What kitchen upgrades will attract buyers and improve your chances for a quick and high-priced sale? Hidden features that blend seamlessly into your kitchen design but keep your space fully functional are trending in today’s market.
Hidden kitchens—also known as concealed or invisible kitchens—are designed with fully-functional elements that seamlessly integrate with the home’s overall aesthetic. This design approach keeps bulky and unsightly items tucked neatly away, promoting a more attractive, open, and clutter-free space.
A hidden kitchen- and any well-designed feature within it – is completely focused on function. Yet, the room feels more like a part of your larger living area than a space for cooking alone. It features creatively and strategically designed upgrades like appliance garages with custom panels, integrated range hoods and downdraft vents, touch-to-open cabinets, extra and sliding countertops, seamless plate drawers, and trash cupboards that blend unnoticeably with walls, elevating style while still serving a purpose.
Achieving hidden luxury in a kitchen remodel is all about keeping aesthetics in mind while optimally integrating the working components of the space. This is possible with features like pop-up countertops, pocket doors, sliding wall panels, and other upscale design elements that combine the sophistication you’d expect in a luxury home with the complete functionality of a working kitchen.
Below are ways to achieve decluttered luxury with hidden kitchen upgrades that will impress buyers when it’s time to sell your home.
Appliance Integration
Keep bulky appliances – large and small- out of sight with these luxurious hidden kitchen upgrade ideas.
Panel-Ready Appliances
Conceal major appliances, such as dishwashers and refrigerators, by opting for panel-ready versions. Panel-ready appliances feature customizable panels that allow you to design a look that blends seamlessly with surrounding walls and cabinetry. They’re a noticeable upgrade to out-of-the-box stainless steel appliances that can stick out in a high-end kitchen.
Integrated Range Hoods
Some range hoods can be an eyesore, either due to poor design or being too large for the space. Instead, give your kitchen an elevated look with a flush ceiling-mounted air extraction system or downdraft vent that blends into your kitchen’s aesthetics.
Appliances Garages
Consider tucking small appliances, such as coffee makers, mixers, blenders, and toasters, out of sight into a hidden appliance garage with custom doors. You can integrate a concealed appliance garage into your upper or lower cabinetry or hide it within a designer pantry.
Cabinetry and Storage
Features like handleless drawers and cabinet doors that match your kitchen’s design lend to a luxurious look.
Handleless and Touch-to-Open Doors
Cabinet drawers and doors, with hidden or no hardware, can transform a purely functional kitchen into one that’s sleek and chic (and buyer-ready!). Go minimalist with drawers and doors that require just a gentle pull, courtesy of a J-pull handle built into the cabinetry or a lip pull that fits discreetly on the back of the drawer or door. Push-to-open drawers and doors—the truly handleless option—work with magnetic springs that are completely hidden.
Pull-Out and Roll-Out Systems
Think about installing pull-out systems within your cabinetry to conceal items you want within easy reach but normally wouldn’t put front and center. Garbage cans are a perfect example of essentials you can easily hide in your main workspace if you tuck them away creatively. Design an invisible pull-out or roll-out system for your spice rack, pots and pans, and everyday dinner plates, too.
Hidden Drawers and Cabinets
Secret doors and drawers are perfect for hiding cookbooks, cookbook stands, knives, and other small items. You can hide them in little tucked-away spaces within your kitchen or integrate these hidden features into your walk-in pantry.
Secret Pantry
A hidden walk-in pantry, disguised behind a panel or secretly tucked into floor-to-ceiling cabinets, can keep your kitchen looking luxurious, clean, and well-designed, thereby attracting buyers.
Countertops
Sliding countertops offer a design upgrade by hiding kitchen elements and providing more prep space.
Sliding Countertops
A sliding or retractable countertop on a kitchen island or other surface provides more room to work and offers extra space for fun features, such as a coffee bar.
Hidden Induction Hobs and Sinks
Approach your kitchen remodel with luxury in mind by hiding an induction hob or sink flush within your countertop or underneath a sliding countertop, creating an uninterrupted and luxurious look.
In addition to these hidden kitchen design elements to impress buyers, consider incorporating pocket doors that slide into walls, providing a nearly invisible look for a pantry or secret prep area. Folding and sliding pantry doors also create a unified and upscale look.
Are you looking to sell or buy a new home? Let Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate walk you through the process.