My newest obsession

I think I've mentioned this a few times before, but we are looking to sell our house this year. It's a lovely home that was perfect for us back in 2008 when we were childless and Jon was working downtown, but our entire lives have changed since then. The 3 bedrooms, all wood floors, and convenient access to downtown have completely lost their appeal. I want more space, more carpet, an extra bedroom, a big backyard, and to get as far away from downtown as possible.

Initially, we were going to wait until May to list the house, but, um, well, I'm gonna be kinda busy that month, ya know giving birth to a human and all. When we found out we were pregnant I was all like "Cool! Let's sell our house and buy a new one and move in and decorate it in the next 9 months! It can be done, yay!!!!!

There must have still been some residual caffeine in my system, because here I sit, sipping my decaf at 22 weeks pregnant thinking how in the fuggity fudge are we going to make this work??

No, it wouldn't be a deal breaker if we had to stay in our house. But it just feels like the walls are closing in on me. It got so much smaller once Emerson (and her toys) moved in, so I can't imagine living there with two babies.

Though we bought our house right before the economy went to shit (of course), we bought a "project" house that we have since renovated. Every single room has been updated in some way, some more than others. Though it's definitely not a seller's market, between the updates we've made, the school district we're in, and the lack of inventory in our area, I (foolishly?) think that we'll be able to sell our house in a reasonable amount of time. I can say without a doubt that we are selling a MUCH better house than the one we bought. I could kick myself for not taking more before/after pictures, because we have put so much time, sweat, blood and tears into that place and I want to show it off.

I am actually less worried about selling than I am about selling and buying a new house before the new baby comes. I am sure it's ridiculous to think that this will all work out, but that's just how I function. When I want something done, I do it. I can't control who if anyone will buy our house, but I can control everything else. And believe me I am trying to. I'm a mom. Control is my life.

Since I have a kicking time bomb (not a typo), I have become OBSESSED with home staging and HGTV (even more than usual). I am trying to de-clutter, de-personalize and re-organize to make people walk into the house and think "Hot Damn! Give me a pen so I can give these people top dollar today!"

The room I'm struggling with most is our kitchen. It's so boring. We've updated the appliances, put tile behind the stove, added a new light fixture, painted the walls, doors and trim, and added knobs and pulls to all the cabinets, but it still seems dull. We didn't want to pay to update the countertops, but I'm just not sure what we can do to make this room look a little more exciting. I've been scouring Pinterest looking for ideas, but only seem to find good ideas for our potential new house, and not our current one.

 

So other than tidying up a bit, what can I do to make this kitchen better? I'm calling all you good decorators and stagers out there! 

I don't want to spend much more money, but HGTV tells me that kitchens and baths sell homes, so I don't want to skimp on this. Help me.