A newly remodeled kitchen by HomeKeepers (Photo courtesy HomeKeepers)
Not all renovations are created equal. In fact, kitchen and closet remodels give homeowners the greatest sense of happiness and satisfaction when compared to other home upgrades. That’s according to the 2019 Remodeling Impact Report, released last October by the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR), which looked at 20 different remodeling projects and assigned each a “joy score” from one to 10, with 10 being the most positive score, based on the percentage of homeowners who said they experienced “increased enjoyment” of being at home, a “major sense of accomplishment,” and a “feeling of happiness” upon completion of their project. Kitchen and closet renovations scored a perfect 10, while fresh interior paint for the whole house (9.8), kitchen upgrades (9.7), and new front doors (9.7) were close runners-up.
“People want to design their homes around their lifestyle, whatever that is,” says Sherry Minson, executive director of NARI Central Virginia. She sees a common thread among Richmond’s empty nesters, specifically. “Their kids are in or through college, and they’re ready to spend some money on themselves,” she says. “They’re putting in really nice master bathrooms or high-end kitchens, if they’re a family who cooks together or loves to entertain.”
When a family approached Lynn Ivey and John Robertson, co-principals of HomeKeepers, about a kitchen overhaul in the 1970 Goochland home they’d just purchased, lifestyle was top of mind. “They had young kids the mom wanted to keep a visual on when she was in the kitchen, as opposed to them being in a family room in a different part of the house,” Robertson says.
“Homeowners want their homes to be a respite nowadays, and a place that’s cluttered and disorganized doesn’t really provide an environment of relaxation.” —Georgia Kukoski, senior designer, Closet Factory Richmond
The home’s original first-floor layout contained a 160-square-foot galley kitchen toward the back of the house and an adjacent master suite the couple didn’t need. HomeKeepers knocked down bedroom and bathroom walls, added a beam in the ceiling to replace the load-bearing walls, and converted the house to a two-zone HVAC system so they could remove ducts in a chase next to the chimney between the old kitchen and dining room. The resulting L-shaped kitchen and gathering space spans the entire ground level. New windows bring in more natural light, and thoughtful placement of appliances allows the kitchen to flow into a new gathering space where the old kitchen once stood. “Now the kids can play games and watch TV but still be with their parents,” Robertson says.
A newly remodeled closet designed by Georgia Kukoski of Closet Factory (Photo by John Magor courtesy Closet Factory)
Closets can be tailored to one’s personality and lifestyle, too. Just ask Georgia Kukoski, senior designer with Closet Factory Richmond, who recently worked with a local clothing designer. “She obviously has a nice, sizable wardrobe she needed to organize, but she wanted a space that reflected her personality and love of color,” Kukoski says. The result featured custom-painted pink cabinetry and flamingo wallpaper, which Kukoski’s client now uses as a backdrop for Instagram photos of her fashion designs.
“Homeowners want their homes to be a respite nowadays, and a place that’s cluttered and disorganized doesn't really provide an environment of relaxation,” Kukoski says. Everyone can benefit from an organized closet, she believes: Being able to get dressed without going back and forth between the bedroom dresser and closet saves time.
“I see joy and satisfaction every day at my closet installs,” she adds.
A closet renovated by HomeKeepers (Photo courtesy HomeKeepers)
Of the home improvements that ranked 9.5 or higher on the Remodeling Impact Report’s joy scale, new roofing had the highest potential return on investment, financially speaking, with NAR estimating that a roof redo would return 107% of its value at home sale. (On the flip side, closet renovations had the lowest value recovery potential, at 40%.)
That said, while the likelihood of recouping costs is certainly a consideration before homeowners embark on a renovation — it just may not always be the top consideration. “There are very few clients who say, ‘I don’t care about the resale value of my home, I just want to do this because I want to do it,’ ” adds Minson of NARI Central Virginia. “Most of them [take on a project] knowing that it’s going to increase their home value, but they’re doing it because they want to make their lives easier in some way.”
