We have an eat-in kitchen and a dining room. Because the eat-in is small, a realtor friend said to lose the extra table to make the kitchen look bigger. Now it seems to me we have a big space for my shelves of cookbooks. Shouldn't an eat-in kitchen look like an eat-in kitchen?

Without pictures it is hard to judge.
How about just a smaller table and a couple of chairs?

Did you ask your realtor his/her professional opinion WRT the most likely buyer of your home? What type of buyer is he/she marketing to? Professionals, families or a hybrid?

If your home/neighborhood appeals to young professionals, they might prefer a larger kitchen (or the appearance of one) with a breakfast bar. In addition, a cafe table plus 2 chairs might work for them, if you have sufficient space. In fact, for these buyers, depending on your home's size and the room types, you might consider staging the d/r as a home office.

OTOH, if your marketing is geared toward young families, they'd probably prefer an eat-in for their small children plus the d/r for family get-togethers.

Always a good idea to stage your home to appeal to the most potential buyers possible, given the limitations of your space/floor plan. BTW, if you post back with photos, I'm sure you'll receive many helpful staging suggestions.

JMHO and best of luck with your sale!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BearCat49,

and if you're going for looking big - then I would pack away the shelves of cookbooks and other cooking items that you don't use every day......

It depends on the floor plan. If the eat in kitchen area has a nook off to the side for the table and chairs, then use it for an eat-in.

I agree with REL. If it is just a big open square kitchen with open floor space for table and chairs I would think about buying a portable island to fill in the space if you have an alternative dining area.

My kitchen is not large enough to be an eat in but I do have a fairly large open floor area. I bought a small island with wheels. It is an excellent extra work space, I put a small wine rack on one of the shelves, it has a drawer to store odd kitchen & bar items and I have my roaster on the bottom shelf. In addition it has slots to store my knives and I fold my apron on the handle. The top is marble and great for pastry making but I use it to place my cook book or recipe when cooking.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Charming,

The thing about it is.. Realtor bank listings to show the customer. They may see 7-9 houses a day. I've done that --especially with a client in town to buy with limited time frame.

What works for me is.. I print out for my client.. "buyers'" MLS listing sheets in a neat folder that excludes the listing agent info, but includes all my info as the buyers' agent. Most of us do that in our area. Then on the back of each listing I invite them to rate the home 1 to 10 and make notes.

It is quite possible if the client does not see a table and chairs or if the agent doesn't point out the nook area to the buyer.. it may not register as note worthy.. an eat in kitchen. Get my drift?

Just something to keep in mind. I also think it is important for that table and chairs to not look cramped. Just my thoughts.

Good luck to you and happy selling! Post your photos here or we can look at the photos with mls# on Realtor.com.

P.S. I really don't have a peeling Florida sunburn!!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: real estate lady,

quote:

Shouldn't an eat-in kitchen look like an eat-in kitchen?

Yep! in norCal, a functional greatroom trumps a designated dining room - by 2K