If you're undertaking a kitchen remodeling project, it's probably not because your current kitchen doesn't work. You can wash dishes in your old sink. You can store dishes in your old cabinets. Sure, you may have outgrown your kitchen, but it probably hasn't truly ceased to function. So let's be real, for most people, it comes down to two factors: looks and resale value. As far as home remodeling projects go, kitchen remodeling pays off big in resale value, but where's the real aesthetic bang for the buck in the kitchen remodeling project itself? The easy answer: it depends. The squeeze-someone-smart-and-they-may-finally-tell-you answer: windows. Light makes all the difference.

Here are just a few of the reasons to consider improving your kitchen window situation as part of any good home remodeling effort.

Reason #1 - Light is Pure Poetry

Shakespeare penned the lovely line, "But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun." He never said a darn thing about laminate flooring or marble countertops. Of the investments you can make in your kitchen as part of your home remodeling project, nothing is so fundamental as windows, as light itself.

Reason #2 - No One Likes Mold

Kitchens are humid, and condensation problems in old windows happen more often than you'd think. And guess where that leads? You guessed it. Mold. But with new, better sealed, more efficient windows, mold doesn't stand a chance. It may be a small-scale battle, but if you're going in for home remodeling, it's a battle worth investing time and money in winning.

Reason #3 - A Kitchen that Can Show You the World

Improving your window situation as part of a remodeling project lets more light in, yes, but it also let's you out. Don't ever forget the importance of a view. Peeling carrots while you watch your kids play in the yard versus peeling carrots while you look at the wall. You pick the winner.

Windows may not have been kitchen specific enough to hit your kitchen remodeling radar screen before, but hopefully they're showing up now. You'll never regret letting a little more light into your life.

Sources

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

About the Author
Dawn West B.A. holds a B.A. in English from Harvard University and teaches writing at Oregon State University.