saying things like, “The market is going to crash hard like it did in 2007,” or “The market is going to balance out and basically level off,” or “We’ll likely see a 10% correction.” What will happen exactly in the future of real estate? That is unknown. All we have is data in front of us right now and guesses. If you have any sense of what you mean by “crash” I’d love to hear something specific.
Fair question.
There will be a full mean reversion which based on a percentage basis will meet ‘crash’ criteria since prices are completely detached from fundamentals.
The reason I have no ‘wait and see’ needs is simply because throughout human history no runup in prices of this magnitude has simply ‘flattened out’ or ‘leveled out’ afterwards. That is a great Realtor lie, but not grounded in history.
If anyone disagrees with this sentiment then please provide to me the period in history when an meteoric rise in home values has simply plateaued afterwards. That isn’t what happens. Prices revert to averages tied closer to HHI (household income.)
Hence a big fat bigly crash coming.
The smart experienced money has not been participating in this real estate market for several years now. It has been amateur hour. That will change soon. The pros are getting ready to play.
Happens every cycle. It isn’t ‘different this time.’
Thank you. I really appreciate it. Let’s wait and see… I’m kidding. Housing income really is a big deal. On a side note, I’m anxious to see what happens with Prop 10 in California as well as Prop 5. Will rent control be enacted? This is a big deal that could affect the market. We’ll know at some point today most likely. Anyway, the economy on paper looks fantastic, but there are warning signs on the horizon. I just sat through a presentation from an economist (Eliot Eisenberg) a few days ago and it was interesting to hear him talk. He doesn’t think a recession is likely for 2019, but he does think 2020 could potentially be the year. Let’s keep watching and digesting as things unfold.