After 100s of Renovations, the Property Brothers Warn Us About This "Cheap" Kitchen Favorite

If there's one thing we've learned from Jonathan and Drew Scott, it's that the kitchen is the key to the home. As one of the most frequented rooms in the entire home, by both homeowners and guests, the kitchen is not a room you can cut corners in. Both in the short and long term, this can lead to headaches. The kitchen must be practical and attractive, but when you pick countertops, laminate can create long-term resale drawbacks despite short-term savings.

In real estate, perception matters as much as practicality — and countertops are one of the first signals buyers notice. Often a value option, the Property Brothers advise staying away from it. Despite laminate countertops being a popular budget-friendly shortcut, Jonathan and Drew advise that they can make a kitchen look instantly dated and signal an immediate upgrade to future homebuyers. While your wallet may thank you at the moment, the value of your home at the time of sale can be significantly reduced. When it comes to the kitchen, timeless and universal is key.

Laminate Countertops Are a Dated Crime

There are so many directions in which you can take your kitchen. Jonathan and Drew have renovated hundreds of kitchens, so they've seen the horrors of mistakes home designers have made to save a penny. The kitchen is simply not the place to do it. Having previously spoken to HGTV, the twins shared why they will never choose laminate. "I can't think of a single kitchen design where laminate would look better than stone, butcher block, or a solid surface like Corian," Jonathan said. Of course, that statement may have set off alarm bells as the dollar signs may have immediately added up. He continued, "Yes, laminate is cheaper, but in many cases, you can actually take value away from a house by installing it."

The facts are that laminate, in any situation, reads as cheap at first glance in a kitchen. There's something about the natural sheen that pulls you back to the retro kitchens you watched on sitcoms. Even from a tactile perspective, it's not a preferred material, especially given laminate flooring's current popularity. While other elements in the kitchen may help to elevate the image of a grander space, your eye will still be drawn to the glaring contrast on the counters.

A Dated Kitchen Hurts the Home In Resale

Perhaps thanks to the abundance of wonderful designs found across HGTV programming, new homebuyers have a sense of what to expect in a kitchen. If they see laminate, it signals to them that an immediate replacement is needed if they purchase the property. Unfortunately, laminate is not a preferred material today. If the prospective buyer sees the dollar signs on their end, a negotiation may arise to lower the sale cost. The mental subtraction of the cost is due to the hassle of then having to renovate the home to their needs. Certainly, the benefit to the buyer is having a more neutral canvas to work from, but it's a major loss to the seller.

New countertops may be among the higher-priced items in a kitchen, aside from top-notch appliances. If you splurge on the front end, you may benefit from the back end. As Drew said in the same interview, "It frustrates me to no end when people spend their budget on a product, like laminate, that automatically seems dated—it’s like throwing money away! If you have no other choice, at least get a laminate that’s printed to look like stone. But make it a last resort." Real stone or marble may sound daunting, but you can always look into butcherblock options. Whatever you pick for your kitchen, make sure it's integrated properly into the space. Just as you should avoid the island peninsula and a stark all-white option, Jonathan and Drew's guidance will lead you to surefire success.

Don't Hate Your Home with the Property Brothers is available to stream on HBO Max.