8 Reasons to Upgrade Your Kitchen Countertops This Year

8 Reasons to Upgrade Your Kitchen Countertops This Year

Is it finally time to renovate your kitchen? If so, you must consider your countertops. They're not only a functional element of your kitchen but are also a major part of your overall kitchen design. The type of material you choose can benefit your home in many ways. Here are just eight reasons why you should consider upgrading your kitchen countertops this year.

1. Increase Value

As a homeowner, you understand how much work it takes to keep your home updated. Your home is a major investment, so you should work to increase its value over time. If you plan to put your home on the market in the future, its value will play a major role in how much of a profit you'll make. In fact, 30% of real estate agents recommend investing in a kitchen upgrade before listing your house, according to Architectural Digest. This is because when a potential buyer walks into your home and views your kitchen, one of the first things they’ll notice is the quality of your kitchen, including its countertops.

If you have outdated countertops, it can make a big difference in whether you land a profitable sale. Highly valuable stones such as quartz, marble, and granite can boost the appeal and resale value of your property quickly. Ensure your home's competitive if you ever put it on the market!

2. Enhance Durability

The right countertops can last for a long time. Since part of the function of a good countertop is food prep, they should be able to have good resistance against heat, stains, scratches, chips, and spills. Therefore, it's important to choose the most durable and resistant material possible, especially if you're someone who enjoys cooking and entertaining in your kitchen. Plus, you don't want to get countertops that you'll have to replace in five years when there are materials such as granite that can easily last for several decades, according to Forbes. The right kitchen countertops will have minimal maintenance but provide the sturdiness that you need over time.

3. Improve Hygiene

While keeping your entire home clean is vital, the cleanliness of your kitchen is especially a focal point. After all, your kitchen is where you store and prepare food. Therefore, if prep areas harbor bacteria and mold, it can inadvertently make you or your family sick. There are certain materials known for harboring mold, viruses, and bacteria because they’re easily scratched or have porous surfaces. With food, you have to worry about E. coli and salmonella. Plus, people can sneeze and spread viruses.

These germs can linger for days, weeks, or longer when they're not properly cleaned. Prevent the spread of illness in your kitchen by upgrading your countertops to a more solid, nonporous material like quartz. After making such an upgrade, you'll feel better knowing that you can cook, eat, and entertain in your kitchen space without worrying that you have an area that's harboring harmful diseases.

4. Enhance Design

According to ComfyLiving, in the United States, most houses need remodeling and improvement because around 80% of them are at least 20 years old. Don't be one of those people who live in a home that's outdated and long overdue for remodeling! If you'd like to upgrade your home, your kitchen is certainly one of the best spaces to start.

Your kitchen countertops can completely revamp the space thanks to the variety of materials, textures, colors, patterns, and finishes available. You can create any type of theme you want and find a countertop that fits. Do you want a rustic and cozy kitchen? You may want to consider wooden countertops. Do you want a more classy, elegant kitchen? Marble and granite are surefire materials to achieve that look. If you want to go sleek and modern, stainless steel countertops can equal the beauty and modernity of a granite one. Countertop professionals can cut the stone or other countertop materials in any way needed to fit your kitchen space.

5. Improve Functionality

Your countertops serve a major function in the home. In addition to providing a food prep space, they also provide additional storage. Are your current countertops too small to properly function where you need them to? How about your kitchen island? Do you have one or is it time to install one? This year you can hire countertop professionals to provide the kitchen functionality that you need. They can upgrade your countertop surface and design while also increasing the countertop space that you have.

With more countertop space, your kids can sit and do their homework while you make dinner. If you work from home, being able to make a snack between meetings will be seamless as well!

6. Incorporate Eco-Friendliness

Do you pride yourself on running a green home? Luckily, your countertops can play a role in having an eco-friendly feature in your house. There are different types of countertop materials that are more sustainable than others. After all, certain materials, such as those made from plastic, may produce a lot of energy and fumes in the environment. If you have such a countertop, now you can upgrade to one that is very eco-friendly, such as natural stone or wood. There's also recycled glass and bamboo, so you have many options when it comes to sustainable and environmentally friendly countertop surfaces.

7. Show Personality

People often showcase their personalities in various features of a home, so you shouldn’t ignore showing such personality through your kitchen countertops. While countertops are practical, they also have aesthetic qualities that can add to whatever design or flare you want to show off. Maybe you prefer wood because you like the rustic quality of nature or you grew up on a farm. Maybe you're into modernism and prefer the sleekness of steel. Maybe you're very much into luxury and are considering a granite or marble countertop. Do you want a kitchen that's focused on the color red because that's a bold color you favor and you found the right quartz countertop that has red elements in it?

The point is that your countertops provide many opportunities to showcase elements of your personality and style! They're not just there as a flat surface for you to cook on; they can bring so much more to your kitchen space.

8. Save Money

Countertops are an investment that can pay off in the future. By upgrading to a countertop material that is durable, easy to clean, and resistant to damage, you can avoid costly repairs or replacements and save money on maintenance expenses. As stated before, high-quality countertop materials such as granite or marble can last for several years with proper maintenance. Use the money you save on skipping countertop replacements and repairs to invest in other areas of your home!

As you can see, you have many reasons to change up your kitchen countertops this year. They're important for your functionality, design, home value, and overall health of your home. If you've dreamt of having a certain type of countertop material, now is the time to make your dreams come true. With the right contractor on hand, such as our team at Big Bear Flooring, you'll have kitchen countertops that'll last for decades. Contact us today for a consultation!